Silica Gel / storing seeds
- To: pumpkins@mallorn.com
- Subject: Silica Gel / storing seeds
- From: P* O*
- Date: Mon, 1 Feb 1999 12:45:25 -0800
- References: <19990201195326.4293.qmail@hotmail.com>
On Mon, Feb 01, 1999 at 11:53:25AM -0800, Kevin Holman wrote:
> Shaun,
>
> Where do you get this gel...
Last time I checked Southern Exposure Seed Exchange did. They also carry
heat-sealable paper-poly-foil-poly pouches and an inexpensive Microseal II
heat sealer, which are great containers for freezing seeds. They have
lots of other great seed-saving goodies too.
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange
PO Box 158
North Garden, VA
22959
USA
http://www.southernexposure.com/ (home page)
http://www.gardenmedicinals.com/pages/hsupply.html-ssi (page w/ silica gel)
A pound is $12, but you can get it in 1 oz and 3 oz quantities as well.
Shauna in Spokane
> Scott_Armstrong@LNOTES3.bankofny.com wrote:
> >> here's another question, my seeds are dryed and now i'm storing them
> >> away for next year. the ones i kept anyway. in any event, what's
> the
> >> best way to store them? at the moment i have them in air tight mason
> >> jars in a dark corner of my basement. is there a better way? should
> >> they be air tight, or should i put holes in the lid? seeds that i
> >> receive from other growers that come in those teeny tiny little
> manilla
> >> envelopes, should they come out of the envelopes and into a jar?
> should
> >> they stay in the envelopes and into a jar? should they stay in the
> >> envelopes, and out of a jar? BASICALLY, what's the best way, to
> store
> >> them? :)
> >
> >The best way is to reduce their moisture content to 8% or less, then
> >freeze them in airtight containers. A quick and easy test is that
> seeds
> >will break instead of bending if their moisture level is 8% or less.
> You
> >can speed the drying of seeds by putting them in jars with silica gel,
> >which absorbs a tremendous amount of moisture, for seven or eight days.
> >Then remove the silica gel and move the seeds into a freezer.
> >Color-indicating silica gel is the best as you can tell by its color
> (pink
> >or blue) whether or not it is unable to absorb any more moisture. You
> can
> >then reuse it by drying it in a 200 degree F oven for eight hours.
> Dried
> >frozen seeds can maintain viability and vigor for years using this
> >technique.
> >
> >More details can be had in Suzanne Ashworth's excellent book "Seed to
> >Seed" on pp35-38.
> >
> >Shaun in Spokane
> >
> >--
> >Courage is not the towering oak that sees storms come and go; it is the
> >fragile blossom that opens in the snow. -Alice M. Swaim
> >
> >polaris@wolfenet.com ++ PGP email welcome
> >---------------------------------------------------------------------
> >To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
> >message text UNSUBSCRIBE PUMPKINS
>
>
> ______________________________________________________
> Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
--
Courage is not the towering oak that sees storms come and go; it is the
fragile blossom that opens in the snow. -Alice M. Swaim
polaris@wolfenet.com ++ PGP email welcome
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PUMPKINS
