Allotments 4 All

Does anyone know why the instructions say soak the seed in orange juice for 24 hours before sowing please?

G x

Orange juice is quite acid, so maybe it's to soften the seed coating?

Quote from: Robert_Brenchley on March 29, 2009, 21:47:59
Orange juice is quite acid, so maybe it's to soften the seed coating?

Well that's what I thought too but plenty of other seeds need a soaking over night in water, don't they?  I just wondered if this was something peculiar to Passiflora edulis?

G x

If that is passion flower, then yes I have heard that these seeds are better soaked in orange juice over night too.

Quote from: PurpleHeather on March 30, 2009, 08:23:22
If that is passion flower, then yes I have heard that these seeds are better soaked in orange juice over night too.

I'm still curious to know why.

G x

Presumably they only germinate after being "digested" in the wild, just like some plant seeds only germinate after "burning"...  :-\

Quote from: saddad on March 30, 2009, 16:49:26
Presumably they only germinate after being "digested" in the wild, just like some plant seeds only germinate after "burning"...  :-\

Yes that could be it I guess.  But I've had very good gernination rates with the ornamental varieties where I've simply sown the fresh seed direct into potting compost.  And in my experience I sometimes think that seed companies make things more complicated than need be, hence my question.

G x

Possibly they an do, but seed company seed is never really fresh. Even seed from specialist firms like POD, which has been properly stored, can be harder to germinate than really fresh stuff from a swop. They may just be erring on the safe side.