I read somewhere on here someone made a special "tea" to assist in germination. I have no idea if it works on asian veggies, but I used the method on many of my seeds this year and it seemed to work when previous efforts failed. Don't take my word for it, and I apologize to the original poster for not citing specifically, but it's searchable on here. You make a weak tea (as in, make a cup of tea, let it sit, toss the tea, use the teabag for a second cup to get a lot of the tannens in it) and moisten paper towels with it. I put squares of paper towels in a tupperware thing and put seeds between them. Then the cool thing is, you put it in the fridge overnight. Something about waking the seed up from its hibernation when you remove it. Then I let it sit out on the counter for a couple of days until the seeds germinated and planted them before anything could mold. (i waited too long on some peas and they didn't survive, but the beans and lettuce seeds sprouted marvalously.) Hope this helps :) -v

Thanks Wayne. I've seen a couple black snakes in my yard this summer but neither were that large. I leave them alone of course but I know one that big will startle me if I come across it. lol That's interesting Catherine. I brought this one inside long enough for the kids to see then tossed it again. They're smelly. Maifleur - If someone put that snake skin in your yard as a joke, it was a mean joke. It's a wonder you ever went outside again. If it was escaped or released pet, then I suspect it wouldn't last outside very long. It would be hard not to wonder though. Wayne - Since you're in Missouri and know a lot about snakes, can you tell me how big our largest Garter Snakes get. I recently saw one that was as big around as a garden hose and maybe three feet long. I've seen quite a few in my yard but always quite a bit smaller. I was going to try to measure it but I chickened out.

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing Warren.

Venomous snakes have a triangular shaped head (from ears to nose) and non venomous snakes have a more rounded (or spoon shaped) head. Your construction snake looks like a black king snake. They eat rats. They are your friends. We had one living in a tree hole next to our porta potty during construction. Black king snake, non venomous, rounded head: Timber rattlesnake, venomous, triangular head: Rattlesnake that got in my way (54", 9 rattles). My sister told me how to skin it. My DH would not even touch it. He's hanging in the den now (the snake, not DH...although.... ;) ) Really ticks me off when he kills the non venomous snakes in our yard. We have a large garter snake living near our front veranda. He is eating my frogs, which is bothering me, but I told DH not to kill him. 15yo boy down the street shot/killed a 13 rattlers snake taller than he is a few weeks ago.