They were quite large by the time you planted them in June, so when did you actually start the process Tom? When did you start soaking the seeds - right after collecting them from the plant, or did you wait? Also, since some seeds can take years to germinate, do you re-pot the starts and leave the rest of the ungerminated seeds in the original pot in case they start growing later? If that is the case, then it sounds like a large amount of window space might be needed.
