The vegetable garden in the tropics - Journey to Forever

climate, the seeds must be kept in an airtight container with a hygroscopic
substance added to absorb moisture (see fig. 13). It is also possible
to keep the seeds mixed with fresh, finely powdered ashes or charcoal.
The ashes absorb the moisture and prevent insects from eating the
seeds. Before sowing, the seeds should be selected with great care, because
diseased or malformed seeds will give poor results. Generally, the
biggest and heaviest seeds are best.
Figure 13: Stocking small quantities of seeds
The seeds can be graded as follows:
? by hand (big seeds)
? by winnowing: empty or broken seeds that are too light (and thus
worthless) are blown away by the wind (fig. 14)
? by putting them into water: seeds that float are too light and should
be rejected (fig. 14)
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The vegetable garden in the tropics