TOPIC: Has Anyone Pre-Ordered Seeds for Fall Yet

Hillhopper

You should split open a few seeds and check the size and developement of the seed embryo.

Read the section on Handling Ginseng Seed before Seeding.

apps.omafra.gov.on.ca/scripts/english/cr.../article.asp?ID=1871

5mm is aprox 3/16\".

If the embryo is not developed well enough to germinate it will delay until next spring. If it can survive that long. If it's not fully developed, then I would say that it was not stratified properly.

I hope this helps.

classicfur

Classicfur,
All seed are healthy and seed shell is full and looks ready to split but they just haven't yet. Maybe they are ok, I don't know. I can't attest to the handling before I received them in Oct. It shouldn't be long before I can supply my own seed needs and I will be glad when that happens. These seed are too finicky and expensive to take a chance on someone else who may not stratify them properly.

Hillhopper

Hillhopper

The seed could be full and healthy looking, but if the embryo inside has not fill out to almost 3/5 of the inside, then it is not ready to germinate this spring.

I noticed the link I provided is not coming up. So here is the portion I was refering to. From Ontario Ginseng Update.

\" Stratified seed that has been removed from the boxes should be held at no lower than 8-10oC, but at cool temperatures (ideally > 15oC). If stratified seed is chilled (exposed to temperatures below 5oC) before planting it may result in delayed germination and seedlings emerging in the second year. One way to check whether seeds are developing well is to measure the embryo. Split the seed along the suture line. The embryo is in a sack at the micropyle end of the seed (the pore end). A well-developed embryo at the time of planting should be about 2-3 mm long. The embryo will grow over the winter and will be about 5mm at the time of germination. If the embryo is less than 2mm in length it may not germinate next spring but the spring after, if diseases have not broken it down by then.\"

I believe that if the embryo's are developed the way they should be at this time of the year. You should see most of them splitting open by now. Especially with the warm weather your having.

Today I went and checked seeds under the mulch I found about 20 seeds and they all have a little root sticking out. And the soil temp is in the 40's.

classicfur

Classicfur,
I will ask the fella that has told me this and ask him to post something on Canadian seeds and why he thinks the seed is great seed. I got this info directly from him and I do not want to speak for him. I will send him and email now.
Thanks,
Latt

Hillhopper wrote:

This is a little off topic but since we are talking seed I'll go ahead and throw this in there. I have about ten pound of seed that come from a seed source in Ohio and only but a few are up so far, a very few. Probably 50% of all the other seed planted are up and running. I checked the Ohio seed beds yesterday and the seeds are still viable and the majority of them haven't even split open yet. Here in tn we already have 3 and 4 prong unfolded and the temp has been in the 80s the past couple days. Usually all my plantings emerge about the same time but Im beginning to get a bit concerned. Any thoughts? I'm hoping there clock is adapted to a more northern climate and they are waiting a bit but I'm beginning to wonder.

hillhopper, dont get to concerned just yet it is very early in the season and you may be giving yourself undue stress. It has been my experience when planting, and this is not true every time but i have noticed it that sometimes my seed would come up slow and germinate all through the summer and some would come up as late as the end of june. with that being said however there are a few other possibilities:
1. You were sent \"green or mixed green\" seeds that were picked last august/september.
2. the seeds that you have may have gone dormant due to some temperature factor.
3. the seeds may have gone dormant due to some moisture factor.
4. My best guess would be #1, I have almost always planted in the spring here in tennessee, so when i recieve my seed i will put them back in the stratification box until around the middle of feb to hold until planting and by Feb when i take them out of the box almost all of them are smiling, cracked open . With your statement about the seeds not opening and it is now april,it is possible that you have green seed. Did you order these seeds late in the season?

Latt wrote:

I was talking to a well known ginseng expert about seed last month. He told me that Canadian ginseng seed producers are on the cutting edge and are producing some of the best Field cultivated seed out there at a fair price. .
Latt

Latt, In 2002 i planted canadian and wisconsin you can see in the photo the vast difference in seed. c=canadian w=wisc.
It was a long time ago and i dont even honestly remember which bed is which, i didnt think that 9 years later someone would want that info on the forumn. MY BAD...I will say that the seed that i bought that were from canada looked like they needed some vast improvements.

That thought has crossed my mind as well. Some were split and a lot weren't. They all are fat like they are ready but just haven't yet. I can't imagine them being green but if that's the case I'm gonna be pissed

K_Duce,
That Canadian seed sure looks pale in color in contrast to the Wisconsin seed. Thanks for the post. If I were to be offered one of those bags to buy, I would have taken a \"W\" bag. Makes me wonder now.
Thanks,
Latt

Hillhopper,
I sure hope your seed does well. I have some similar concerns as you do with some of the last seed I bought. I had posted a similar post with similar concerns recently.
Latt

Guys

I would pick the seeds with a C on them. I have never seen seeds that were an orange/rust color and they are all uniform in color.

This is What Pritts Ginseng book says about healthy seeds.

\"To tell if seeds are good, look them over carefully when you receive them. They should range from off white to dark brown in color and be firm. Some of the seeds will have started to crack open by fall...\"

All the seeds I have bought have had a variance in color, not like the ones with the W on them. Then again I have only been planting seeds for seven years.

Heres some photos of what they should look like:

www.hardingsginsengfarm.com/images/71259-r1-07-8a_008.jpg

www.bsmginseng.com/images/bsm_seeds.jpg

www.wildgrown.com/buy_ginseng_seeds.htm

ohioline.osu.edu/for-fact/0057.html

None of these seeds look like the one in the bags marked with a W.


This is what the canadian Ginseng Production Guide says about color of seeds:

\"Color of seeds: this is not a determining factor as it is a
function of how the seed was depulped
and the material they were mixed with
during the stratification period.\"

I think the biggest factor of Quality Seeds is that they are Stratified properly and free from disease. Which is some times difficult to tell by the appearance of the seeds. Thats why it is important to buy seeds from someone that knows what they are doing(reputable Dealer).

classicfur

Classicfur
I was thinking the \"W\" seed looked brown. Now that you mention it they do appear a little bit orange. Maybe its the light? What do I know. Sometimes it's hard to tell from a pic.
Good luck everyone.
Latt