Soaking seeds in tea

[michael johnson]

Hi- Ami, Yerba Mate- gosh" thats powerfull stuff- the nectar of the god's as they call it, I drank a lot of that last year but had to stop-as it was keeping me awake half the night and i couldnt sleep,

Robosh tea is not too bad- bit on the red side though, I drink it some times because it is caffeine free.

I can see that you are indeed a man after my own heart- with very simular taste and preferences- and love experimenting with this and that.

Have you ever read that book on Kombutcha tea by some Australian chap-very interesting- spent ages reading it and hours trying out the various brews in it.

[michael johnson]

The best tea pot I ever bought- was from a monks monestry shop, hand made and baked in real clay and huge in size, it was a real beauty, I used it to brew real tea leaf in it for years, gradualy it took on a nice amber hue as the tea colour soaked into it- but I broke it- one sad day when I had a frying pan in my hand cooking bacon etc, the wife spoke to me and I turned round to see what she said and knocked the spout off the tea pot with the frying pan, never been able to get another one like it.

[amideutch]

Michael, I have several books on KT. The Gentleman you are referring to is probably Tietze. Also have Gunter Franks work as well and that is where I got my last culture from. I use loose tea and make it with a "French Coffee Press". Learned that from a chap downunder. I do the continuous brewing Technique and use crock urns to brew it in. Ami
If anybody is curious about what Michael and I are talking about check out this site. http://kombu.de/

[mdvpc]

Nice thread. I love green tea. I buy my green tea from Japan, straight from the tea farm.

http://www.hibiki-an.com/readings/about-us.html Fair prices and great tea.

I was in Tucson, Arizona yesterday and went to the tea room there. Its called Seven Cups.

http://www.sevencups.com/

I got a nice tea pot- a Yi Xing clay pot and some nice Chinese tea-Meng Ding Juang Ya tea (Yellow Buds). Its in-between white tea and green tea in processing and is wonderful.

Michael-We use Yerba Mate when we are very tired or when we have a cold. It has a theophylline-like substance so its good for your respiratory problems-like colds, allergies, asthma and it, as you know, is a stimulant. In Paraguay and other Latin countries, they drink their Mate with a gourd and bombilla (straw-which isnt-its usually made of metal-silver or stainless steel). It can be taken either hot or cold.

[mdvpc]

Xian Zhui Ping Jian Mei Ren Hu
“Black Small Spout with Flat Top”
Artist: Zhao Ming Min
Teapot Volume: 250 ml (about 8.5 oz)
Type of Clay: zhu ni
Color Description: black
Suggested Teas: An Xi and Taiwan oolongs
Certificate of Authenticity: Yes

This elegant pot is made using high quality zhu ni clay. The small spout of this relatively new design allows for a richer tasting tea. You will notice a slower stream of tea when pouring that allows for additional infusion time and a robust flavor.

This is the teapot I got yesterday.

.

[michael johnson]

Yerber Mate= tea, the very first time I tried it I drank it about lunch time rather than first thing in the morning- which was a big mistake, come about one thirty AM I was still wide awake-sat in a chair reading tomato books and seed catlogues

I often slip the wife one-(like a micky finn) if she is a bit sluggish in the morning- to liven her up a bit , which is another big mistake, as she chatters incessantly for hours after that

[lakshmi]

Originally Posted by lakshmi

In the interest of research I will do a tea vs. water vs. diluted fertilizer (20-20-20 - don't have high N fert on me) comparison and report back on speed of germination.
Lakshmi

For anyone that's interested: The Bloody Butchers still haven't germinated but all my red peppers have. I soaked the seeds for 24 hours and planted 4 seeds for each case.

Diluted Tea: 7 days (Orange Pekoe)
Water: 10 days (Tap)
Fertilizer Solution: 11 days (20-20-20, didn't have high N fert.)

They were in the same tray right next to each other so environment shouldn't really be a factor. Not the most scientific though...wish my BB's had germinated but I'm still hoping

Lakshmi

[TomatoDon]

Could you plant the seeds and just soak the seed tray overnight in the solution and achieve the same thing? Or would the potting mix mess it up?

Don

[michael johnson]

It should have exactly the same effect, provided you cover the seed trays with saran wrap as well.

Possibly the best way is to make a good strong pot of tea, drink some of it and then what's left leave it to go cold and then just poor it into a bottle to keep for such use.

A woman I know once had the biggest and best cyclemen plant I have ever seen in full flower for ages in a large pot in her living room, and she fed it on nothing but cold tea every few days.

Its the trace element (Manganese) in the tea that does the trick on seeds, and maybe a little tannin as well.

[dice]

I saved this from a GW discussion on recreating
Avalanche (discontinued F1 hybrid), which required
Mozark and Glamour as parent lines:

'Then in December, I tried another trick ...

I soaked 100 seeds in diluted Liptons tea (from a bag) with a little bitty dab of fish emulsion. I put the container in the refrigerator for 24 hours, then rinsed off the seeds really well under cold water in a tea strainer and folded them up in a soggy paper towel inside a Ziplock for about 5 days.

Then I wrapped that packet into a couple more dry paper towels to get the moisture down to something reasonable and put them on the mantle behind an old clock where they'd stay about 65 - 70 degrees.

Well, long story short ... I was about to toss them out this morning because I'd checked them twice over two weeks (last time I checked was two days ago) and nothin' happening.

I unwrapped the packet this morning before tossin' them, and WOW! 70 of 100 seeds had germinated with one already having burst it's shell and opened up two cots.

I planted 20 of them in some potting mix this morning.

It remains to be seen if I can find a greenhouse to winter them in or try and repeat the germination in March.

By the way, these Mozark seeds were sent from the University of Missouri and were found in an envelope marked "1964."'

[the999bbq]

could someone elaborate some more on :

"pinch of Peters, or Schultz, or a few drops of either fish or seaweed prep"

especially the Peters and Schultz are completely new to me - fish and seaweed I know those...

[dice]

Peters and Schultz are US synthetic fertilizer
brands:

http://www.petersplantfood.com/
http://www.schultz.com/ProductCategories/

(Both have been around for decades in the
US market.)

[Earl]

I'm a big fan of Kombucha, have been reading about it for years, and a few months ago I was given a 'mother' by a very nice Tville member. I like the taste and add it to iced Green Tea. I'll have to give it a try on some seeds that don't want to germinate.

[amideutch]

Earl, been doing Kombucha for the last 7 years. Have three cultures going att in Green tea, Pu-erh and rooibus. Can't believe I didn't think of that. Ami
www.kombu.de