Got seeds? Just add bleach, acid and sandpaper - Mary Koga

翻译人员: Cissy Yun 校对人员: Jenny Yang

So, the apocalypse has happened.

末世来临了

The zombies have come and gone,

僵尸涌现进而灭绝

and all plant life on Earth has died somehow.

地球上的植物不知怎么都死了

All you have are some basic supplies

你所有的只是一些基础物资

and some seeds of a few types of essential plants.

和几种主要植物的种子

So, what should you do

所以，你现在应该如何

to make absolutely sure they grow,

确保这些种子顺利成长，

seeing how rebuilding human civilization

人类文明的复兴

absolutely depends on it?

全都寄托在这些种子的命运上

Well, you'd probably think

你也许会想

the last thing you should do

对待这些重要的种子

with these crucially important seeds

最不应该做的就是

is something like poking holes in them,

在种子上戳洞

or grinding them with sandpaper,

用砂纸摩擦摩擦

or throwing them in acid

或者扑通一下扔进酸或热水里

or hot water.

或热水里

But, in fact, all of these are methods

但是事实上

that are commonly used

这些方法都是最常用的

to help seeds start growing.

帮助种子发芽的办法

A typical seed consists of a plant embryo

典型说来，种子由植物胚芽组成

encased in a hard seed coat.

这个胚芽由坚硬的种皮包裹着

To start growing,

it needs to emerge or sprout

为了顺利成长

种子需要从内部突破

from inside this shell.

坚硬的种皮

This process is called germination.

这就是抽芽过程

But just as it would be hard

但就像从没有有窗和门的监狱

for you to get out of a jail cell

越狱一样， 这是很艰难的

with no windows and no doors,

the embryo might need a little help

胚芽需要外界的一点助力

escaping from its seed prison,

来逃出这层“种子监狱”

and any process that makes this easier

任何可以冲破种皮

by wearing down the seed coat

让抽芽更简单的方法

is called scarification.

都被称为割伤处理

This lets moisture and nutrients

割伤处理可以让湿气和养分

get through the seed coat,

进入种皮

这样胚芽可以茁壮成长

making the embryo start growing

until it breaks through.

直至冲破种皮的束缚

Now, you might be wondering

现在你也许会问

why it is that plants would need humans

为什么植物需要人类帮它们

to do all these weird things to their seeds

做这些奇怪的事

从而让种子顺利成长

in order to grow,

and, in fact, they don't.

实际上，它们也不一定需要人类的帮助

In natural environments,

在自然环境下

seed coats are worn down by cold temperatures,

种皮会因为低温

细菌

甚至是动物的消化作用而磨损

bacteria,

or even animal digestion.

Our scarification methods just mimick

我们采取的割伤处理

and accelerate these natural processes

只是模仿或加速这些自然过程

to increase the chances of successful germination.

提高种子的抽芽率

One technique we can use is called nicking.

一项经常用的技术叫做“割”

To do this, we make a small cut or scratch

需要在种皮上切小口

或者划擦一下

into the seed coat.

Be careful not to cut too deep!

要小心不要挖太深哦！

You don't want to damage the plant embryo inside.

千万不要破坏植物胚芽

Another way is to file down the seed coat

还有一个需要挫下种皮的方法

using sandpaper or a nail file.

需要砂纸或者磨砂纸

再强调下，不要挫下太多种皮

Once again, you don't want to file too much,

just enough to wear down some of the seed coat.

能恰巧挫下种皮最好

After applying either of these methods,

使用以上方法以后

你需要用漂白剂喷洒种子

you'll want to spray the seeds with bleach

以防种子发霉

to prevent mold.

Seeds can also be soaked in water

种子也可以浸泡在水中

to soften the coat.

这样种皮会软化下来

One way to do this

为了这样

我们需要把种子放在尼龙袋里

is to place the seeds in a nylon bag,

then place the bag into hot water.

再把尼龙袋投在热水中

Turn off the heat immediately

过会儿立即关上热源

and allow the water to cool to room temperature

在拿走种子之前

before removing the seeds.

让水温降低到室温

It's important not to heat the seed for too long

很重要的是，不要加热太久

as this will kill the embryo.

否则会杀死胚芽

Again, you'll want to spray them

当然，这一步后

with bleach afterwards.

还需将它们喷洒上漂白剂

Finally, you can try immersing the seeds

最后，可以试着把种子

泡在硫酸溶液里

in a sulfuric acid solution.

Make sure you're wearing protective goggles and gloves

当你在处理这些危险物品的时候

确保穿戴了护目镜和手套

any time you work with such a dangerous substance.

Place the seeds into a wire mesh pouch

将种子放在金属网袋里

and immerse the pouch in the solution for ten minutes.

然后把袋子在溶液中浸泡10分钟

Then take out the pouch

然后取出金属网袋

and rinse it with clean water.

用清水冲洗

Take out the seeds and, as before,

取出种子，喷上漂白剂

spray them with bleach so they don't get moldy.

这样种子就不会发霉了

If you try all of these methods,

当你都试过以上方法后

you will see that some of them

你会发现有的方法

are more effective than others,

会比另一些更有效

有些方法最适合

and some work best for different types of plants

不同的拥有坚硬外壳的植物

that have harder or thicker coats.

So, knowing what seed scarification techniques work best

所以，知道哪些处理方法最管用之后

will be useful if you ever need to survive a cataclysm,

可以帮助你在天灾中存活下来

start a farm,

有助你经营农庄

or just want to plant in your own garden.

或者种花种草之类的