RE: [gourds] freezing seeds etc.
Lillian Kepp (gourds@globalgarden.com)
Sat, 17 Jan 98 17:59:56 PST
On Thu, 18 Dec 1997 23:57:57 -0800 Owen Kibel wrote:
>Lillian Kepp wrote:
>I've heard some contradictory information about freezing and gourd
>seeds. I think that agencies that attempt to concerve seed
resources
>freeze certain seeds at very low temperatures. On the other hand
Bill
>Ruesink once mentioned on this list that he treats the gourds that
he is
>taking seeds from differently, and brings them indoors, while those
left
>outdoors for shells cure nicely in the Illinois winter. Perhaps
freezing
>a moist gourd will harm the seeds through ice crystal formation,
whereas
>seeds that have been previously dried have very concentrated
solutions
>in their cells and are less likely to freeze; a sort of natural
>"antifreeze". Maybe gourd seeds are hardier than I think; but the
plant
>is thought to have been a native of the tropics...
>
Owen,
I'm not too worried about the gourd seeds freezing. I have thrown
out gourds that are cracked etc. right in the garden and have had
plenty of gourd plants spring up the next year. I can get down to
-10 F. here in South Central Ohio so I know the seeds have frozen.
The only reason I pull up these plants is that I have not hand
pollinated them and don't know what the cross would be. Maybe I
should let some grow just to see, might get something new. :)
It doesn't matter much that that the plants are native to the
tropics. Any one that has had "volunteer" tomato, tomatillo or
chile plants come in their garden can tell you that the seeds do
survive over the winter. And I have had all three "volunteer" for
me. In fact the best way of keeping most seeds over the winter is
to put them in the freezer. Once dried, putting them in the freezer
keeps them from absorbing any moisture from household humidity. I
have taken gourd seeds I purchased at the Ohio Gourd Show (In Oct.)
and stored them in the freezer over the winter with no problem.
I might be that if the gourd has not dried at all, and is plunged
into a deep freeze, when the seeds are still moist, damage could be
done to the seeds. But just as anything freezing inside a closed
"container" will crack or break the container, as long as the gourd
has started to dry, from say Oct to Dec. before the freeze, I'm not
afraid of damage to the seeds. If the gourd is not damaged from the
freezing, I would think the seeds would be ok. At least that is my
experience. I'm sure others have different opinions as I've read
that you should not let your seed gourds freeze. But I go by my
experience.
Try sprouting some seeds from a gourd you have let freeze outdoors.
Put a couple seeds in a paper towel and keep it moist and in a warm
place. After a few days check and see if the seeds are sprouting.
This is a good test for germination of any type of seeds. If you're
really careful you can then plant the seeds if you are careful not
to break any of the "sprout" off.
Lillian Kepp
thekepps@bright.net