Will Supermarket Nuts Germinate

Discussion in 'Edible Gardening' started by Bilbo675, Oct 23, 2012.

  1. Bilbo675

    Bilbo675 Total Gardener

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    At this time of year supermarkets are stocking up with all manner of nuts for Christmas, obviously I get curious as to whether any will grow, just for a bit of fun as I know they're unlikey to grow into fruit baring trees should they grow :)

    There are pecan, almonds, brazils, hazlenuts, sweet chestnuts, pistachios, walnuts etc..

    All look pretty dry (nuts do anyway I know lol) as they're not fresh but would the traditional soaking in warm water do any good..

    Not bothered about hazelnuts, chestnuts and walnuts can get plenty of fresh stock for them but its the others that interest me..

    Has anyone tried it before, just curious because before I go and buy any..:biggrin:

    Thanks in advance :dbgrtmb:
     
  2. sal73

    sal73 Total Gardener

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    Hi Bilbo and welcome to my world :dbgrtmb:,

    Pistachio if you find the unroasted and salted one , they will germinate , but die soon after because they need really warm soil , that way they are so expencive.

    brazilian nuts is impossible , even in nature no one know how do they germinate without a specific animal it`s one of the most strange relation animal/tree ,
    the plants is expected to be exstinted in about 2/300 years ....if you manage to germinate one , you will be an hero.

    Almond , if it`s not roasted will germinate in summer , the heat will open the shell and the plant will germinate.

    monkey nuts , will germinate , but not a retty plant.

    cola nut will germinate and make a nice plant.

    pecan nut , will germinate if you find fresh one

    walnut will germinate and a nice outdoor plant as well .

    Cashew nut , will germinate if fresh
     
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    • pete

      pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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      I've tried walnuts and I only think they work if you buy the wet ones, on sale soon after harvesting.
      I have an idea that Walnuts Pecans and the like, are dried in kilns to preserve them.
      If you want hazel nuts or chestnuts just pick some up in the woods.
       
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      • sal73

        sal73 Total Gardener

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        As pete as meantion , yes , you need fresh one , I usually find them around the local asian shop , i really doubt that any of the supermarket bought will germinate.
        But do try anyway , see if they are fresh and have a go .
         
      • Phil A

        Phil A Guest

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        Sounds like a challenge worthy of GC:dbgrtmb:

        Just hope they don't have to go through the guts of the extinct giant ground sloth first.
         
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        • Bilbo675

          Bilbo675 Total Gardener

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          Hi Pete

          I've grown plenty of hazelnuts, sweet chestnuts and horse chestnuts from collected nuts, I've also grown walnuts too; kind of cheat with them as the local squirrel brings in loads from a large tree a few gardens away and buries them all over my veg patch, come late winter when I start digging it over I find a few just starting to germinate :dbgrtmb:

          Sal, thanks for the info, very interesting..:)

          Our local grocer/florist has started getting loose nuts in too now and they look fresher than the spotless clean dry ones in the supermarkets so will try them, as they're loose I don't have to buy a whole net full that costs several pounds and can just handpick half a dozen or so for a few pence..:dbgrtmb:
           
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          • sal73

            sal73 Total Gardener

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            Yes Zig , it sound like a GC challenge , have you got an Augati available?
            [​IMG]

            apparently it`s the only animal able to open the shell of the nuts .....the seeds only germinate after been in his mouth , they will hyde the nuts and then forgot about them .....how smart , I wonder why is almost exstinct .
             
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            • miraflores

              miraflores Total Gardener

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              are they like gerbils...because that is one rat which I would definitely think can open a nut-look very much like your rat.
               
            • Phil A

              Phil A Guest

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              There are a few of them around here:dbgrtmb:
               
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              • sal73

                sal73 Total Gardener

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                Just few!!!! you must live in a really posh area :blue thumb:
                 
              • Phil A

                Phil A Guest

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                [​IMG]
                 
              • sal73

                sal73 Total Gardener

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                You must kidding me :lunapic 130165696578242 5: , go on then give them the nuts and tell them to hide and forget about it.......
                seriusly is that a genuine picture?
                 
              • miraflores

                miraflores Total Gardener

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                this one look like a zoo picture...unless of course you are breeding them.
                 
              • shiney

                shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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                Sal, brazil nuts are not quite that difficult but you can't grow them from the nuts you get in a supermarket. :)

                Of course, brazils are, technically, not a nut. What we call the nut are the seeds inside the fruit. I picked up some of the fruit when I was wandering about in the Amazon (as one does! :heehee:) in 1982. They're about the size of a grapefruit with a very hard shell up to half an inch thick.

                When I got it home I cut 'windows' in it, sanded part of the outside and then polished it. They only need the animals to break them open and don't really need their saliva to do anything else - and then they germinate without much help. We managed to get one to germinate by keeping it damp and pretty hot. It lasted two years and then died suddenly, overnight!!! :sad:

                This is the only one of the 'fruit' I have left. What we call a brazil nut is the seed that you can see inside.

                P1140041.JPG

                P1140042.JPG

                Apparently, when the fruit breaks from the tree it leaves a tiny hole where it was attached to it. The agouti is able to gnaw through the thick shell using that starter hole and release, and eat some of, the 'seeds'.

                I've seen agoutis in a few countries but never in Brazil! :doh:

                This one I took is the clearest of my photos because in the wild they don't hang around for the camera!

                227_2702.JPG
                 
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                • sal73

                  sal73 Total Gardener

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                  Shiney that`s really interesting to know , I know this thing about the brazilian nut because I saw a documentary time ago , maybe that`s the real reason about the brazilian nut extintion , It`s actually the agouti that is extint in the amazon , must have been eaten by the local tribe.
                  Ok next step is to go to the amazon and get some fresh nuts .....or maybe we should just try .
                   
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