Seeds and sowing

"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you sow." Robert Louis Stevenson A History of SeedsAnimal Kingdom, Plant Kingdom Strange universe, this plant kingdom, so far removed from the animal kingdom to which we belong. It seems that during evolution, it has almost systematically taken the opposite approach to the reproductive strategy that characterizes us. In our kingdom, once there has been fertilization, whether it is an egg or a fetus, there will be birth, then growth after a given number of days. And this, whatever the circumstances. It is quite different with seed plants. These plant ovules, once fertilized, will wait for the right moment to germinate. To do this, they dehydrate (a seed contains only 5 to 18% water) to be able to wait - we then say that the seed enters "dormancy", the blessed one - until the conditions are optimal for germination. A somewhat risky strategy one might think, since the longer one waits, the greater the risk of crossing paths with predators. But nature has found a way around this difficulty: abundance. It is by the dozens, even by the thousands, that many plants will produce seeds during their lifetime. Think of the approximately 18,000 seeds that some varieties of amaranth are capable of emitting in just one short season! Orphans This strategy based on waiting is not the only essential difference that distinguishes the choice of the mode of reproduction of plants and animals. Whether we have children or, excuse the comparison, just observe animals, we find that, as a general rule, the presence of at least one of the parents is essential, at least for the first few days. It's quite the opposite for our beloved plants, which, in the majority of cases, will do their best to keep their offspring away and spread them at all costs. It's their turn to try their luck far from parents whose presence could prove quite cumbersome. And that's why it works! Once the gardener understands that a seed doesn't need mom and dad to start life and that it's also naturally rather patient, they can theoretically sow just about anything that grows. The "only" difficulty, therefore, is knowing exactly how long a seed can wait and what it's waiting for. As a general rule, vegetable seeds are not very demanding: a little warmth, a little soil cover and plenty of water to rehydrate. Then, diversifying your crops multiplies the number of factors to know. Lettuce does not germinate in the same conditions as tomatoes ... It is true that, quickly, this ultimately adds up to a considerable amount of data to know and that this data is often very approximate on commercial seed packets. Did you know, for example, that at more than 22° C, it is almost impossible to germinate lettuce? Or that while a zucchini can germinate from 15° C, its optimum germination temperature is around 31° C? During germination, the plant "releases" the cotyledons contained in the seed. These reserves allow it to feed itself before the first true leaves appear. Find all our seeds