Couldn't wait!!

[dash]

Hi Folks,
My host-as have been done for a couple of weeks (except First Frost which hung on impressively) and Iv'e been collecting seed like a mad man. I was going to wait until December to start seed but I just couldn't wait. Today I put two full trays on the refrigerator about 120 plants. I know it's an early start but my curiosity has gotten the best of me. Many seeds did not look viable through a magnifying glass so I planted multiple per disc. I plan on setting up more room in the basement and asking Santa wife for more growing equipment . Anyway I though I'd share my excitement with fanatics of like mind. Thanks for listening.-- DASH

[thy]

Sounds good !
Have fun

[renaldo75]

It's great to be excited. I've been cleaning seed. Told myself that I'd wait to plant any until the hybridizing experiment in the atrium is over.
So now that the last 2 plants I brought in from the garden have finished blooming, what do I tell myself??

Good luck with your seeds, Dash!!

[dash]

Thanks,
I'll have to let you know how many I end up with. Blue Angel looked really good , most of the others were questionable. They didn't have that tad-pole look but they were dark.

[thy]

If you have them beteen your fingers you can feel the little seed/nut inside as a very tiny round thing

[ViolaAnn]

I have a few scapes in sugar water, hoping to mature the seeds a bit more because they were really late bloomers.

I've found that some plants are inconsistent from year to year as to how well they develop seeds. One year I might have a lot. The next year either none or very few and while I might have a lot of black wings, I sometimes don't have well developed seeds inside them.

Like some of you above, I'm beginning to clean my seeds. Am hoping for seeds from Ice Age Trail, particularly the streaky pod and from a streaked sport of Pewterware.

[dash]

Sounds great Ann,
I can't wait to see how your streakers do. I planted some Francee Streaked but the seeds didn't look very well developed. Others I planted weren't official streaked plants but had multiple variegation (very colorful kind of streaky).

Pia,
I used a large magnifier to look for viable seed. Some were kind of iffy. I picked from eleven packs that I am hoping will give me something unique. I cleaned about forty bunches of seed in total. I left the plain greens on the plant to self seed. Fun..Fun ... Fun

[renaldo75]

I've been using an old 'melamine' plate to clean seeds on. If the seed kernel looked underdeveloped/iffy, I would drop it on the plate from several inches above it. If there was a definite sound when it dropped, I kept it. Otherwise it went to the opposite side of the plate & then into the garbage bag.

After receiving seed last winter from Jeff White aka allnitro aka blackhawkgiboshi, I take seed cleaning a step further. I get a bunch of seed in the palm of my left hand and rub my right hand into them & keep rubbing. Eventually all of the black husks are left on your palms and the seed are cleaned. With some, it takes several rubbings. And any that aren't really good seed disintegrate in the process. And then you can sort out the seed without all the other 'junk'. Takes some extra time, but... I think it's worth it. Cleaning your hands afterward looks like it will be difficult. [Looks like you've been working in a coal mine.] But a little soap and water and all of that ground-in black chaff is down the drain quickly.

Ann - do you have a picture of your streaked 'Pewterware'? That sounds like a great find to me!! I'm a big fan of Don Dean's hybridizing.

[dash]

Thanks Renaldo,
I'll have to give that a try. Always looking for proven results.

[renaldo75]

I was really getting into my seed cleaning the last day I worked on them.
Almost sorry to not have anymore to clean.