NICKING MORNING GLORY SEEDS
Jane Bowe
soaking them overnight. Just exactly does "nick" mean. Do I use an emery
board or get out my husband's tool box? How deep does the nick need to be -
these seeds are tough!! I thought about scraping them with finger nail
scissors to sctratch the surface. Help? I haven't got a clue and I really
want these seeds to work> Thanks for any advice.
--
Suzi Armagost
> My morning glory seed package says to "nick" the seeds with a file before
> soaking them overnight.
Jane,
I used a fingernail clipper on my moonflower vine seeds and it worked very
well. Last year I tried the emery board on morning glories and it didn't
work worth squat. Good Luck.
Suzi
Beth Livingston
Suzi Armagost <suz...@archone.tamu.edu> wrote:
>In article <3onts8$c...@lucy.infi.net>, jan...@infi.net (Jane Bowe) wrote:
>
>> My morning glory seed package says to "nick" the seeds with a file before
>> soaking them overnight.
>
decided to just give those babies an overnight soak. Actually, I waited
an extra day to be in synch with lunar phases, which gave them time to
gently crack open a little. Planted them, and they are going great! I
don't think the nicking part is necessary, if you just soak them
instead. Happy gardening!
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APrin30978
This year
I then soaked them for almost 2 days in a teacup of water and put them in
peatpots under my grow lights. To my amazement, they sprouted in 3 days
and are very healthy. I am starting to put them out now, so don't know
the end
result, but they look OK.
Good luck
Ann
Cyn3A
I just put mine in peat pots and they all came up!
Good Luck.......... try a few different ways and see what happens!
-Cynthia
Janice Wright
I didn't bother scratching mine at all, I soaked them in a paper towel for
24 hrs, and the roots had already begun to grow through the seed casing,
so I planted them. 5 days later the sprouts are an inch tall; so I don't
think nicking or scratching is absolutely necessary.
Janice
--
____________________________________________________________________________
Janice Wright ai...@freenet.carleton.ca
**************Currently gainfully employed in Ottawa, Ontario***************
*******Any town with a bar called Zaphod Beeblebrox can't be all bad!*******
L. R. Fortney
> My morning glory seed package says to "nick" the seeds with a file before
> soaking them overnight. Just exactly does "nick" mean. Do I use an emery
> board or get out my husband's tool box? How deep does the nick need to be -
> these seeds are tough!! I thought about scraping them with finger nail
> scissors to sctratch the surface. Help? I haven't got a clue and I really
> want these seeds to work> Thanks for any advice.
>
Just plant the suckers. They'll grow, flower, drop seed everywhere,
and then you can spend the next ten years or so pulling up vines that
produce only little purple flowers.
--
Lloyd Fortney, Physics Dept, Duke University ---Opinions are mine---
Mike Frizzell
>
> My morning glory seed package says to "nick" the seeds with a file before
> soaking them overnight. Just exactly does "nick" mean. Do I use an emery
> board or get out my husband's tool box? How deep does the nick need to be -
> these seeds are tough!! I thought about scraping them with finger nail
> scissors to sctratch the surface. Help? I haven't got a clue and I really
> want these seeds to work> Thanks for any advice.
>
Hi Jane:
Yes, an emery board will work. Hold the seed firmly and simply file
away at the same area until a small amount of the dark seed coat has
worn away to reveal the lighter-colored (sometimes off-white or tan)
interior. Morning Glory seeds have relatively thick and very durable
coats. Larger Morning Glory relatives (e.g. Moon Flower) have even
tougher seeds than say, the popular Heavenly Blue.
Good luck!
Mike Frizzell
friz...@umbc7.umbc.edu
kl...@cobra.uni.edu
> My morning glory seed package says to "nick" the seeds with a file before
> soaking them overnight. Just exactly does "nick" mean. Do I use an emery
> board or get out my husband's tool box? How deep does the nick need to be -
> these seeds are tough!! I thought about scraping them with finger nail
> scissors to sctratch the surface. Help? I haven't got a clue and I really
> want these seeds to work> Thanks for any advice.
You probably really don't need to nick them, but it just means chipping
a bit off the seed coat or filing a bit from the seed coat so that
water can penetrate easily. Makes germination much faster.
When I'm nicking seeds by hand, I'll usually use a SHARP single edge
razor blade if the seed is flat, or rub the seed over a file, of the
type I think is called a bastard file... for smoothing metal.
We mechanized cotton seed nicking by using a Dremel moto-tool and
a grinder head (only lost a few bits of ends of fingers!) ;-) or
the side of a bench grinder.
It's a tedious job, and I'll often toss a few seeds into straight
chlorine bleach (10% sodium hypochlorite) for a few minutes to several
hours, removing when the seed coat looks very bleached. Rinse well
and germinate. Careful experimentation with soak times may give you
very high germination rates with little work.
Kay Klier kl...@cobra.uni.edu
Nancy Moote
>
>My morning glory seed package says to "nick" the seeds with a file before
>soaking them overnight.
>
I divided my seeds into 4 batches (20 seeds each) and did this:
Batch 1: nicked seeds lightly with a knife and soaked 24 hours
Batch 2: used nail clippers (easier but crushed the seed a bit) and
soaked 24 hours
Batch 3: soaked 24 hours (did not scar the seed first)
Batch 4: did nothing.
Each batch then went into a pot of vermiculite on top of the fridge.
Two weeks later, Batch 3 and 4 each have 4 seeds germinated and
Batch 1 and 2 each have 3 seeds germinated.
What does this prove? Probably that this is not a very viable batch of
seed! (I saved them from last year's flowers.) But the nicking/soaking
did not seem to help at all and it is quite a chore since the seeds are
so hard and slippery. I won't bother next time.
--- Nancy Moote
ghis...@darkwing.uoregon.edu
>
> My morning glory seed package says to "nick" the seeds with a file before
> board or get out my husband's tool box? How deep does the nick need to be -
> these seeds are tough!! I thought about scraping them with finger nail
> scissors to sctratch the surface. Help? I haven't got a clue and I really
> want these seeds to work> Thanks for any advice.
>
> I use my little sharp kitchen paring knife to cut into the inside white
part of the seed. You'll lose about a quarter from slicing too hard, about a quarter
probably won't grow, but about half will germinate quickly in warm soil or a damp towel.
Then beware! Morning glories will take over your entire yard and garden!
Good luck. (I've started growing morning glories only in containers on my deck and I love
the privacy they give from NEARBY--10 feet--neighbor's decks.
ghis...@darkwing.uoregon.edu
Steve Carnes
>When I'm nicking seeds by hand, I'll usually use a SHARP single edge
>razor blade if the seed is flat, or rub the seed over a file, of the
>type I think is called a bastard file...
"Excuse me sir, I'd like to buy a file."
"Certainly -- what kind? A flat bastard?"
"No, probably one of them round sonsabitches."
go...@idirect.com
bursting open. Planted, they appear in 4 or 5 days.
Gord
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