HYB: Seed treatment according to color?

I'm still learning this hybridizing game -- an understatement.  So 
there were several methods I thought to try this year.

It seems that the seeds that come out of my pods are making those 
choices for me.

My first pod had green seeds, good full-size but green.  The pod had 
loosened its hold though not yet fallen, so I took it.  Not hard to 
open, so I harvested the seeds.  That gave me the chance to try the 
green-seed treatment Donald Eaves described.  I divided the seeds in 
half and put out l/2 to dry and planted the other l/2 directly into 
pots in damp potting soil and put them immediately in the fridge.  (I 
find that the bottom tray of the fridge is just tall enough to fit 4" 
pots in, on old metal ice cube trays.)  I run fresh water through the 
pots about every other day, the tray catching any lingering drops.

The next pods had brown or black seeds, obviously already dry, so I'm 
saving those for Linda's & others' soak-then-refrigerate-then-pot 
method.

The stalk rotted on another so I took the small pod and found the 
seeds white.  Since they were already out, I punctured them with my 
fingernail (easy) and potted them and refrigerated like the green.

The other method I will try with fully mature seeds will be to plant 
them directly into my seed bed, potted or not.  The seedbed is framed 
by 8" x 8" x 4" cement blocks, further shielded by surrounding 
shrubbery, sun and shaded about equally.  I am so curious to see 
whether my mild climate -- summers and winters -- will give them the 
protection to germinate and grow naturally.  I also plan to plant out 
refrigerated (burritoed) seeds that have sprouted, to see if they can 
survive.  My seedbed is topped by a screen door, to protect them from 
deer, and will easily hold a blanket if we get any unaccustomed 
freezes.

Will keep y'all posted.

Patricia Brooks
Whidbey Island, WA, zone 8?




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