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What is Stratification?

Cold Stratification:
Many seeds mature on the plant in the Fall. If they were to germinate at that time the Winter would kill them. Nature has given them a built-in protection against this by requiring that they go through a period of cold temperature prior to germination. This requirement can be met in two ways:

-If you live in a northern climate and you are confident that the outdoor temperature will be below 40 degrees Fahrenheit for the 30, 60 or 90 days that we say the seed requires for cold stratification, then the seed can be sown in seedbeds outside in the fall, mulched heavily to prevent soil heaving and then remove most of the mulch in the Spring to allow the seed to germinate.

-The other way is to artificially condition the seed by soaking it in water and then drain the water and mix with an equal volume of moist perlite, peat moss etc. Place the seed in the refrigerator for the required time prior to sowing. The trickiest part of this is getting the moisture right. You need the stratification media to be moist but not wet. If you can ring water out of it then it is too wet. Mix the seed with this moist media and place it in a sealed plastic bag in the refrigerator. Check it every two weeks or so to make sure that it is the proper moisture and that the seeds are not molding or beginning to germinate. If there is any sign of mold they should be soaked in a solution of 10 parts water to 1 parts bleach, soak for 10 minutes, drain and wash thoroughly and put back into Stratification. If they are beginning to germinate they can be sown if the timing is right or kept as cold as possible (above freezing) until such time as you can sow them.

Warm Stratification:

Some seeds require a period of after-ripening to soften the seed coat or allow the embryo to develop before undergoing cold stratification. This can be accomplished by following the cold stratification directions, except placing the moist seed at warm room temperature for the required period of time.

In General:

Seeds generally require at least a month following stratification to germinate.

seed pre treatment

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Foreign Orders Customers Information

Foreign orders require extra checks – both on our side as well as on the importing customer’s.

While we have years of experience with arranging and accommodating for most import regulations – it is ultimately the customer's responsibility for coordinating and adhering to their country’s import requirements and providing us with the necessary documentation.

Sheffield’s will not replace lost seeds or be responsible for delayed orders due to insufficient documentation, confiscated items, or taxes. We reserve the right to deny shipment of any order without the required, proper documentation.

Things to know BEFORE ordering for delivery to outside the U.S.A.

1. $75 minimum order value

Sheffield’s requires a minimum value of $75 USD worth of seed for any order destined for outside the U.S.A, including Canada.

2. Is an Import Permit (IP) needed for this seed?

Any orders requiring an IP should have the IP arranged before Sheffield’s can ship your order.

We recommend starting by contacting your Ministry of Agriculture or its equivalent for current information on the specific seeds you intend to import. You should check on any Import Permit (IP) requirements, including the origin of the seed (always stated on our Detailed Listing part of the seed’s order page under Collection Locale).

Any Import Permits should be in English and verifiable by authorities if need be.

3. Once the Import Permit is obtained (if required), our USDA official can determine whether the ordered seed can meet the stated requirements.

Below are a few links to several regions’ import requirements, which can provide a starting point.

These should be treated as tentative information sources, not definitive guarantees. The customer remains responsible for arranging and adhering to their country’s import requirements.

EU https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32019D2032

Australia https://bicon.agriculture.gov.au/BiconWeb4.0

Canada https://airs-sari.inspection.gc.ca/airs_external/english/decisions-eng.aspx

Japan http://www.pps.go.jp/eximlist/Pages/exp/conditionE.xhtml

New Zealand https://www1.maf.govt.nz/cgi-bin/bioindex/bioindex.pl
UK https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2020/9780348213706/schedule/7

4. Phytosanitary certificates

We can usually arrange phytosanitary certificates for most seeds.

Once your order has been paid for and all shipping and import requirements aligned on (including any Import permits, etc), we will calculate and send you a PayPal invoice for any additional costs.

Prices start at $81. Certain EU-based orders have an option of starting at $41 per phyto.

Throughout most of the year, we schedule weekly USDA inspections for foreign orders. Orders will not be inspected until fully paid for, resulting in delays being at least 1 week or longer.

Please contact us for any further questions regarding foreign-destination orders!

Shipping

At Sheffield’s, we pride ourselves in making our products available to retail as well as wholesale customers all over the world. We aim to ship orders quickly and efficiently. While most orders arrive in good condition, there are always risks when shipping internationally.

Faster shipping options should be selected for more perishable (recalcitrant) seeds.
“First Class Mail” is the slowest, with very limited tracking outside the U.S.A.

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