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Heirloom Plants & Gardens

Germinating seeds

19 years ago

I hope this isn't too off-topic but I've noticed some other related threads. If it is too off-topic please say so. I don't want to upsety anybody.

A very generous GWebber gave me some muscadine seed. The seed is fresh and I'm trying as many different methods of germinating I can think of - straight sowing outdoors, sowing and keeping on a heat pad, soaking o/night then doing same, soaking then storing in fridge for a month or two. I am very keen to get a result and am also looking at chemical means of germinating. I noticed on the Tomato Seed Saving thread that a 0.2% solution of potassium nitrate helps, as does a weak solution of Miracle Grow etc. How weak is weak? And where would I get potassium nitrate from? Has anyone any experience with gibberellic acid?

Once agian, sorry this is off-topic.

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Comments (3)

carolyn137
19 years ago
If you look at the thread below with newbie in the title two of us have been discussing aids to germination with variious hormones/chemicals.

But that's for seeds that are very very old.

Are your muscadine seeds old or you just haven't discovered how folks do germinate them? In which case per haps a visit to the Forum here where grapes are discussed if the info isn't on the web?

Knitrate is also known by the old term of saltpeter and can usually be found in a drug store since it's also used in food preservation and some other uses as well.

If not, you'll have to go to a local high school and speak to the chemistry teacher to get some b/c at least here in the US it can't be shipped to individuals. And that's b/c it's used in the manufacture of TNT. LOL

Carolyn, who has to answer MM in the thread I just refer red to but will get to that later. But to answer one question, it's the nitrate ion that's known to be involved in germination of seeds, thus the use of dilute granular fertilizers or Knitrate. Again, primarily for old seeds. But as I said below, comparing this and that I still feel hydration is the primary issue.
paquebot
19 years ago
Raymondo, you DO know that muscadine grapes will NOT grow true from seeds? There are probably at least 25 recognized "domestic" cultivars with widely varied characteristics. Then there are numerous wild versions, all genetically different in one aspect or another. In effect, they are all hybrids like apples and a variety may only be perpetuated by cuttings or grafting.

If the muscadine is like most other grapes, the seed will require a cold period first of up to 4 months before it will germinate. So, one would need cold first and then heat later.

Martin
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Wow, Vladimir and Albert for the CSI ( a popular show about crime that had used DNA and fingerprints mostly in the 1990's, and they used petri dishes to grow disease cultures) type of info, BTW, I haven't tried the seed germination with Agar and /or gelatin, I've found a nursery who sells these native plants, so I am happy to just purchase these plants. Nature seems to do just fine without Agar or gelatin, but, sometimes people need to find a way to get propagation going beyond nature, I am not sure how these nurseries got the plants I bought but, I'm pretty sure that they got these plants I bought from "air layering" of the native Rhododendrons. That means simply taking a branch from the native Rhody, and securing it to the soil of a new pot, and waiting until it forms roots in that pot. But, If they got their new Rhodies from seed or whatever, I really don't care, but, I am thinking "air layering" is what they just might use for making new plants, I say this because I think that the seed growing system of making more Rhodies of the "native" Rhododendron Maximum" which is the native Rhododendron, the one Rhodie that I was wanting to grow many of here in my zone 6 Pa garden, I should say my Zone 6 western Pa yard under my trees because this Rhodie only likes shade. Well, anyway, I'm glad to get my seedlings from my nursery that had grown these native Rhodies from air-layering or whatever damn method they had used, but, I must admit that I am kinda curious about the use of gelatin or agar, when they do use these substances to grow from seed, IF they are using this agar to grow plants from seeds.
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Raymondo
Original Author
19 years ago
Carolyn,
Thank you for the info re pot. nitrate - I had completely forgotten it's common name (been a very long time since I did any chemistry!) I will try the Oz equivalent of a drugstore and also a high school. I happen to be a high school mathematics teacher so I'm sure I can persuade my science colleagues to part with some if they have any.
The muscadine seeds I have are not old at all having been just recently harvested. It's just that I was given enough so that I could try as many different ways as possible to germinate them.

Thank you Martin,
I didn't know that about muscadine. On the one hand, it's disappointing to know that I won't get the variety they came from, on the other, it might be something just as interesting.
And I suspected as much about cold so I have quite a few in the fridge trying to make them think it's winter.

Thank you both.

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