Help! Who knows how to clean fleshy seeds?

I was hoping to send my seed of Ophiopogon planiscapens "Nigrescens" to the North American Rock Garden Society (NARGS - http://www.nargs.org/index.html ) as part of its seed exchange program. They say they want participants to send about 5 trades worth of seed and that they expect all the meaty stuff around the seed to be removed. Now, do I have to sit there and carve the outer fleshy coat off those seeds one by one, or is there a better way? (I have found that this seed comes true about 90% of the time - I just poke it back into the ground in December not too long before the ground freezes here and the seedlings appear late in the following spring.)

Thanks in advance for any enlightenment.

Don't know the plant, but would the fermentation method used on tomato seed work? If you don't know it, d-mail me, and I will tell you about it.

Thanks, defoecat. I'm not sure that what works for tomatoes would work for this ophiopogon and hate to render the seed infertile. Will have look into it a little more.

The way I do dog wood,and magnolia,is to soak in a bucket of hot water,soapy,if you rinse good after,and with thumb ,and fore finger rub it off.


Mike

Thanks Mike. Someone at NARGS kindly sent me similar advice, too - "I would try soaking the seeds in water for a day or two and see if the fleashy seed coat an be rubbed off easily then.
After which I would dry them thoroughly on a paper towel."

That's probably easier than what I actually wound up doing - made an incision in each seed coat and the entire coat just peeled right off. The seeds had been drying inside the house for a couple of weeks, and I think were easier to handle this way than if freshly picked. So, NARGS will get the seed after all.

I must say everyone has been so helpful. Tammy, from the Rock Garden forum - http://davesgarden.com/forums/f/alpine/all/ - put me in touch with a very helpful fellow at NARGS. I really appreciate everyone's responses. Thank you all.

You seem to have found the answer, but I would also try the fermentation method mentioned. Just put them in water in a jam jar and give them a good shake every day for 3 or 4 days. The seeds sink to the bottom when they are clean and all the gunge floats on top. You just have to make sure you don't pour your seeds away when you pour the stuff off the top, then rinse the seed in a sieve under the tap and dry them on a plate in a warm airy place, but not in direct sun for about a week.

Thanks Patbarr. Perhaps this time next year will find me more efficient and less cross-eyed over seed cleaning exertions.

I have done cotoneaster seeds by placing them in a ziploc bag and squishing them up with my fingers. Then you add some water to the bag, close it up and shake it up real good. Let is sit for a bit and the seeds rise to the top and can be seperated from the pulp.

Good luck with your Mondo grass, not sure if they are squishy enough for this method.

jb