Experimenting With Cold Conditioning Seeds
Lavender seeds and I haven't been pals. I've only attempted to grow them a couple times. The last time was last year and they bombed. When I lived at home with mom I also planted seeds directly in the ground. I thought it didn't work, but mom told me years later that she saw some come up for a while.
Part of my recent order from Horizon Herbs was herb seeds for a medicinal garden including lavender seeds. The instructions call for cold conditioning seeds which is also known as stratification. It's a process of pre-treating the seeds in order to stimulate seed growth, in this instance with a cold and moist environment.
I've just tried this with my old nemesis lavender. According to instructions for cold conditioning here from Horizon Herbs, if you don't want to do this outdoors you can do it by planting the seeds in soil and placing it in the fridge for the required amount of time.
For lavender, the site recommends a two-week, cold-conditioning period. I planted the seeds in small pellet disks and put them in a covered plastic tray in the fridge for 2 weeks, then pulled them out and left them at room temp. Within a few days, the plants were peeking through. This has never happened for me so quickly with lavender. I'll eventually plant the lavender outside directly in the ground and hope for the best.
I'm also experimenting with comfrey seeds. From what I've read, comfrey is supposed to be easy to grow anyway, but the seed packet recommended a cold growing period, so I'm trying cold conditioning.
I know herbs for medicinal purposes aren't on every prepper's list of things to start growing right away, but I think it's a good idea to start experimenting even if it's just with a couple here and there. You never know when you might need to be your own herbal doctor. I've been using herbal remedies for years, so it's not new to me, but I have a lot to learn as far as growing them. Lavender is actually also used for tea and is edible (try it in shortbread cookies, yum). Many herbs serve more than one purpose including those considered mostly culinary. In upcoming posts I'll share some medicinal properties of herbs and how to use them.
© P.J. Deneen
Part of my recent order from Horizon Herbs was herb seeds for a medicinal garden including lavender seeds. The instructions call for cold conditioning seeds which is also known as stratification. It's a process of pre-treating the seeds in order to stimulate seed growth, in this instance with a cold and moist environment.
I've just tried this with my old nemesis lavender. According to instructions for cold conditioning here from Horizon Herbs, if you don't want to do this outdoors you can do it by planting the seeds in soil and placing it in the fridge for the required amount of time.
For lavender, the site recommends a two-week, cold-conditioning period. I planted the seeds in small pellet disks and put them in a covered plastic tray in the fridge for 2 weeks, then pulled them out and left them at room temp. Within a few days, the plants were peeking through. This has never happened for me so quickly with lavender. I'll eventually plant the lavender outside directly in the ground and hope for the best.
I'm also experimenting with comfrey seeds. From what I've read, comfrey is supposed to be easy to grow anyway, but the seed packet recommended a cold growing period, so I'm trying cold conditioning.
I know herbs for medicinal purposes aren't on every prepper's list of things to start growing right away, but I think it's a good idea to start experimenting even if it's just with a couple here and there. You never know when you might need to be your own herbal doctor. I've been using herbal remedies for years, so it's not new to me, but I have a lot to learn as far as growing them. Lavender is actually also used for tea and is edible (try it in shortbread cookies, yum). Many herbs serve more than one purpose including those considered mostly culinary. In upcoming posts I'll share some medicinal properties of herbs and how to use them.
© P.J. Deneen
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