How to germinate pine nuts at home: expert advice

The majestic, ringing Siberian cedars are a real symbol of our country, from which it breathes with nobility and age-old traditions. Answering the question where pine nuts grow - one of the most useful and nutritious fruits in their group - it is safe to say that the times when the plant could be found only in the vastness of Siberia are long gone. Now each of us is able to grow our own tree, it is enough to know a few rules on how to successfully germinate a found pine nut at home.

Content

1 Description
2 Video "Growing"
3 Seed preparation
4 Seed stratification
5 Sowing in the ground
6 Care
7 Harvesting
8 Video "The benefits and harms of nuts"

Description

In order for you to be able to grow a Siberian cedar at home, you need to know many cultural features, what kind of soil a planted nut prefers, where it is better to plant it, how often to water, and much more. There are two ways to grow a handsome coniferous tree, like any other tree, by planting a seedling or by trying to sprout a cedar nut on your own. Of course, the second method will take much more time, but it will require less financial costs, as you know, cedar seedlings are a rather expensive pleasure.

Video "Growing"

From the video you will learn how to grow a walnut tree.

Seed preparation

For the process to be successful, only high-quality seed must be germinated:

the selected seeds must be undamaged, not emitting an unpleasant or putrid odor. The average germination capacity of cedar nuts has been successfully maintained for 4 years, and with proper care it can even be about ten years;
another necessary condition that must be met is pre-planting processing of the material, which will help protect pine seeds from being damaged by a fungus or other infectious diseases. To do this, you need to soak the selected nuts in a weak solution of potassium permanganate (0.5%, slightly pink) for several hours. The seeds can then be planted.

You should not expect instant germination, as a rule, in order for the first shoots to appear, more than six months must pass.

Seed stratification

Before growing a mighty cedar from a small nut, it is necessary to plant the seed correctly, and even earlier adhere to all the rules of previous processing. First of all, you need to soak the nuts in warm water for three days, changing the water every 24 hours. After that, the water is drained, and the treated seeds are mixed with well-moistened sand. The walnut-sand mixture prepared in this way is placed in a spacious box with ventilation holes made - this is necessary to ensure unhindered access of oxygen. In this form and condition, the seeds are placed in a cool, dark place, for example, a refrigerator. At the same time, it is important not to forget to regularly moisten the sand, maintaining the humidity at the same level with which the box was left for germination.

If you suddenly notice the appearance of mold on individual seeds, they need to be removed, and the moistened sand should be completely replaced.

Sowing in the ground

Seed germination will occur no earlier than in 6-7 months. As soon as this happens, the seeds must be thoroughly rinsed and placed in separate pots (it is best to carry out planting manipulations somewhere in the middle of spring).

Sandy loam soil is best suited for cedar, while the seeds need to be buried by about 1 cm.Pots with planted nuts are placed in a place with a constant temperature of 20-22 degrees. If all the conditions are met, the final germination of the future cedar should occur within a month and a half. When seedlings emerge, place the containers with seedlings in a well-lit place, but in such a way as to avoid direct sunlight.

Care

With the arrival of summer, sprouted trees must be accustomed to open air, regularly carrying containers with sprouts outside. After a while, cedars can be gradually planted in well-loosened, nutritious soil. As a rule, seedlings tolerate the transplantation procedure well, while they can be planted at a short distance from each other: they will have to change their place of residence in three years. This should be done in the spring, choosing a permanent planting site where the tree will spend its entire life. Be sure to take into account the real size of an adult tree - an average cedar grows up to 40 m in height, so about 7 square meters should be allocated for each plant. m of soil.

And one more nuance - when the trees reach one year old, they need to be shaded. To do this, you can choose the appropriate areas in your garden, or create an artificial barrier from the sun's rays.

Harvesting

Despite the fact that handsome conifers grow very quickly - on average by half a meter every year - trees begin to bear fruit only when their age reaches 40-50 years old. At the same time, cones, which contain nuts, do not appear often - once every 7 years. But this is in the natural conditions of the wild taiga. If you grow a tree in your garden and provide it with ideal conditions for development, then the plant will reach reproductive age by about 20 years. And yet, the most productive harvest period falls on the interval from 70 to 100 years, while one tree can donate about 20 kg of nuts.

That's all there is to know about how to sprout pine nuts yourself. Be sure to try to grow this noble tree, at least so that a mighty handsome coniferous man flaunts on your site, to the envy of your neighbors.

Video "The benefits and harms of nuts"

From the video you will learn what are the benefits and harms of pine nuts.