The final step toward renewing your plant population is to sow the seeds. Chapter 6 describes how to start seeds and when to transplant. There is one other consideration, however, with home-cured seeds. Some types need a little help to sprout. Most vegetable seeds don't need special attention to germinate. Soaking large vegetable seeds for one to two hours helps accelerate the process, but it is not absolutely necessary. Most flowers also don't require special treatment. A few perennial and shrub seeds, however, have unusual requirements.
Certain seeds, such as yarrow, or some varieties of aster or dianthus, remain dormant for a long time and will germinate best after their second year in storage. Others, such as some forms of primula or rhododendron, only germinate well when sowed fresh. Soaking seeds of camellia, cystitus, and other shrubs greatly enhances their germination rates.
Some seeds, such as those of lupine or peonies, are so tough they should be scarified. This means gently nicking or sanding the seed coat to give the embryo an escape route.
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