I heard Paul mention in a podcast once that we
should share seed sources on here. I haven't found any posted on the forum yet, but it sounds like a grand idea, especially during these winter months. I've gotten some seed recently, so I thought I'd share.
BLACK LOCUST
I ordered 1,000 Black Locust (R. pseudoacacia) seeds from Amazon.com from the seller MySeeds.co for $12.
On Dec 27th, I took 4 seeds and to scarify them I nicked them with a knife, and then planted them. (This is harder than it sounds for me! I have to put my reading glasses on and hold a seed in tweezers because my big fat fingers can't do the job. Likely as not, the seed goes flying off into the abyss when I do this and I lose as many as I get to keep.) I also took 4 seeds and did not scarify them, but soaked them in warm
water for 3 days. I then planted them with 1/4"-1/2" soil cover. For a planting container I used one of those 72 cell cheap plastic greenhouses consisting of a 72-cell tray, a slightly larger tray to hold the cells, and a clear plastic top, costing $4.50 at wal-mart. The soil was Miracle Gro seed starter soil. (I would have preferred organic soil, but that is what my wife picked up for me when she went to town.) I put the tray under a grow light and kept it moist and in a warm place. Temperature inside the little plastic
greenhouse was 85 degrees F.
Within a week I had a sprout from one of the nicked seeds. Then another sprout of a scarified seed also appeared. Three days later I started getting sprouts from the non-scarified seeds. So at this time (Jan 8th) I have 5 sprouts total, from 3/4 of the scarified seeds (3) and 1/2 of the non-scarified seeds (2), and the tallest sprout is ~2 inches tall. So it looks like these are good seeds and soaking without scarifying works fine for these seeds. Today I picked 80 good looking seeds out of the pack and put them in a jar of water to soak for 3 days, then I'll fill up one of those 72-cell trays with these seeds.
SEA BUCKTHORN
At the same time I made the order for the black locust seeds, I got 100 Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae Rhamnoides) seeds from the seller EarthCare Seeds for $2.20. At the same time I soaked the black locust seeds I also soaked 9 sea buckthorn seeds. I did not scarify them and they soaked for 3 days. I then planted in the same container as the black locust, but with a very light soil cover. I only got one sprout, and it is still curled over and not sticking up after 2 days. Today I attempted to scarify 9 more sea buckthorn seeds (they are sort of small for this) by rubbing them along a nail file 2 times. I then put them in water to soak for 2-3 days. Most literature I read on the internet said they don't need cold stratification and nothing mentioned scarification, but this is a test. So I will soak these seeds, then plant and see what happens.
I will update as I get results.
I think Sea Buckthorn would be a good cash crop in my area. Its kind of exotic around here, I think.
I am just starting out my food forest. I don't plan to grow everything from seeds because I would like to
live to see the fruits of my labor (pun intended), but a sea buckthorn bush at Raintree nursery sells for over $20 plus shipping. Right now I have more time than money so it can't hurt to start growing some things from seeds.
I would love to hear other folks' experiences and good seed sources. Maybe start a new topic for each variety?
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