HYB: TB my experiences with germination

Regarding my experiences with germination of TB's seeds.
 I've determined there's no real 'set in stone' way
 that will work the same way every time for me.
I've rinsed seeds for five days or until water was clean, okay this remains
consistant and works.
I've planted the seeds fresh out of the pod, soaked them, peat potted them,
burrito'd seeds, and placed them in plastic bags with a enough fresh water to
 cover the seeds.
The main consistant factor has been a chilling period in the fridge
 of 2.5 to 4 months for any seeds that were going to germinate
 'right away' after that chill.
Granted, when I planted TB crossed seeds directly after harvesting, just as
the pod
 starts to turn brown, I've had some success.
This was a while back and I don't recall the exact percentage or number of
days after planting, but
 germination was extremely low. However, being the first cross I'd ever made,
I was excited
 to get something like 3 seedlings from about 80 seeds :)
I'd later read about chilling the seeds and experimented with several
different
 methods and also planted several seeds outside directly.
The chill factor definitely was consistant, no matter how I set
 the seeds up, plastic bags, trays, etc. and germination rates improved.
I believe Chuck Chapman noted suffocation of seeds.
It's easy enough to do if you have seeds in trays, (my trays are plastic
tupperware containers with
 potting soil or peat moss), or bags, when some germinate
 and you rechill them, it seems.
I've had some seeds germinate in plastic bags the second year after several
 seeds in that same bag germinated the first year after 3 weeks.
I haven't experienced any consistant indoor or outdoor method yet.
Each method seems to work about as well as any other method.
Out of seeds that I planted outdoors, some germinated the next season, as I
figured,
 some germinated two years later and some germinated 3 years later.
I can't pinpoint any specific conditions or indoor methods that work
 'foolproof' better than any that anyone else is experimenting with.
As for outside growth, we all are limited by our local growing conditions.
I take what I can get to germainate :) and work with those.
I, fortunately, can plant outside and acquire seedlings the next growing
season.

I, myself, prefer using ziplock or plastic baggies with either freshly shelled
seeds or dried seeds just covered
 with water. Usually placing the seeds in baggies just after the pods start to
dry and
 turn brown.
I will watch the baggies the first few days and change water as it browns.
then when the water no longer discolors, I leave the seeds and water in the
baggies.
I agitate the baggies by shaking them, maybe that doesn't help at all, but I
still do it.
After about 2 months, I start checking the baggies daily for germination.
by 3 to 4 months, any seeds that ARE going to germinate, start germinating.
When I see signs of germination, I wait about one more week for the 'root' to
further
 develop.
I then pick those seeds that are germinating out of the plastic bags and place
them in peat pots and just
 cover the seeds and root over. I place the remaining seeds in water in the
bags back in my fridge.
At this point, I've found, the developing seeds have to be kept very damp.
if that exposed root dries, the seedling will die before it develops any
further.
LOTS of water on the peat pods/pots and direct overhead flourescent light,
almost on top of the pots
 will help them warm up and grow rapidly.
I haven't experienced loss as they warm up, only if I let the developing
root/seedling dry too much.
The seeds/seedling at this point are extremely susceptable to drying out
fast.
After a week to two weeks with good strong/consistant light and plenty of
moisture/water, your little seedlings should have a good start.
I'm not sure about how much fertilizer to use when the seedlings are new, so
I
 stopped fertilizing after I killed a few seedlings with only a very small
amount.
 
Steve   zone 4b   minnesota

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