What to Know About Introducing Edible Fungi and a Detailed Guide to Flower Seed Storage Methods

Dry - Keeping dry is the main condition for preventing seeds from deteriorating. The moisture content should be kept at 12% to keep the seeds' life activities stable. If it is found to exceed 1%, they should be turned and dried in the sun immediately to prevent heating, mold, and freezing damage.

Cold - A rise in temperature will enhance seed respiration and directly affect seed quality and germination rate. It is best to store them at 2-3°C, which can reduce seed respiration and thus maintain the seeds' vitality for a longer time.

Clean - The seed storage room should have its ceiling and floor cleaned thoroughly, cracks and rat holes plugged with lime, the walls whitewashed with limewater, and then disinfected with an appropriate amount of chemicals. Based on practical experience, for ordinary seeds collected and stored by home gardeners, after drying them in the sun, hanging them in a cloth bag in a ventilated, dry place is a relatively reliable method.

Of course, some seeds are suitable for wet storage, such as nandina (Nandina domestica), paperflower (Bougainvillea glabra), peach (Prunus persica), plum blossom (Prunus mume), and rose (Rosa spp.); the seeds of water lily (Nymphaea spp.) and Victoria water lily (Victoria spp.) must be placed in a water-filled bottle; the seeds of peony (Paeonia lactiflora), Chinese rose (Rosa chinensis), and osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans) must be stored in sand; some require freezing methods, such as iris (Iris spp.), larkspur (Delphinium spp.), and betony (Stachys spp.); the seeds of tree peony (Paeonia suffruticosa) and white magnolia (Michelia alba) should be sown as soon as they are collected; and some drupe seeds and seeds with harder seed coats are stored in pits (one layer of horse manure, one layer of soil, and one layer of seeds) and kept sealed.