That one does send a grower on a bit of a search :) I don't see anything you need to do differently than what you have done. There are a few mentions of length of time to germinate that indicate some time involved, anywhere from 1 - 6 months. But, the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens germination database shows (if I'm interpreting it right) seeds harvested and held 7 months before sowing germinated (at a rate of half the seeds sown) in 12 days with more to follow. Temp was approx 60F and seeds were exposed to 10 hours light, 14 hours (night) dark. FYI - intolerant of both shade and root disturbance, handle seedlings carefully when transplanting.

I believe that diet has a huge impact on health. Being an RN I have seen this time and time again. My grandmother always has a healthy diet (she actually counts her veggie/fruit/grain/meat/etc servings) She almost never eats out even tho she could, and she never drinks pop or eats junkfood. She is in her 90s and still going strong with no illness, she told me that once she gets her eyes lasered she will be good for another 10 years LOL! She also exercises alot with her walking group. My grandfather smoked unfiltered ciggarettes since he was 14 and did get eventually get emphysema but never got any type of lung cancer. He lived to his later 80s. I really believe that he stayed healthy so long because my grandmother made him eat the way she did, even though he hated veggies lol. Of course she made him smoke outside. I really need to be more like her lol.

Part of being green is knowing when to use the "real stuff" and only using it when you have to. Seems like this is the time for you ! Not sure, but I am thinking that once your toddler and mother are feeling better that you can go back to using greener alternatives. I do use a tea tree cleaner that works very well. It is called "sol-u-guard" however you can only buy it through melaleuca reps (annoying!!!) It is supposed to be 99.9% effective at killing staph. however they dont' really tell you what is in it, so it may not be better or greener than bleach. Tea tree is a really awesome antibacterial tho. Also the best defense is keeping healthy! I also have birds so I do feel for you. I would be more concerned with spray cleaners than liquid ones. Also, if you can, move your bird into another room where you may not be bleaching.

Since Wellington is on the North Island - I'm assuming that 7.4 earthquake this morning didn't shake any of those tomatoes from your Red Robin, Manuka! A tsunami has now been discounted so you're good there, too. I was recently reading that Early Girl was developed as a tomato which could grow at 40°F. What's that? 40°F = 4°C . . . (NZ may be "seasons reversed" but the US is just "backwards" ;o). Obviously, a really close-to-the-ground plant like Red Robin would have more protection "hunkering down" during cold weather. Can only just imagine this since it's been 40 years since I moved my gardening to Intermountain zone 5 from California coastal zone 9. Frost would still occur in December and January and I remember that it once snowed!! Happy Spring, Manuka. Steve