How does the Čmeláčí PLUS Seed Factory work?
SEED STORE IS OPEN FOR THE 2025 SEASON
COLLECT SEEDS OF HONEY-BEARING PLANTS AND SEND THEM TO THE DEPOT FOR OTHERS
What you will find here:
- A solution for situations where you have excess honey plant seeds from your garden
- How to share seeds with others
- How to get seeds from our Seed Factory
- What are the rules of our Bumblebee Seedbed?
Last updated: 19/2/2024
Introduction
what to do with your excess seeds during the season . These may be seeds you bought in the spring or the fruits of your plants.
Very often, such seeds end up in the trash as unnecessary. However, even such seeds have their uses, and it would be a real shame to throw them away - after all, someone else can use them and the seeds will provide benefits .
A similar idea was at the origin of the Seedbed Initiative.
"It was established in the Czech Republic in 2015 to support free seed sharing, seed production and natural gardening. It was modeled after the French Les Grainotheques and the American The Seedbanks.
Seed banks, whether it is a cabinet, basket, box, etc., are a place where gardeners can share seeds from their gardens with each other for free. The seeds should be exclusively of "organic" quality, i.e. unpolluted and from chemically untreated plants. They should be the result of home seeding. The seeds are offered free of charge in small batches for personal consumption only. Seed banks are a free initiative for everyone. Anyone can establish a seed bank and promote it in their area
So many quotes from the homepage of the website https://seminkovny.com/
Bumblebees PLUS has a number of activities to support bumblebees and nature. That's why we were interested in this idea and that's why we joined the Seedbed Initiative. We didn't want to copy the Seedbed idea, just build on it. We also wanted to focus on a specific area, which is honey plants.
We also wanted to come up with a different distribution model for the Seed Farm than free access to a seed source in a brick-and-mortar establishment/store. Therefore, we tried to create a model where the receipt and distribution of seeds takes place by mail.
We thank Klára Hrdá , who founded, cheered on, and tirelessly expands the Semínkovna Initiative in the Czech Republic. With her kind permission, we have applied our logo and contributions to the name and program Semínkovna.
We will be happy if you join our Čmeláčí Semínkovna and we will be equally happy if you use its free services.
If you are interested in the food preferences of bumblebees, we recommend reading the interesting methodology HERE and the lecture by one of the authors, Katka Smékalová HERE
CM+
Bumblebees PLUS – Seedbed – Logo
Rules of the Bee PLUS Seed Factory
- seeds of honey plants originating from the Czech Republic for you.
- It should primarily be the seeds of plants that bumblebees or bees feed on
- You can use your own observations, or follow #cmelacipluspastva
- We will store your surpluses and provide them to interested parties
- We will provide the seeds for free , only for postage costs
- The condition is that you use them non-commercially in your gardens for insects.
- Another condition is that you will not use the seeds in protected areas,
- The entire service is free , without any compensation.
Rock bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius) – worker
Photo: A. Ungerová
Receiving seeds into our warehouse
- Prepare your surplus seeds
- It should be ORGANIC seeds of plant species from the Czech Republic - without chemicals
- Store them in separate bags so that the seeds do not mix.
- We accept dry, clean, mold-free seeds into our warehouse , less than a year old.
- Describe the bags – include the name of the plant, approximate location, month and year of collection.
If you wish, include your name. - Send seeds ( large quantities Zásilkovna – Z-Box ID 24972
Address: Kačírkova 934. Prague 5, 155 00
Please contact us at seminkovna@cmelaciplus.cz
We prefer this method - the seed ( small quantity max. envelope up to A4 size) by post to the address
Čmeláci PLUS zs
Na Farkáně III 182/28
Prague 5 Radlice
150 00
Please do not send the shipment by registered mail.
Meadow bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) – male
Photo H. Kříženecká
Order seeds
- In the catalog, select the seeds you need and which are available (marked in green)
- Send us an email to seminkovna@cmelaciplus.cz
- In the email, please include: the catalog number of the desired seed and your mailing address.
- The amount of seeds per order will be such that it fits into one regular postal envelope (C6 or DL) and also so that it reaches more interested parties.
- 5 species can fit in one envelope.
- We will process your order as soon as possible.
- We will confirm the shipment by email and please send the postage to the specified account number: 123-5802630277/0100
- If you prefer regular mail to your mailbox,
the price of the shipment (postage and envelope) is 60 ,- CZK - If you prefer Zásilkovna service , send us your contact details.
The price of the shipment (Zásilkovna postage and packaging) is 75,- CZK
Note: prices are based on Czech Post postage prices and the price of the envelope. We do not charge for our work.
Meadow bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) male
Photo O.Hercog 25/6/2021 Prague
Addition
- We cannot provide guarantees on the seeds you provide , we rely on you to share good material that will help others and especially insects.
- We will dispose of seeds older than 2 years.
- We do our work for free . We put our own labor, time, and material costs into the project. We rely on you to send us the postage.
- Seed delivery may take a while. We will handle the mail once a week .
Common knotweed
Photo: Wiki
Tuberous mole
Photo: Herbal and Natural
Common sedge
Photo: Wiki
Borage
Photo: Wiki
What seeds are we missing?
You can find a list of plants suitable for supporting bumblebees HERE
If you have any seeds of primarily melliferous plants, we will be happy to offer them to you . We are also taking those that are currently in stock for replenishment.
For example, we are looking for the following seeds of these plants:
- Common beech
- Hollow smokestack
- Scarlet beans
- Common hogweed
- Starfish
- Cornflower
- Common apple tree
- Creeping clover
- Cockerel, a small bird
- Lavender
- Eggplant, shoe-leaf
- Moroccan linden
- Oman
- Sage
Black ruler
Photo: Wiki
How to store seeds so they last as long as possible?
Here we will use advice from the website www.potravinovezahrady.cz
Seeds, like all living organisms, age, weaken, and die. They gradually lose their germination capacity. You can influence the speed of this process by how and where you store the seeds .
Some will last until next year, but most seeds will last even longer. Some can last for over ten years. All this provided you store them correctly.
Conditions for proper seed storage
To ensure that seeds retain their germination capacity for as long as possible, we store them in dry, cool, dark and consistent conditions. The most important of these are dryness and coolness.
Dry your own seeds well before storing them (purchased seeds usually do not need to be dried) and place them in a well-sealed container that will protect them from moisture from the surrounding environment plastic bags with a zipper or jars with a screw cap have proven to be effective .
the seed package in the coldest possible place with a constant temperature . For example, in a dry cellar, in the pantry or simply in the coldest room at home. The optimal temperature for storing seeds is 0 - 10°C . We can also use a refrigerator, which has the advantage of a really stable and low temperature. However, the seeds in the refrigerator must be well protected from getting wet !
How long do seeds last?
lose their germination capacity as . With each passing year, fewer and fewer seeds germinate, until at some point none germinate.
Seeds of different species retain their germination capacity for different lengths of time . Some last only a year or two, others for decades. Basically, four groups of seeds are distinguished according to the time they maintain a decent level of germination. The following data is taken from the book The Manual of Seed Saving:
- Very sensitive seeds.
They are sown immediately or only a few months after harvest.
These include chives, garlic, leeks, onions (very sensitive to short life), parsnips, black root, tuberous yam. - Short-lived seeds.
They maintain a decent germination rate for two to three years.
These include carrots, celery (short to medium-lived), sweet corn (short to medium-lived), fennel, spinach. - Medium-lived seeds.
They maintain a decent germination rate for four to five years.
These include beans, chicory, lettuce, peas, peppers (medium to long-lived), radishes, chard, beets. - Long-lasting seeds.
They maintain a decent germination rate even after more than five years.
These include cruciferous vegetables, cucumber, eggplant, melon, butternut squash, squash (pumpkin, zucchini), tomato.
How to keep seeds alive for more than ten years?
Seeds frozen at -18°C last the longest. This is how they are stored in gene banks. Frozen seeds of most species last at least ten years , but some even over twenty years. You can create your own seed bank at home in the freezer, which will allow you to back up different varieties and also serve as a reserve source of seeds for worse times.
To prevent damage to the seeds from freezing, it is important to dry them well . For example, in an electric fruit dryer at a maximum temperature of 35°C . Higher temperatures can damage the seeds. Alternatively, a silica gel desiccant can be used for drying.
Seed storage
Photo: Potravinové zahrady.cz
Some seeds will not germinate without frost, they need cold stratification
It is necessary to take into account that the seeds of some plants will not germinate if you sow them in the ground in the spring. They need to go through the process of cold stratification .
Stratification in botany is a technical term related to the post-harvest ripening of plant seeds. As a rule, it is a technology that allows germination or allows the germination properties to be influenced.
We used a description for you from the website www.ireceptar.cz , where it is nicely described.
What is cold stratification?
The seeds of some plants are dormant . Dormancy means that the seed sleeps like a sleeping rose, even when it finds itself in ideal conditions for germination. It is always some ingenious insurance policy of nature. For seeds that need to go through frost and cold – therefore requiring cold stratification – it is insurance against germination before winter . If they wait until spring, they have a much better chance of taking root and growing. The seed does not germinate directly when it freezes, but frost (or prolonged cold) breaks down substances that prevent germination. Later, thanks to this, warmth and moisture will wake it up. However, the seeds of many woody plants do not even wait for warmth and begin to germinate as soon as temperatures rise above freezing.
How to stratify seeds
a) in the refrigerator
You can stratify seeds in a box with slightly damp (not completely wet) sand , which you store in the refrigerator .
Some types of seeds need a month, some need to spend almost half a year in the cold.
If you like growing plants from seeds and are not afraid to experiment, over time they might take up too much space in your refrigerator.
b) outdoors
Except for rare seeds, for which precise temperatures must be maintained, winter will ensure natural cold stratification . Simply place containers with seeds in slightly damp sand in the garden (humidity is important, dry seeds will not survive the winter). You can plant them in a bed in a greenhouse or hotbed, bury them in snow, or store them in a shed.
Be careful not to let rodents (protection from dense mesh will help) and if you leave them exposed outside, make sure that birds don't peck at them.
Don't forget that after stratification, the seeds will start to germinate. Therefore, the temperature change should not be abrupt, and that after returning to plus temperatures, the seeds will start to germinate - they will wake up from their sleep, just like the Rose.
Cold stratification procedures vary and are beyond the scope of this site. If you are interested in this simple technique, take the time and a little care - it will pay off.
What types of seeds require cold stratification?
For example, most woody plants that come from temperate zones need to go through a cold phase. For example, rowan and chokeberry require up to two months of cold stratification, roses (it makes sense to propagate mainly original, botanical roses from seeds) at least a month - and they benefit from real frost. Seeds of climbing clematis, ginkgo, apple, apricot, peach, hazel, hawthorn, beech, spruce, pine, and alpine rockrose must also go through a cold and frost phase
. Oaks have a remarkable method - acorns can take root without stratification, but the above-ground part of the plant waits for the acorn to go through the cold phase.
Which seeds from our Čmeláčí PLUS Seedbed need cold stratification?
If you use some seeds from our bank, find instructions on the Internet on how to grow honey plants from them. It does not want to replace gardening and growing forums, where you can find all this information.
There you will also find information about whether the seeds require cold stratification or not. This seemingly unnecessary detail often determines the success, that is, whether the seeds germinate.
To our surprise, you won't find this information commonly. If you do, we'll be happy to add it to our catalog.
Promotional materials to share
If you like Čmeláčí PLUS Semínkovna, you can spread the word about it. For example, you can use the promotional flyer that you can find HERE
Čmeláčí PLUS Seedbed – Leaflet