Alternative to Smokey Water

Water that has had smoke percolated through it is not always easy to
prepare or to obtain. Here is an alternative that I use to stimulate the
germination of seeds adapted to sprout in response to fire. The
advantage to this method is that it utilizes readily available household
items. One may argue that it is not as convenient as smokey water.
However, that argument applies only if one has a ready source of smokey
water and not if you have to make your own smokey water or have it
shipped from a foreign country.

I sow the seed in small pots, lightly burying them with a shallow layer
of soil and then ensuring that the pots are thoroughly watered. Using
aluminum foil, I prepare a collar about 3 inches (7.5 cm.) tall that is
fitted on the inside rim of the pot. Next, I tear up some tissue paper
(toilet paper works well) and place a small quantity of the paper strips
on the surface of the pot. I put a match to the paper strips and, as
soon as the fire dies out, I take a sprayer filled with water and spray
the ashes (this is done to get as much of the chemicals in the ashes
into the upper layer of the soil surface where the seeds are).

Besides utilizing readily available materials, my method has another
advantage over smokey water. Fire has three components, all of which may
hasten germination: (1) heat; (2) production of various gases
(especially ethylene); and (3) combustion by-products (smoke and ash).
Smokey water lacks the first two components of a fire (heat and gases)
and is not effective on species that respond to heat or gases. My method
subjects the seed to all three influences of a fire, thus covering "all
angles" so to speak.

I have had spectacular results with this method and, once I adopted it,
was able to germinate a wide variety of South African seeds that had
previously proven impossible to germinate.
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