With 220 different species to grow and plant, getting the right seed and germinating it can be quite a process.
Seed Processing Steps
- Collection from the right plant during the right month
- Drying the collected material
- Separate the seed from husks, stalks and leafs
- Washing and or cleaning the seed
- Fermenting fruit mash for 3 days to kill bacteria and fungi at 20-24 C
- Separate by washing and or cleaning
- Drying again to a low moisture content
- Storage in a container at the correct temperature and humidity
Seed Treatment Steps (possible)
- Soak in water
- Freeze
- Heat up
- Scarify hard seed coats eg Kowhai
Seed Sowing
- Sow in seed trays and grow pots under cover.
- Watch for seedlings last week of September.
Equipment
So after doing this for a few years, I wondered if there was a way to make and use simple DIY equipment to help with seed processing. It turns out there is a way. Large commercial nurseries and crop farmers may process their own seed using specialist equipment which costs a bit.
Searching on Google, there are loads of small scale things you can make in a home workshop that will do the same job. I'm going to have a go. Below are links and videos to some of the stuff I found.
Searching on Google, there are loads of small scale things you can make in a home workshop that will do the same job. I'm going to have a go. Below are links and videos to some of the stuff I found.
- Realseeds (has plans for these air separating seed cleaners).
- Kimseed (specialises in great equipment for labs and revegetation projects in Oz).
- Seed Processing and Storage Principles and practices of seed harvesting processing and storage (PDF on ResearchGate).
- A list of seed saving techniques.
great post
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