Sinicuichi, Wild Dagga, Dream Herb, and Catnip Grow Log

[JustAnotherRegularGuy]

Plants: Sinicuichi, Wild Dagga, & Dream Herb
Started From: All 3 from Seeds
Quick Notes: Got the seeds...

I have become interested in other herbs besides Salvia and ordered some Sinicuichi, Wild Dagga, & Dream Herb seeds to grow which got from Bouncing Bear Botanicals. Shipping was fast and I got them in just a few days. I picked these 3 herbs because they seem to have some effect when consumed and are legal without a doubt. The seeds for Sinicuichi and Wild Dagga are super small and at first glance I thought someone had taken the seeds out of the plastic bags and there was just particles of plant matter left....but on closer inspection I noticed the seeds are just really, really, really and I mean really small! I've got a pretty busy week ahead of me and don't know if I will have time to plant them yet, but will post again when I finally do. Here is a picture of what i received:



JARG

[JustAnotherRegularGuy]

Report Day: 1
Temp: 72° F
Humidity: 80%-90%
Height: 0"
Note: Seeds planted...

Cool, I had a few hours and got my 3 new seeds planted tonight. I have this nifty seedling starter kit complete with a heating pad. I filled 15 of the containers with some damp Jiffy Soil-less mix. The dream herb seeds were pretty easy to pick up by hand and drop in a hole. However, the other two types of seeds (Wild Dagga, and Sinicuichi) were impossible to handle with my bare hands. The only way I could think to pick them up was to wet the end of a toothpick and touch about 5 seeds to pick them up, and then wipe the toothpick in the soil to get the 5 seeds off. I wasn't even sure I was picking up seeds as they were soooooo small. That's why I picked up 5 seeds for each container, plus I want to start with two good plants of each kind so I planted more than I needed to allow for the probability that some won't germinate. I didn't bother posting pictures of the other two seeds because my camera just couldn't take a picture to see anything worthwhile.

After I got the seeds in the soil, I spritzed the damp soil to make the seed area wet to start the germinating process (hopefully)...


Breaking open the seed pack of the dream herb. Bouncing Bear wasn't kidding when they say there are thousands of seeds in the package you buy! Notice in this picture you can actually see the grain of the computer paper! These were pretty small as well, but manageable with bare fingers.



This is the seedling starter kit I planted my new seeds in.



In place sitting on the heating pad. Now I wait until I see sprouting of some kind.....


JARG

[DrYRHead]

I've been trying to grow some Calea too. However thus far, I have not been able to get it to germinate.   

[JustAnotherRegularGuy]

It's been a week and nothing has popped above the soil. I have turned off the heating pad under the tray and will try germinating new seeds in moist paper towel to see what happens. Do the seeds have a short shelf life?

JARG

[JustAnotherRegularGuy]

Well, no luck with the wet paper towel either.... This is frustrating. I sent an email to Bouncing Bear to ask them if they have any suggestions on getting the seeds to germinate. hopefully they have something positive to tell me. in the mean time, does anyone know a good place to buy a live Wild Dagga (Lion's Tale) plant? That is the one I am most interested in.

JARG

[MstryShovel]

thats a sad event when none of the seeds have germinated, some things to keep in mind although im not sure if it directly relates to the seeds you have.
1) some seeds have to go through the digestive system of animals to germinate.
2) a good idea with seeds if you are trying to get them to germinate mid summer or off season is to put them in the fridge for a day or two, this tricks the seed into thinking winter passed, and becomes easyer to germinate
(some seeds need this trick)
3) seeds get less potent with time and you could have gotten the short end of the stick and gotten old seeds.

though i have heard good things about bouncing bear, ive never ordered from them. this spring i ordered  Silene capensis, Mimosa Hostilis, and kanna (Sceletium tortuosum) from IAmShaman.com and even though there was a disclaimer on the mimosa and kanna for low germination rates, 50% of what i tried germinating, germinated (30-40% increase over warning) though the silene never germinated i didnt germinate it the way i should have.

also seeds like the dream herb produce so many seeds because of 2 main reasons, they are prone to being eaten/destroyed by the environ and the validity(likelyhood of producing a real plant) of each individual seed is very low, its like common grass, it produces 1000 seeds because half are going to be eaten, and half of that leftover half are never going to germinate and of the ones that do germinate 25% of those are going to survive past infancy so when your dealing with a 5% survoival rate.... anyways i got off topic with my point my point is plants that produce 3000 seeds arent going to germinate much. so its a tossup, especialy with grass-like plants like "the dream herb"

its funny how plants like this get simmilar names my silene capensis seeds are also known as the dream herb, its a grass like plant that grows in swamps the roots are chewed among other things to increase the potency and lucidity of your dreams.

my last bit of advice is this, when buying things like seeds, even though its from a reputable vendor things do get "out of season" its like buying fruit at a grocery store, buying strawberries in january is going to be expensivve an they probably wont taste very good, meaning buying seeds at the time of year when they are fresh is best, aka try bruing them in early spring as apposed to middle of summer (though i know you started this topic a while ago) Also great seedly chamber, you should have started all rows of that chamber with your new seeds, playing along with my 5% survival starting 20 pods of each seed will give you better chances then 5 pods you feel me? when i was starting all types of my seeds(more than i wrote(things like pepermint catnip ect) i had about 10 of each,  and the strongest pods i kept alive and actualy planted. its like growing pot, you germinate 15 seeds and the fastest growing 4 of those you keep alive and replant and by the 5th node you can tell sex and you destroy all the males, survival of the fittest and all that.

anyways good luck on the seeds in the future, fold them in a paper towel and set them in a small amount of water for 2 days, if any have changed/cracked/sprouted a tap root, plant them and you know you have a new live plant.

also another good rule of thumb is something the indians taught us (if your american) plant 3 seeds 1 for the crow, 1 for the meal worm and 1 to grow, aka if you are not pre germinating them(water soak) increase your odds and put more seeds per pod.

[JustAnotherRegularGuy]

Thanks MstryShovel, you've given me some ideas to try. I have just put the seeds in the fridge and will leave them there for 2 days. Then fill up every position in my seed chamber with dirt and plant 3-5 seeds per hole. That will give me 24 holes for each type of seed and with 3-5 seeds per hole I should have 72-120 seeds of each kind planted. Hopefully something from that will sprout. I am also going to place the rest of the seeds in a paper towel in some water for a few days and see if any start a tap root that way. And if none of that works, I'll order seeds again in the early spring.

JARG