Germination experiment

[amoril]

Hey, so as Ive had mixed results germinating some old seed recently, and I have plans to continue going through tons of old (6-20 year old) seeds.... I figured it was time to experiment with a few methods, see what works best for me and my old beans. No plans to grow these, just seeing what pops and what doesnt, whats faster, etc

the test subjects are approximately 100-120 seeds from Bad Dawg Seeds, the freebies you get with GLG orders in the US. Various strains. I divided them evenly (one seed per pack, per cup, rotating) amongst 8 cups

the test groups

1. Filtered water
2. Tap water
3. Filtered water + 3 drops superthrive
4. Tap water + 3 drops superthrive
5. Filtered water + peroxide
6. Tap water + peroxide
7. Filtered water + superthrive + peroxide
9. Tap water + superthrive + peroxide

each cup had 100ml of water. Superthrive was added at a rate of 3 drops per cup. Peroxide was 30ml added to the 100ml of water. (0.75ish% final peroxide)

all cups placed on a heat mat last night

 

[amoril]

One plant shed its seed husk entirely, in 12 hours or so, in the tap+st+peroxide group, at the bottom of this photo

 

[acespicoli]

Im along for the experiment
nice thread thanks for sharing

Have myself seen seed crack and shed but no tail growth, without tail growth is it germination or hydration ?
Food for thought Some five year old seeds at room temp storage went down to 10% viable
Fridge possible 10-20 years

Best >>>

 

[amoril]

after 36 hours, there are some clear results. Ill tally the numbers up in a bit....

but cups with peroxide definitely performed very well

 

[amoril]

 

[amoril]

ok, so we hit 36 hour soak, and Ive called the experiment here, because as I said Ive no intentions on planting / growing these seeds.

the results are interesting. For the purpose of this, yes = visible tap root protrusion (im confident at this point, most of them would survive). no = no visible root, successful plant unknown / unlikely

1. Tap - 6 yes 15 no, 28% success

2. tap + peroxide - 15 yes, 2 no 88% success

3. Tap + superthrive - 15 yes, 1 no 94% success

4. Tap + ST + peroxide - 17 yes, 0 no 100% success

5. Filtered water - 11 yes, 4 no 73% success

6. Filtered water + peroxide - 17 yes, 0 no 100% success

7. Filtered water + superthrive - 9 yes, 12 no 43% success

8. Filtered water + ST + peroxide - 16 yes, 1 no 94% success

---------------------

my conclusions, peroxide is huge. use it. I will be using it every germ going forward. The difference in success rate, time / rate of development is noticeable. the peroxide cups were ready to plant much sooner.

the one outlier to me is #7, filtered water plus superthrive. the water appeared slightly cloudy in that cup, so may have been a contamination. No idea.

going forward, ill be using filtered water + peroxide 100ml:30ml + a couple of drops of superthrive. Cups with peroxide averaged 95% success rate. substantial. these seeds are all 6+ years old, stored in refrigeration for the time Ive had them, inside pelican cases.

 

[amoril]

This is the best group without peroxide, the tap + superthrive group #3


And this is what the cups with peroxide looked like, #8 #6 respectively


A noticeable difference

 

[amoril]

Another observation, seeds don't stay submerged in cups with peroxide. Initially I was startled by that, I've always used the rule of thumb that if it sinks, it'll probably pop.

The added oxygen content seems to change that.