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Behold, the Seed


By Paul James

We live in a world of seeds. We sip our morning coffee, down a bowl of cereal (perhaps with soy milk), and eat a piece of toast or a bagel, all derived from seed. We snack on nuts or popcorn during the day (more seeds). And for dinner, we have red beans and rice seasoned with black pepper and cumin and washed down with a beer — again, all made from seeds. Whether you realize it or not, seeds surround us.

And they are truly astounding, not just from a biological standpoint (more on that in a moment), but in a historical sense as well. Peppercorns and nutmeg led to the Age of Discovery. Coffee beans, thanks to their caffeine, fueled the Enlightenment in Parisian coffee shops. Without cottonseed, the Industrial Revolution might have taken decades longer to kick into high gear. And without wheat, would there have been a Roman Empire?

Seeds give us food and fuel, intoxicants and poisons, oils, dyes, cosmetics, fiber, and spices. But most important to gardeners, they give us the plants we love to grow. And the transformation from seed to plant is nothing short of amazing. Given the right conditions, a seed awakens from dormancy and enters a short period of intense activity, the likes of which won’t be repeated at any other time during the plant’s life history.

But just what are the right conditions? Adequate moisture, optimum temperature, and a suitable location. Once those conditions are met, the germination process begins. First, the seed absorbs moisture (a process known as imbibing, a term with which I’m familiar) until it nearly doubles in volume, thereby causing its seed coat to split and allowing the seed embryo access to oxygen.

The water molecules fit into spaces between cellulose, proteins, and other substances, and through a series of chemical events, large food molecules — starches, proteins, and fats — are broken down into smaller sugars and amino acids which the seed embryo uses to begin the germination process.

First, the root begins to grow into the soil to anchor the plant and take up needed minerals and moisture. At this point the developing plant is completely dependent on nutrients stored in the seed. Stem growth soon follows, and once the shoot appears above ground, germination officially ends and the plant switches to relying on photosynthesis to produce all the food it will ever again need.

Of course, not all seeds germinate readily, and there are those with special requirements. For example, lodgepole pines and Eucalyptus seeds won’t germinate until fire melts their resinous seed coat. Our native raspberries and blackberries must be abraded by a bird’s gizzard or eroded by stomach acids before germination can begin. But thankfully, the vast number of seeds have simpler requirements. And not coincidentally, they produce the most commonly grown garden plants.

I’ve planted thousands of seeds over the years — flowers, vegetables, herbs, grass, even trees — and still I watch with a sense of wonder how the transformation from seed to plant takes place. Even if the seed is a weed.

Happy gardening, ya’ll.


2 responses to “Behold, the Seed”

  1. Sherry Duncan says:

    We love seeds agree with you. Your biggest 7 yr old fan says all this rain has to stop so she can plant her seeds and stiff all thr rain keeps washing them away. She says she still wants to meet you. She’s sent your birthday card to you.