Picking seeds before mother nature does.

From: SNALICE at aol.com on 1997.06.04 at 13:39:53(797) Hello Greg and all, I see you can pick seed clusters from sikokianums before they are ripe, can you also pick them from Arum italicum? Like Greg, I am worried that the clusters will be eaten before they can ripen. First, though, can anyone tell me what the normal cycle is for italicum seeds? I have one really nice cluster of large green fruit with a nice thick petiole under it, and a couple of smaller ones. One of the smaller ones with just a few fruits on it, has slumped to an upsidedown position, and the fruit has turned orange and shrivled. Is it normal for the fruit to turn upsidedown into a hanging position? Each one of these cluster's petioles looks like it has been nibbled by bugs just below the fruit all the way around. Does this browning happen naturally, or have they been chewed on? If they have been chewed, the sow bugs are being picky, because this is the only area between the base of the petiole and the top of the fruit that has been touched. The largest cluster is still very green and still upright with plenty of thickness in the petiole to hold them so far. My question is, if this brown area is caused by bugs, and it's just a matter of time before they fall over, can I clip them while green and expect them to ripen? The petiole which has already flipped, had green fruit when it slumped, and turned orange while in the hanging position. The petiole on this one is soft and limp where it turned brown. Is it ok to harvest this one? Thank you, Sue Zunino

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