Cleaning Phoenix Dactylifera Seeds

[earthworm73]

I have tried multiple times to germinate true date palm seeds in the past and have had all of them grow mold. The reason being more than likely I left too much flesh on the seeds and maybe more water retention in my mix. So my question is what is the best method of removing the flesh on the seeds? In the past I would soak the seeds soon after eating the dates and trying to pick off the visible flesh. This time I am going to let the seeds dry for a week or two in my laundry room then try to scrub off any flesh before soaking. Am I on the right track?

[lucky1]

I wouldn't let them dry, earthworm.

I started some last year and after chewing the hell out of them soaked them in tepid water for 3 or 4 days.
Added 5 or 6 drops of 3% hydrogen peroxide to the water, changing the water every day, and renewing the hydrogen peroxide each time.
Scratch/Rub them, even when wet (messy) with sandpaper before planting.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/5572094308/" title="DSC04619 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5251/5572 ... a329_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="DSC04619"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/6582595713/" title="DSC05194 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7159/6582 ... 9c91_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="DSC05194"></a>

Use a cactus mix to ensure it's free-draining and won't waterlog.
Keep very warm, a germinating mat is good.
Use saran wrap over top so they don't dry out.

Mist seeds (add hydrogen peroxide to the misting water), replace saran wrap.

My seedling pots are on a concrete floor warmed by basement woodstove, and came up within a few weeks if I recall.

Let us know how it's going.

For very large seeds (like Foxtails) you can even put them all into an OLD pillowcase (hide the results from W... ) TIE IT VERY TIGHTLY, and put it through a hot water wash in washing machine. But that's another story!

Barb

[lucky1]

Oh, and one more thing:

Just press seeds (horizontally) to soil to make contact, don't bury them.
At least HALF the seed should be showing.
And that's why MISTING is good because it doesn't move the seed from contact with the soil, like a watering can does.

Barb

[lucky1]

Sheesh...can't get my brain organized today

Instead of saran wrap, use these as they provide some air around the seed to minimize mold:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/8365371168/" title="002 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8054/8365 ... 38b1_z.jpg" width="480" height="640" alt="002"></a>

For very small seeds, recycle take-out containers:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southslope/8365385492/" title="003 by edible_plum, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8510/8365 ... 13cb_z.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt="003"></a>

That's it...I think.

Let us know!
Barb

[RoboCaesar]

Did you get it to work earthworm? Barb is right about using some hydrogen peroxide solution. That stuff is awesome! (I often use it when watering my majesty palm as well).

Back in May, when I germinated some phoenix dactylifera seeds, I let the seeds soak in water for a few days after removing as much of the fruit as I could. After that, I let the seeds soak in a hydrogen peroxide solution for a while. When I planted the seeds though, I didn't actually put plastic over the container for extra humidity. I just put the seeds a bit below the surface and kept the soil moist. After a few weeks, I got tired of seeing fungus gnats and no strap leaves. I just put the container outside where the poor seeds faced heavy rainfall and occasional temperatures in the 40s. A few weeks later though, I saw the first strap leaves.

I seem to have really bad luck with sealed or almost sealed containers when germinating seeds. I'm really good at growing mold in those containers though.