You don't say which gentian, not all are warm/cold/warm germinators. If you've sown any of the jacobs ladder other than Polemonium carneum, I think you could just leave the containers outside without the warm period - those should germinate when the cold temps begin to warm up. It probably would not hurt to bring the monkshood in for a couple of weeks then put it back out. You don't need to provide additional heat other than room temperature or light for the seeds. Truthfully though, I don't always have good luck with aconitum/monkshood unless sowing very fresh in early Fall, but that could be me :) "Is moist vermiculite in a baggie a satisfactory method for warm stratifying?" Yes, I use just a teaspoon or two of either moist sterile sand or moist vermiculite, then sow the entire contents of the bag when I'm ready to winter sow and place outdoors. (this is not the same as the baggie method for germinating seeds, it just meets the requirements for those seeds that need warmth and moisture before the moist chill). Alternatively you can sow them, leave the pots indoors for the required warm period but that takes up more space. You can also sow, place outdoors in late summer/early Fall for Spring germination. Some extra vermiculite, grit, or potting mix may be necessary to further cover the seeds once you've tipped them out of the ziplocks and sown them -

Jill, Do you remember how flowers are pollinated in general? They are pollinated when the pollen moves from the male flower (or male portion of a perfect blossom) to the female flower (or female portion of a perfect blossom). With tomato blossoms, you have perfect blossoms, meaning that each individual blossom has both the male portion of the blossom, which is the anther cone, and the female portion of the blossom, which is the pistil, the stigma, the style and the ovule/ovary. So, first the tomato blossoms self-pollinate when the pollen moves from the anther cone to the stigma, and then they self-fertilize when the pollen moves from the stigma, down the style to the ovules. When the pollen "unites" with the ovules in the ovary, fertilization has occurred and a fruit will form. Normally this pollination and fertilization occurs on its own. The conditions under which tomato blossom pollen will shed from the anther and go to the stigma are very specific. You need nighttime temperatures above 55 degrees and less than 75 degrees. You also need daytime temperatures of 92 degrees or less. You also need mild humidity. If humidity OR heat are high, the pollen can be sticky and can clump and stick to the anther cone, thereby failing to travel to the stigma. That is why pollination and fertilization pretty much halt (on large-fruited tomatoes only) in hot weather. So, each tomato blossom fertilizes itself with pollen from itself and produces a true-to-type fruit. Cross-pollination can occur when pollen moves from the anther cone of one variety to the stigma of another. Bees and other small pollinating insects, though not needed, can visit various flowers and cause cross-pollination to occur. Thus, in order to be sure you get exactly the tomato seeds you want, and not a cross of unknown types, you have to prevent pollen from one variety from making it to another variety. This is where bagging the blossoms comes in. When you want to save seed of a particular variety, place the organza bag over the flower as soon as it appears. This will prevent bees from bringing in pollen from a different plant. Once the flower opens, the stigmas are "open" to receiving pollen, a condition that lasts a day or two. However, the anther takes 24 hours to shed the pollen and, therefore, during that 24-hour period while the stigma is open and waiting, "outside" pollen can sneak in. Bags prevent this. So, your stigma becomes receptive and has to wait a minimum of 24 hours. Then the anther "sheds" pollen, some of which will land on that stigma (the anther surrounds the stigma). Once it lands, the pollen travels from the stigma down the style to the ovule whereupon the chromosomal material from the pollen enters the ovules and fertilization has successfully occurred. This takes roughly 24 hours. Once fertilization has occurred, a tomato begins to form. You can remove the bag at this point so the fruit can develop normally. When you remove the bag, tie a piece of yard or ribbon to the stem of the plant (NOT TOO TIGHTLY cause the stem will need to grow) near that tomato to mark it as the one from which you want to save seed. It sounds more complicated than it is. Remember that the tomato is doing most of the work and all you have to do is put the bag on, take the bag off, and mark the stem of the tomato for later seed harvest. Now, can problems occur? Yes. Remember that I mentioned high heat can impede pollination and fertilization by making pollen sticky. Sticky pollen clumps and can fail to shed (fall) from the anther cone to the pistil. However, you can intervene. Simply use your finger to thump each blossom a couple of times to shake loose that sticky pollen, OR, shake the plant gently. If the plant is caged, just take hold of the cage and gently shake for a few seconds. Texas gardening experts have long advised home gardeners to walk down a row of tomato cages and give each one a couple of whacks with a tennis racket to "shake up" the plants and help ensure pollination. On the other hand, if you WANT to creat a deliberate cross of two varieties, you can do that by manually transferring pollen from one plant to another. The easiest way to do this is to find a blossom that has just opened, remove its style with very small scissors, and gently rub the anther cone against the stigma of the blossom you want to pollinate. You can do this with your fingertip too. Just rub a fingertip over the anther cone and pick up some pollen on that fingertip. Then gently touch your finger to the stigma of the flower you want to pollinate. Growers who want to save a large quantity of open-pollinated seed (the Seed Savers Exchange Heritage Farm is an example of this) do not bag every individual blossom. Instead they either use a larger barrier, like a wood-framed screened cage, to cover each plant, or they isolate via distance--at least 1/4 mile between varieties--OR they put a plant barrier between different varieties. Often the barrier is several thickly-planted rows of sunflowers which will block accidental cross-pollination. And, fertilization is not often as easy as it should be. Since heat and humidity can keep the anther cones from shedding pollen, you sometimes have to help them out, as mentioned above, via shaking or thumping. The larger the fruit produced by a plant, the more likely heat or humidity will impede pollination. This is why really large-fruited plants, like Brandywine or Big Zac or Big Rainbow (or many others) don't produce many fruit per plant in our climate. Smaller tomatoes, like cherry, grape and paste tomatoes are not inhibited by the heat and humidity so they produce all summer long. So, that's it. How tomatoes reproduce. How to prevent cross-pollination. How to bag blossoms. Got it? And, yes, some gardeners grow their tomatoes close together, don't bag and do save seed. And, in a certain percentage of those cases, cross-pollination will occur. I think the percentage is roughly in the 3% to 7% range. One reason I prefer to purchase commercial seed is that it is highly unliked to be accidentally cross-pollinated. Saving seed is easy and fun and I'd do more of it if I had a smaller garden to maintain and more time available to bag blossoms. Dawn

I plan on building a cold frame this spring, late March. I have all the materials on hand, old (30-40 yrs) 2 x 4's, and stiff plastic for the window. The 6'x12' garden plot has a fence and is full of leaves from last fall. I'll clear a 4'x 8' space and mound up the leave around the sides of the frame for some added insulation. Earlyon I plan to bring out warm water-filled 1 and 2 liter bottles before sundown to place in the frame for added warmth during the night, then late April leave them in the frame on sunny days to warm up. I have black cloth to put on the leaves around the frame to further add warmth to the area (I hope this will also speed up the leaf composting.) I have to figure out a cover for the frame for cold nights. I have extra house insulation and may devise a blanket of insulation in garbage bags glued together, hopefully well enough so that moisture cannot get in. I'll put six of the tomato plants in place permanently so that when I take the frame apart (or not) in the spring they will already be in place. The rest of the space will be for tomato transplants, lettuce, etc.I'll put a thermomoter in there first to see what the night time temps are before I put the seedlings in. Everyone need a hobby :-)

I suppose you are talking about the clear plastic tray cover I suggested. Well, it does a couple things for you. First, it holds in the water while the seeds are germinating. More specifically, it keeps the soil surface from drying and crusting, thus the seedlings stay moist and can pop up without restraint. You do not need so much water with a cover as it is recycled as it evaporates by condenscing on the underside of the cover. By using less water overall you reduce the chance of rotting the seeds. Second, it holds the heat inside the cover and at the top of the tray. This aids in sprouting. Without a cover water more rapidly evaporates from the soil surface and since evaporation is a cooling process the soil surface gets far cooler, dryer, and a crust forms. Try it and see. It will improve your germination results 100% and save you time watering as you need not rewater with a cover. However, some small problems now will result. Since you have managed to easily double the seeds that actually germinate in your trays you will be obliged to transplant and find a home for the new babies, or, and this is gut wrenching, murder them by thinning down to one biggy per cell! Of course, when you are satisfied with your sprout, usually after 5 or 6 days, you remove the cover, commence periodic watering, and the little plants will enjoy a bit better spectrum of light which the clear covers do hold back a bit.