Date Palm

Monday, 25 April 2011

While trying to grow the palm seeds i got out west, i read that you can also grow a palm tree from date seeds.

First off, they don't taste as bad as they look, but they are still really bad. Kind of like a giant raisin, but worse. At the center is the date seed.


The date and the seed inside

Like the rest of the seeds i've tried to grow, i soaked them for 1 day then put them in a zip-lock bag with a wet paper towel.

After 1 week, 2 of them sprouted. The rest of the seeds gradually started sprouting 3-6 weeks later. Surprisingly their root comes out of the middle of the seed.

I noticed that they sprouted best when there was just a little water added, when i sort of soaked the paper towel then squeezed all the water out.

Then i planted them in a bowl with potting soil and pearlite.

One main root extends deep down into the soil.


After a month or so the first green leaf appeared. It kind of looks like a blade of grass but it's really tough, almost like wood.

I plan on planting some of the seeds in the garden this year, we'll see how they do.

comments | | Read More...

Peanuts

Tuesday, 5 April 2011

While reading about palm trees i learned about growing date palms. And while reading about date palms i learned about growing peanuts. It looked like a cool idea so i bought a bag of RAW peanuts from Walmart.

For peanuts the soil temperature has to be hot for 100-120 days, depending on the type of peanut. Valencia and Spanish peanuts would have been the best here in Michigan because they only need 100 days. But i couldn't find those.

The only raw peanuts they had still in the shell were Virginia peanuts.
So i soaked them for a day and they really swelled up, probably double their original size. I've heard mixed theories about planting them in the shell or without the shell so i did both.

As usual i put them in zip-lock bags. After 3 days the first ones to sprout were two of the seeds that were in their shell.
Here's the original peanut, without the shell and after soaking in water for a day

And 2 days later
After 10 days....It grows really fast.
And since i'm using a clear bowl i should be able to see the peanuts under the ground.

comments | | Read More...