Seed Scarification Hack-Sandpaper

If you're starting from seed and need to scarify several seeds using sandpaper can save you some time and hassle. Sometimes the seeds are too small to hold each one while you nick the seed coat or sometimes you have a lot of seeds you need to get started for planting in your garden.

Aside from the seeds all you need is just need a really rough piece of sandpaper to do this. You simply place your seeds on your piece of sandpaper like in the image and then place a second piece on top to cover your seeds.

Place one or both of your hands flat on the top piece of sandpaper and move your hands in a circle going clockwise then do it counter clockwise while pressing down. Repeat the circular motion going in both direction until you notice that you've nicked the outer seed coat sufficiently.

This is a quick and easy way to get many seeds ready for soaking in warm water, if you're not inclined to do nick them all one at a time.

If you're thinking of starting from seed consider starting them in a Ghetto Greenhouse or using the Baggie Method if you don't have the space to create a greenhouses from soda bottles. They're both easy and inexpensive methods methods of starting your own plants from seeds.

Stratification And Scarification-GardeningTerms Hacked

Two terms that sometimes confuse people who are new to gardening and even some old timers are Seed Stratification and Seed Scarification. The words look similar and sometimes one word is used when you really intended to use the other.

Seed Stratification-simply put, is a cold moist period a seed needs in order to germinate. Some seeds cannot germinate immediately after being collected and need to go through a stratification period. You can stratify seeds in two ways; one is to build yourself a seed starter greenhouse using plastic soda bottles during the cold winter months and allow nature to do it's thing. You can place the seeds in moist peat or sand in the refrigerator using a (sandwich bag) for a period of about 3-6 weeks at about 42F and try to simulate nature this way if you can't do it outdoors. During this period make sure to keep the seeds moist because water an integral part to seed germination. Some seeds require a period of cold followed by a period of warmth then another period of cold before they will germinate. Either way is a good Do-It-Yourself method of seed starting when your seeds need a stratifying. This is a popular method people use to start apple seeds.

Seed Scarification- simply put, is the breaking or penetrating of the outer seed layer. Nature have developed many methods to accomplish this task. Sometimes seeds need to pass through the digestive track of an animal before they will break dormancy or be exposed to fluctuations in temperature or exposed to gases. Growers and some serious gardeners may use acids to get the seeds to germinate but that can be dangerous. You can accomplish the same thing by rubbing the hard seed coat with a file or sandpaper. I got past the hard seed coat of several Cannas last spring by boiling water and dropping the seeds in allowing them to soak until they absorbed water and swelled. Once you've scarified a seed it will need to be soaked in water from anywhere from a couple of hours to overnight before you sow them.