the best seed stash find ever , SSSC i need help

Hi guys need some help from any one with really good experience of geminating old seeds ,

a little while ago i became friends with a dutch guy , into a conversation he turned out to be one of the original owners of the secret sativa seed club , after explaining my passion for old seeds he kindly donated me the original seeds from the club that were used by Neville and sam ,

normally i would pipe up and say i am dam experienced at germing old seeds and i do a good job , but if like me you take a deep breath when you first see the seeds , it makes you realise these are not just mine but gifted to me to bring to the world .

so with out going head in a messing any potential living seeds up , please as minor as it may be give me your imput and experiences ,
things like giberelic acid , bubbling the water , scuffing , mineral fizzy water , h202 , so on ,

TO ME THIS IS THE HOLY GRAIL of seed stashes .
just take a look at this thread to see what we may have in store .https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=190239

a few more

a few more

a few more packs

sk 10 is meant to be skunk 2 used to make super skunk ?
and 23D sounds interesting . these are the clubs breaders packs so lables may not make sense

Dude, you just won the genetic lottery!!!

Congrats man, that's quit a find.

I wish you the best of luck, subb'd.

Danny

So, you got ten packs of haze and skunk that might be old stock that Sam made?
I hope you have some space to grow them all out. They all really need to be grown and tons more seeds made.
I'm thinking scuffing and soaking...

There are some old seed experts around here that will chime in with some better help.

Subbed!
I truly envy and pity you at the same time .

How were these seeds stored all these years? If frozen, they may be as good as new, at 4°C you should have a chance (Sam recently posted about germinating as old seeds as yours with astonishing success without any special treatment), whereas at room temperature... but which breeder would do that?

What you should do is to take some old, poorly stored, or immature cannabis/hemp seeds of something you don't really need and try the different methods on these first.
Hormones like GA3 or auxins can have a devastating effect when used too concentrated. Furthermore, at least auxins, should be put on the seeds a few days prior sowing and the excess removed when finally planted. You want the auxin in the shell and not on the seedling to work its magic.
Scuffing and sanding on the other hand need some intuition and practice to not break the shells but have little to now downside from what I've seen (either it helps or it doesn't change a thing). I prefer sanding them in my palm with, well, some sand , put them in a glass of water for a day and then re-sand again to remove the outer coating and make the surface dull. If the outer 'membrane' doesn't come off, I even use a knife to gently get the seeds really clean. Eventual residues mould easily and hence, I wouldn't put the scuffed or sanded seeds directly into soil (obviously, they are also less protected). Also, use clean water and paper towels and check/change regularly to avoid mould.

I'm very interested in this topic too because I have some poor germinating seeds as well.
I did use auxin directly before seeding and that was a bad idea!
Sanding helps a bit when the shells are very thick; it is also a good thing when the seedlings are weak in case the seeds were harvested prematurely (but these won't remain viable for more than a very few years anyway) but those seeds are fragile; be careful!
What also works (best with thick shells) is pre-cracking the seeds either with your fingernails or between your teeth. Carefully press on the two edges (not the tips or the flatter sides) until the seed cracks but not breaks open completely, all you need is a hairline fracture. Drawback is a highly mould susceptible seed... but even the weakest may germinate. Try it first several times with some spare seeds! I did try it but had insect and mould issues (careless me ); I found this method on a German speaking forum where they claim it as very good and reliable. But I don't know if very old seeds appreciate it!

23d - you could bring Durban back to life if that's what I think it is.

lucky man. would love some of them old skunks.

It would be interesting to see sam skunk chime in and see if he can offer anything in the way of identifying the alpha-numerical codes on the stickers..hell he may even recognise the handwriting as his own...adding 'provenance'.

id recommend soaking them in a 10 e-4 (or even 10 e-5 should suffice) diluted solution of GA3 (giberallic acid) for 24 hours (diluted in sterile water). once soaked for 24 hours, rinse with sterile water and plant as usual, perhaps try "pinching" half of them before planting, or dig em out 3-5 days after planting if nothing happens and "pinch" (pop em manually, between your point and thumb fingers nails).

GOOOD LUCK BRO!
if those are legit and been stored in a fridge, you might be in for a big surprise

blessss
ps.: managed to germinate some ole ole seeds from 81 using the presoak method (although the seedlings were imediatly surface sterilized and transfered to MS0 culture media in vitro)....

10,000 US to any plant that germinates, lol.

Hope you get some from them .

Check out sam`s thread ..

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=286734

I'd buy F2's of any of those.

Like other have said, scuffing is a must, then possibly a short soak in some kelp water. I am no expert on old seeds so I wont say much else, but will be watching to see how they turn out for you.

I'd start with those old skunks, you very well could be holding something special that has been lost to decades on inbreeding. Take care, maybe try a few at a time. Good luck.

Good luck and ill be watching and sending good vibes. I am always on the lookout for advise on old seed germination.

I always took unbleached coffee filters and soaked them in water and wrung them out a little so they weren't dripping wet but still very moist and put them in a zip lock sandwich bag and lined up a dozen or so seeds on the filter so I could see them and put the bag in the bottom dark drawer in the bathroom on the backside of the house where it stays around 60 degrees F all day every day. I then wait a couple of days and start looking at them once a day for the next 2 weeks to see which ones get tails. I usually get 90-100% germination rate this way. I've been doing this for 10 years. With those seeds if you get 40% germination rate I would be happy and it may take longer for them to get tails. I wouldn't scratch them or anything. Maybe soak them in a light kelp tea to help them get started but that's just about all I would do, honestly I wouldn't even do that, but some one might. If they are alive they will germinate, if they are dead they are dead. Just cowboy up and get to it. No fear. With all those seeds you are going to get some good ones to sprout without a doubt. I believe in you. And take Dropped Cat up on that offer of $10k for a plant. Easiest $10k ever.

Oh don't use municipal water with bleach or fluoride in it. Bottles water can be even worse. If you can get some river water or good well water use that. If your water company doesn't put crap in the water that's awesome too.

Thanks for all the advise guys I'm going to try dif methods mentioned here I'll keep you all posted with any good news

Ganja baba said:

...I'll keep you all posted with any good news

Click to expand...

Hopefully you'll only have good ones .
Nonetheless, it would be helpful to share the bad ones (case they happen) as well.
*TOUCH-WOOD-LIKE-CRAZY*

Wow.

When I first saw the opening post blurb almost immediately my eyes started to roll and the thought occurred, "Yeah, sure you do." Then I saw all of the photos with the seeds and labels. OP delivers!

That is quite the score, ganja baba. You're in possession of artifacts of a time gone by. Relics, even.

Everyone will rightly be awed by the potential these seeds possess. I am more amazed by their very existence. All these years, all the possible ways they could have been destroyed or lost, all of the similarly aged seed stock that has since been smoked, stolen, seized, or culled.. and yet these seeds found a way. Well, almost. Still gotta get them to germinate.

Good luck with your endeavor, ganja baba, and please keep us posted on your progress.

As for what to do to get some of them to germ, I'll defer to a well respected breeder who provided the following when asked... "coldsnap in fridge, soak h202 overnight, then sterile, moist, and warm environment, sometimes it takes awhile....." HTH