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38 year old seeds popped!
- Thread starter SacredC
- Start date
Nico Farmer
Authentic Strains Farm
Hey
What a great start !
Good Luck and keep those seeds in good hands...
It s like you've found a time machine!!!
Big up
What a great start !
Good Luck and keep those seeds in good hands...
It s like you've found a time machine!!!
Big up
Let the world be blessed with them. You came to the right forum's to share this great news. I would send 50 to Dubi at Ace. They would truly be in the most capable of hands. Enjoy your blessing, please keep us posted as to what you do. Peace
insomniac_AU
Active member
Isn't nature amazing? Really looking forward to see how this develops. I had some seeds I kept from plants I grew in the early 90s but none popped. I didn't store them properly unfortunately. 
I wouldn't mind some too! I think you shouldn't gift them to seed companies. They do make money with it and you stand there watching. Seedbay will make a new start at Real Gorilla Seeds website. So please make some selections and pollinations and send some of the offspring there for everyone of us to buy for a nice price when they open again!
Nico Farmer
Authentic Strains Farm
I agree!
Isn't nature amazing? Really looking forward to see how this develops. I had some seeds I kept from plants I grew in the early 90s but none popped. I didn't store them properly unfortunately.
I'd like to know exactly how this older gentleman stored those. It'd be a true miracle if he had those in this old barn, he must have knew how to store them, that's for sure. I lost over 5k worth of seed stock from 10yr ago that was in a storage box I've brought from Chicago down to Appalachia, I've had the box inside with normal items in are household, I knew obviously it was a long shot germing these, 38 yrs dang.,,,,I hope you get a good long tap root, I had some to pop a lil and that's it......hopefully friend those will grow for you. I definatly be chucking some pollen, probably be move focus on making seeds than growing buds. You've got a Mendo/humboldt treasure chest, I wish you guys the best, good luck !!!!!
Look at Mystic Funk thread on germination. He had 60% germ rate on 20 years old seeds.
The best way seems to be straight into worm castings as it seems to have beneficial bacterias wich help avoiding pythium and others nasty fungis on young seedlings.
Maybe you'll find better advices here but if I was you I would sterilise the shell with H2O2 (5 min flush with water after that) then carefully pre-crack the shell and put them in a mixture of Kelp, Aloe Vera or Superthrive diluted in RO water at 75°F for 12h-24h. Then straight into fresh worm castings (around 75°F again).
Good luck !
The best way seems to be straight into worm castings as it seems to have beneficial bacterias wich help avoiding pythium and others nasty fungis on young seedlings.
Maybe you'll find better advices here but if I was you I would sterilise the shell with H2O2 (5 min flush with water after that) then carefully pre-crack the shell and put them in a mixture of Kelp, Aloe Vera or Superthrive diluted in RO water at 75°F for 12h-24h. Then straight into fresh worm castings (around 75°F again).
Good luck !
It sounds like you didn't do anything special to get them to sprout. I'm sure the silicon gel is what did it. I'm still amazed they sprouted without refrigeration. Seeds lose viability in storage temperatures above 50 degrees F.
Be very careful when you sprout more of the seeds. I don't need to tell you how precious they are. Check on the threads here and in other places for tips. You got lucky, you may not with some of the other batches. You may have to try some of the more advanced sprouting methods people use for old seeds.
I second 3rd-3eyed suggestions. Warm 75 degree temperature, high humidity. Seaweed solutions, humic acid may help. If you try anything more complicated then what you're doing read up on it there's great info here and elsewhere on sprouting old seeds.
The hardest part about having seeds is knowing when and when not to sprout them. The tendency is to want to try everything but if you don't have a safe spot with excellent growing conditions it's pointless. Even if you're an experienced grower you should make sure you aren't the only one to have cuttings and/or seeds. One accident and they're lost forever.
You're very lucky have fun with what you have!
Be very careful when you sprout more of the seeds. I don't need to tell you how precious they are. Check on the threads here and in other places for tips. You got lucky, you may not with some of the other batches. You may have to try some of the more advanced sprouting methods people use for old seeds.
I second 3rd-3eyed suggestions. Warm 75 degree temperature, high humidity. Seaweed solutions, humic acid may help. If you try anything more complicated then what you're doing read up on it there's great info here and elsewhere on sprouting old seeds.
The hardest part about having seeds is knowing when and when not to sprout them. The tendency is to want to try everything but if you don't have a safe spot with excellent growing conditions it's pointless. Even if you're an experienced grower you should make sure you aren't the only one to have cuttings and/or seeds. One accident and they're lost forever.
You're very lucky have fun with what you have!
I know over the years if I wet my seeds that's germing with a few sprays of liquid seaweed it seems to help them get going. Or if once I get a taproot and put into soil if I water with 1/2 to 1/4 strength seaweed it really helps. Just my findings over the past 15yrd doing this
insomniac_AU
Active member
I'd like to know exactly how this older gentleman stored those. It'd be a true miracle if he had those in this old barn, he must have knew how to store them, that's for sure. I lost over 5k worth of seed stock from 10yr ago that was in a storage box I've brought from Chicago down to Appalachia, I've had the box inside with normal items in are household, I knew obviously it was a long shot germing these, 38 yrs dang.,,,,I hope you get a good long tap root, I had some to pop a lil and that's it......hopefully friend those will grow for you. I definatly be chucking some pollen, probably be move focus on making seeds than growing buds. You've got a Mendo/humboldt treasure chest, I wish you guys the best, good luck !!!!!
It would be great if you could elaborate a bit SacredC. I'd love to know exactly as well. From what you have described they have survived in jars unrefrigerated for all that time with just silica gel packs to remove moisture. I can only assume they must have been stored in fairly low and stable temperatures. If that's true this is close to a miracle.
the barn is completely shaded all day long by giant oak trees and madrones, I feel like the temperatures have definitely gone above 50 degrees I dont see how they couldnt considering theres no AC in the barn or anything aside from being in the shade to keep cool.
So far, today not much progress, they definitely will need a jump start, I have about 150 seeds of the Afghan x Cambodians, I am going to take some of your guys' advice as well as dole out a few to some people I can trust to love, preserve and work with these oldies. the taps arent rotting or anything they just arent making much progress. but I cracked a few and the embryo or whatever you would call it is definitely alive in them.
unfortunately a lot of them were just labeled by garden # as in which garden on his property they came from, the ones that were labeled were only the:
Afghan x Cambodian 1980 he got from someone in oregon,
and many years of MIS (Mazar-i-Sharif) spanning from 1978 to 1984.
P40 which I have never heard of, I guess he got in san fran in the mid 70's
there was also a few labeled IM that i never asked about but I can ask my mom to ask if he remembers what that stands for.
he told me he had some kind of african stuff as well.
