From: hud@netcom.com (Hud Nordin)
Subject: Re: Gingko Seeds--Just Checking
Date: Wed, 8 Sep 1993 19:12:04 GMT

tching@target.water.ca.gov writes:
> Yes!  They look like pistachio.

That makes two confirmations. I guess I won't send them back. :-)

> My father's tree is gonna have about 500 - 700lbs of that stuff this
> year.  (Obviously not a bonsai tree).  I have a few Q's for you.

Fire away.

> 1) Where did you buy your seeds?

Carter Seeds. It's in the FAQ.

> 2) How much $$ ?

They are US$5.00 for 4 ounces. There are supposed to be about 20 seeds
to the ounce, but I got 110 seeds instead of 80. Maybe they were
generous.  Maybe the parent was putting out runts. I didn't weigh
them.

Let's see. Father's tree... 500 lbs... $5 for 4 ounces... $20 per
pound...  $10,000! Nice crop.

> 3) Do you have to keep them in the fridge or in a plastic bag or ??

I have 2 semi-conflicting bits of information.

The brief instructions that came with them said: "Sow immediately, or
refrigerate. Cold stratification 30 to 60 days."

From an article on raising Gingko from seed came: 
1) Collect in early November; 
2) Clean soft organic material from shell; 
3) Dust seeds with Captan, mix Captan with moist sand, add seeds and
   keep in a dark place for 10 weeks at 60 to 70 F; 
4) Keep another 10 weeks at just under 40 F (not freezing). 
After this, most seeds will have germinated and they can be planted in
clean sand, kept moist and warm in a well-lighted location.

I am following the second bit. 20 weeks from now will be a good time
to be germinating here in northern California.

The seeds came in a cloth bag (unusual, since other seeds I ordered
from Carter Seeds came in foil sealed pouches), and were marked
"perishable".

>4) Is the outer shell smooth or does it look like it went thru a sand storm?

They were pretty smooth. But, then I'd call that looking like they had
been through a sand storm. They were free of any fleshy fruit. They had
been cleaned. (So, if your father's 500 lbs. of seeds includes flesh,
the market value goes down considerably!)

===

As I understand, female Gingko are relatively rare, in that Gingko
planted for urban landscaping are invariably male. The article on
Gingko says that the reputed fetid odor of the fruit of the female
tree is overrated, and it merely smells like stale urine. (Like that
makes it better!)

Was your father's tree planted before the odor police got busy? It
sounds like an old one, of good size.

Thanks for sharing.
-- 
Hud Nordin
Cybernetic Arts                 hud@netcom.com
Post Office Box 2066            Telephone: 408.248.0377
Sunnyvale, California 94087     Facsimile: 408.248.0416