Propagation: Legumes like Giberellin!, 3 by tlcnate

tlcnate wrote:
We've been experimenting with Gibberellin for seed germination. We have some exotic chiles from Oaxaca, Mexico that are not available in our area (San Diego, CA) or in nearby Tijuana. Sadly, our success rate with chile seeds was limited but we did manage to germinate some Chilhuacles and Chiltepin which we hope to develop to full fruiting plants.

Much better success occurred when we tried the Gibberellin with legumes. We used a 1:124 dilution of MegaGro (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004DR3UX0/ref=oh_details_o...) on all seeds. We first "scarified" the seeds by lightly scratching them with an exacto knife. Then we placed them on a coffee filter (non-bleached) sprayed with the solution and then wrapped in a piece of paper towel soaked in a bit of filtered tap water for added moisture. These went into 2" X 3" 2 mil poly bags (http://www.staples.com/plastic zip bag/directory_plastic zip...) labeled as to the date and type of seed.

We had waited about three weeks for the chile seeds to germinate so it came as quite a surprise when the legume seeds all sprouted within four to five days! Two or three more days and the little seedlings were working their way out of the poly bags so we transplanted to a tray and in a week they are ready to go to the ground.