How to Germinate Poke Sallit Seeds

Poke sallit or pokeweed (Phytolacca Americana) is a perennial poisonous plant whose leaves are safe to eat if cooked. Thriving in USDA Hardiness zones 4 to 9, poke sallit prefers full sun while tolerating partial shade. In the wild, birds eat the seed berries. The animals' stomach juices soften the seeds' hard coat, making germination possible after the birds excrete the seeds in droppings. Whether you buy commercial seeds or pick your own, you need to mimic what happens in nature, not by eating the berries but by soaking the seeds.

Bowl
Sulfuric acid
Goggles
Chemical-resistant gloves
Colander
Shovel
Compost

Instructions

- 1
  Place the seeds in a bowl. Because the soaking solution is toxic, use utensils you can throw away or use only to process seeds in this manner.
- 2
  Put on goggles and chemical-resistant gloves. Pour sulfuric acid into the bowl of seeds to cover them. Soak the seeds for exactly five minutes.
- 3
  Rinse the seeds under running water, using a colander to drain the water and acid. Plant poke sallit seeds immediately after processing them.
- 4
  Incorporate 2 inches of compost into a planting site in full sun or partial shade, using the shovel. Plant the seeds in early spring as soon as the ground thaws. As a general rule, sow seeds in holes four times as deep as the seeds are wide. Irrigate the bed at planting and keep the poke sallit seeds moist until germination. Seeds treated with sulfuric acid germinate in two weeks.

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