Cultivated seeds, removed from nature, are removed from the
natural processes they would be undergoing in the passage of the
seasons and may require artificial stimuli to overcome dormancy.
Scarification is the abrasive processes that some hard-coated
seeds undergo in natural soils or the digestive tracts of birds
and mammals; while stratification describes the warm moist
conditions preceded by cold moist conditions seeds experience
when left on the ground through the winter. In this video,
Adrianna Vargo, nursery manager of the Thomas Jefferson Center
for Historic Plants at Monticello, in Charlottesville, Virginia,
demonstrates a couple of techniques you can use to emulate these
conditions before sowing the seeds. For more on starting seeds
read her article 10 Seed-Starting Tips in the January/February
2003 of Fine Gardening (#89). Find links to articles, blog
posts, and videos on starting vegetable and flower seeds: All
About Starting Seeds