Which Shrimp Plant? I'll assume you're talking about 'Pride of Gibraltar' or Blue Shrimp Plant. If not, disregard and tell us which you mean :) These are really one of the easiest plants to harvest seed from since they pretty much fall right onto the ground when ready and are easy to see - just pick them up. A pod will form where each bloom is and will open when the seeds are ready. They'll be ball shaped, large and black. Just keep checking them and it'll be pretty obvious where they are. Just tip the pod into the palm of your hand and they'll fall right out.

Hmmm you could try peeling the banana and planting it as an experiment. The banana flesh might help by giving the seedlings more nutrients.

Hi there Nance! Starting hosta from seed is a fun and rewarding enterprise. I like to let the seeds ripen on the stalk- but I watch for drying and harvest the stalk before the pods burst open. I let the stalks finish drying in a paper lunch bag indoors in a cool dry place. Later on- I will use a tooth pick to coax the remaining seeds from the dried pods. I like to winter sow my hosta seedlings- and others have great results indoor sowing under lights indoors in the winter. Both of these options have forums here in GW. I take old icecream buckets, the ones that let some light through- poke drain holes in the bottom- and another 4 holes just under the lip at the top for transpiration. I add at least a thumbs depth of soil less potting mix with time released fert mixed in wet it good - sprinkle the seeds on top- put the lid back on and place out in the cold- sometime in January. There is not much more to do till you have sprouts. It is the lazy mans way to sure fire sowing. Most of your seedlings will probably be plain old hosta- but some may really shine! Enjoy! Julie

rjinga, I don't really keep extensive stat logs, but I do ferment nearly all my tomato seeds as a rule. I did try a few other methods this year, but just out of curiosity. But whether fermented or otherwise scoured, I always finish up with a good rinsing in a bowl of water and save only the sinkers ... and I mean if a seed even comes up off the bottom at the last moment of pouring out the rinse water, off it goes down the drain with no regrets. Another method I tried is soaking fresh squeezed seeds in a strainer covered with kitchen cleanser with bleach (Comet) for about a half hour then scrubbing them clean in the strainer followed by a wash off with anti-bacterial Dawn and a cool rinse in the bowl of water deal. I only saved the sinkers, and when tested, they sprouted at about 90 - 95%. But in that case, I was testing to see if the soak in Comet affected the sprout rate. Also, I cleaned some seeds with Calgon automatic dishwasher detergent similarly to the Comet method described above. The Calgon has a high percentage of phosphates as well as bleach. Again, I only saved the sinkers from the rinse bowl and the test germination rate was above 90%. Lastly, I always follow up with a Clorox bath for any tomato seeds I ferment by the regular process. Basically, I let the cleaned seeds soak for about 5 minutes in one part Clorox to 3 or 4 parts cool water. Then I thoroughly rinse them to get the bleach off to where I can barely smell it. On one particular batch of Cherokee Purple PL seeds that I was sending to Baker Creek for a grow-out, I test germinated 56 seeds and got 52 germinated within 7 days (46 or 48 in the first four days if I remember right). But then I never saved any floaters or tried to sprout them, so all this is rather uncontrolled, unscientific and poorly documented ... so you can take it for what it's worth. Still, I suggest saving the sinkers and trashing the floaters.