Subject: Sowing/Raising seeds questions

From: [email-masked]
Date: 25 May 95 19:07:51 EDT

I have some seeds coming in the mail (Mimosa Pudica).  I'm new to the plant
scene and have a couple of questions:

1.  The seeds I'm getting say to sow in early spring.  Can I start them any
    time of the year?  I'm planning on growing them inside the house (i.e.
    they'll never be moved outside).  note: I'll probably be getting the seeds
    near the end of July. 

2.  In some books it says to pour hot water over the seeds before sowing.  
    What does this do?  How hot does the water need to be?  How long do the
    seeds need to be exposed to the hot water?  I'm not familiar with this
    technique.

In general, I'm not familiar with raising plants from seeds.  What are the 
basics (i.e. container/size, soil, amount of water, lighting, temperature) to
start a plant from seeds?

ThAnKs EvErYbOdY!

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From: [email-masked] (Tomas Ressel)
Date: Sat, 27 May 1995 12:30:12 GMT

>start a plant from seeds?

Check the instructions that may come in/with the pack. Different seed require
different germination conditions. 

Tomas Ressel

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From: [email-masked] (Jeffrey Kirby)
Date: 5 Jun 1995 16:52:20 GMT

Nancy Harrison ([email-masked]) wrote:
: Pouring hot water over seeds doesn't work for all seeds!  We
: use that technique in Calif (called "scalding") for hard-coated
: seeds that are native to areas where fires occur seasonally -
: it fakes out the seeds so they think they've been burnt, and
: this triggers germination.

Scarification is the process by which one somehow treats a seed so that
the seed coat becomes permeable to gas and water exchange. Many seeds need
this to germinate (because their seedcoat doesn't let anything through).
Techniques that I know of that one can use include a short dip (30 seconds
or so) in boiling water, sandpapering one side, or a dip in acid (usually
hydrochloric, I believe). Some plants in nature also need fire to
germinate (or are at least helped out greatly) because of several possible
factors including a removal of competition, the release of nutrients into
the soil, the removal of allelopathic plants, the removal of homes for
rodents which munch munch munch, the release of the seeds (like in
closed-cone conifers), and/or the levels of light. The fire periodicity
and temperature required to sustain an ecosystem depends on the system
(e.g. Northern California foothill chaparral burns every 25 years or so at
very high temps, killing everything except some seeds - temperatures below
ground are much lower). I seem to have rambled. Apologies.

-J
-----------------------------                                      -----
        Jeffrey A. Kirby -- Jester of Xanadu -- [email-masked]

"Das Material des Tones bietet"    ("The material of the tone offers" )
                    - Arnold Schoenberg from _Zusammenhang, Konfrapunkt, 
Instrumentation, Formenlehre_