I tried cold stratifying Delphinium exaltatum seeds but didn’t have any luck. Any ideas?

Basil and pesto are a basic food group.
Every seed from 2010 started 1/4” deep covered with brown paper and glass to keep in moisture. Lettuce same. Every small seed.
Same basil seed last month without covering from light didn’t come up at all.
You might mention basil in your instructions.

Extremely difficult to start delphiniums.  I have tried on the surface, in the dark, under lights, on heat pads.  Very little success.  What’s the key?

how does one germinate teak trees (tectonis grandis)

Lian, Thank you for your suggestion! U of Minnesota says that basil germinates best when directly sown outdoors under 1/4” of soil http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/m1219.html

Sarah and Donna, Delphiniums are hard to germinate. The cold scarification should have worked. Cornell Univ also suggests growing delphiniums from cuttings http://www.gardening.cornell.edu/homegardening/scene09de.html

illini, The Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew have detailed instructions about growing the hard-to-germinate teak trees http://www.kew.org/plants-fungi/Tectona-grandis.htm

I’m trying to grow “fakous,” a summer squash common in the Middle East. They look like cucumber seeds but with a hard coat. I’ve nicked and soaked them to no avail. I even, as a Palestinian friend suggested, soaked them with garlic!

I’d be grateful for any tips you might have!

Allison, We have been unable to locate any Middle Eastern squash with that name.  All squash from that origin is similar to various forms of zucchini which do have a seed with a shell.  The lack of germination may have more to do with seed storage rather than the coat.  They may indeed need a sandy or peaty starting medium or a pre-soak to compromise the shell, but not knowing the actual name of the squash type, we are limited in what we can advise.

Please let us know other names for the squash and we can do further research.

Thanks for your efforts. I seem to have exhausted all my avenues to find the scientific name of the plant. So it looks like growing fakous is not in the cards for me.

I thought the seeds came from a garden center of some sort. But maybe they came from someone’s kitchen—and then who knows how they were stored!

I have had great success growing another Middle Eastern plant called “mloukhia.” Which reminds me, I’d better get it planted!

Allison, Hmm, interesting vegetable mystery! Let us know how your mioukhia grows—we are always looking for new vegetables to add to our seed offerings.

Joe Bowen

Thanks very much, Joe! Based on your suggestion I found this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mulukhiyah for Allison’s second vegetable.