I have Old Seeds from the late 80's into early 90's

[Greatdalas]

here some diferent examples of 20/30 year old seeds that have in recovery now

 

[Greatdalas]

the reason old seeds germinate

Exactly, if they no storage in perdafrost all. Dyed sure, too no all plants have same type seeds and same long life same that you can see much diferences in diferent strains with same storage, more in diferent plants

 

[Cuddles]

the reason old seeds germinate

true and I guess this is why freezing seeds before popping is usually recommended.
but as the second example I posted indicates that there are also seeds found in different parts in the world which were not buried in ice for years on end and still germinated
But I bet that they were also put into the freezer before germination!

 

[Greatdalas]

Es cierto y supongo que es por eso que generalmente se recomienda congelar las semillas antes de reventarlas.
pero como indica el segundo ejemplo que publiqué, también hay semillas encontradas en diferentes partes del mundo que no fueron enterradas en el hielo durante años y aún así germinaron.
¡Pero apuesto a que también los metieron en el congelador antes de germinar!

no, no freeze them or much of them die.
Germinate becouse they storage in permafrost is why they can pop with more that 1000 years

 

[Old Piney]

OK Cuddles post just made me think
Should I get the seeds into the freezer now and store them in there as if they were still recent seeds?
I still have them undisturbed in cooler in cold basement/

I my opinion I think you should just refrigerate them maybe ,but you should definitely slip some silicon packs in to keep them dry l don't get this thing about freezing just for a bit .As I understand it freezing is best for long term but it has it's problems as well .

 

[exoticrobotic]

As I understand it freezing is best for long term but it has it's problems as well .

I've only ever refrigerated my seeds, never frozen them.

I'd love to freeze them all for long term storage but wouldn't you need a lab freezer with individual shelves with individual vials otherwise you risk defrosting them each time you get some out.

The problem i have with freezing them is too much moisture in the seeds may expand rupturing cells during the freezing process where water expands 10% wrecking them all.

I've thought about drying them out enough to freeze them but thought i'd end up killing them all during that process so just use the fridge.

 

[igrowone]

I my opinion I think you should just refrigerate them maybe ,but you should definitely slip some silicon packs in to keep them dry l don't get this thing about freezing just for a bit .As I understand it freezing is best for long term but it has it's problems as well .

I'm another refrigerate only, have done that with some old seeds for a month and got improved germ results

 

[Old Piney]

I hope to pop some soon, but I deal with a bad back and makes it hard to climb stairs right now.
It sucks getting older.

I with you best of luck with the back and I get it about diving to deep into the chemistry, it's mind-boggling, devise a plan and just do it

 

[led05]

Easiest method there is -

1) Shoot me a PM

2) I’ll reply with a safe addy

3) I’ll send back thousands after a reproduction



Peace

 

[RobFromTX]

I have found another shipping cooler in my basement from yrs gone by, lots of old seeds , the container is a Styrofoam shipping box like food is shipped in. Been sealed and in a basement that never goes over 68 degrees. and not too dry.
Any chance they may still be viable? I am able to smoke again and I want to grow these babies out finally.
Thk You for any and all responses, not sure where I could post this and please move to the correct area if it needs to be.

You could have some real treasures on your hand there friend. Old school weed genetics thats been lost in time. If you grow any out please make a thread. I'd love to see what comes up

 

[Old Piney]

Easiest method there is -

1) Shoot me a PM

2) I’ll reply with a safe addy

3) I’ll send back thousands after a reproduction



Peace

Easy on the back

 

[zif]

A couple threads to consider that may be of assistance:

A Germination Machine

I wanted to share this device with anyone thats had a poor germination rate. This device will crack any viable seed placed inside within 72 hrs. 80% of seeds placed inside will germinate from 12-20 hours but f2 sativa hybrids may take as much as 60 hrs. The machine keeps temps at a constant 76...

www.icmag.com

beta's Simple and Reliable Seed Germination Method

Starting older seeds can be challenging, so I've spent the last few years developing a simple and reliable method for consistently germinating them with as little fuss as possible. No more moldy seeds or fragile tangled roots on paper towels inside of ziplocks that you have to slowly and...

www.icmag.com

Anyone able to share Chimera's bleach sterilization method? Didn't have the presence of mind to save it as I never imagined they'd scrub so much invaluable info/content from the site.

Good luck!

By chance, I saved this snippet from Chimera's forum (lost the links he references, though):

I'd be interested in learning about the "gentle bleach sterilization procedure". And would like to ask if it's something those of us who are trying to pop these should perform. - Shmavis

That's a really good question Shmavis, thanks for asking.

I would definitely be washing these seeds before soaking, they were field cleaned and sorted by machines, so there was still a bit of chaff stuck in the bag when it arrived (I am told).

The protocol I use is pretty simple.

5% bleach in autoclaved, distilled water with a couple of drops of Tween-20 per liter of solution. I sterilize the water in Duran jars (loose lids) in a pressure cooker @ 20 PSI for 20 minutes, and then allow the jars to cool under my flow hood and tighten the lids when the water has cooled. This is probably overkill for most purposes, but it's a variation of the protocol I use for sterilizing explants for tissue culture, and it seems to work with minimal contamination. You can get away with a drop of dish detergent instead of the Tween, I just have the tween-20 in the lab so I use it. If you are going to be doing a lot, you can order a few ml of Tween-20 on Amazon if you like.

First I rinse the seeds in a tight mesh strainer to remove any leaf debris that might be harboring bacteria or spores. These seeds were a little dirtier than most having been field grown, so you definitely want to wash away any superfluous materials. This can be up to a 5 minute rinse in lukewarm water. Cannabis achenes have a lot of little crevices where spores and bacteria can hide, so a thorough rinse is a wise step.

Then I take the seeds and drop them in maybe 100-200 mls of the bleach/Tween-20 solution in an Erlenmeyer flask, but any clean glass vessel will do - the seeds should be fully immersed, maybe 2x the volume of water as seed. You want to keep stirring and swishing the seeds around gently to ensure the current is washing away any contaminants. After a minute of swishing I remove the bleach and strain the seeds from the liquid and start again. No more than 3 minutes total, and if I see bleaching on the small test batch (always do a test batch to seed how the seeds react), sometimes I'll only do 2 minutes.

The next part is key. Immediately rinse 3-5 times (for 5 minutes per rinse) in the same sterilized distilled water (baby water / distilled water from Walmart or the local pharmacy is fine), again using a tight mesh strainer, or simply rinse the seeds in a different vessel with the same volume of water, at least 3 times to ensure the bleach is removed. I use a labratory orbital shaker, but you can do it by hand it's just a little tedious. Once the rinses are completed, soak the seeds in the distilled water as before, for 2-24 hours depending on the age of the seed and the medium you will be growing in. Sometimes I'll use agar plates, but most often I'll just sprout them in paper towels and transfer to a light dirt (like Light Warrior for you Americans) or surface sow on a peat based planting substrate. You can use whatever medium you prefer, it's not that big of a deal as long as the seeds remain moist.

This is way more important than any gibberellin treatment, I would not even bother with gibberellins without properly cleaning these seeds. Gibberellins are a last resort treatment, seeds should always be tested with plain water alone, it's all they need in nature, so why complicate things to play experimental botanist. Most people don't even have the proper tools to properly measure and dilute GA, and plant hormones are really present in such minute (often femtomolar) quantities in the plant, so it's really quite easy to way over do it when using PGRs, and blast right through the 'therapeutic window' and get into territory where you are damaging the seeds more than helping. If anyone promises to do a serious documentary / comparison with these using GA, I'm sure BR could be persuaded to supply the stock to facilitate such an experiment; however, I doubt they are going to be the magic bullet on these particular seeds.

Someone was asking elsewhere why I hadn't tested the seeds under a whole set of conditions first before releasing them, and the simple answer is that like most of you, my portion of the seeds have not been shipped to me. BR did the first germination test as soon as they arrived, and that kind of put a series of events into motion, and getting the seeds into my hands wasn't a priority after we realized thre was a problem. Of course a certain haterade sponsored minority wants to make it seem like I should have done all these experiments already, but the reality of the matter is BR just hasn't had the time to get to sending out my batch yet - you guys will always be first in line before us. In time, I am sure I will test some out as well, but it's not my priority as I am currently working on other things.

Have a read through these links for more info, there are some good tips (and bad tips) within, so do read/skim over each of the threads to get a sense of what is a good idea and what is probably not such a good idea.

HTH,
-Chimera

 

[Shmavis]

By chance, I saved this snippet from Chimera's forum (lost the links he references, though):

Thanks so much brother!

(I am copying and pasting right now! )

 

[elchischas]

What's kind of genetics are those old seeds?

 

[led05]

By chance, I saved this snippet from Chimera's forum (lost the links he references, though):

Skip the Chimp & use HOCL or H202 IMO, then be patient & don’t give up… I’ve germinated seed that old more than a handful of times, it all depends on storage & if it dries out or not

 

[OldSkewlGrower]

Someone on here did a side by side with multiple methods, the usual stuff - kelp, peroxide, gibberellic acid etc

The one method that beat all others, no contest, was throwing the seeds on top of worm castings in a worm box.

Other methods averaged 10%
Worm box 67% !

I've seen a modified version of this using worm castings in a domed tray, also worked very well.


I inherited a few thousand 1993 seeds in 2020, germination was very low and I couldn't source castings for some (cough) reason, so had to experiment a bit..

What gave me vastly better results is zapping the seeds with a 12v battery using a 12v connector from an alarm clock, I put the seeds on a wooden spoon and touched both wires simultaneously on top of each seed for a second then soaked the lot in water+rhizotonic for 12 hrs. Then I cracked each seed along the seam and planted them. Watered some rhizotonic in and bam.
Weird I know haha

My friend has a method with 350 steps he used to resurrect some 70s vietnamese black, I haven't tried it but he swears he'll never be scared of old seeds again. I'll look for it and post it if/when I do

This method of applying a low current to the seeds is extremely fascinating. What is the science behind this technique and helping old seeds to germinate? What was the rate of success for conducted seeds vs non? Also, why specifically a 12V? Sorry to pose a lot of questions, very curious here. Thank you!

 

[OldSkewlGrower]

Carbonated water mixed with hydrogen peroxide with 80°+ temps is your best bet. Unfortunately the seeds are way too old but give it a try anyway. Unless seeds are store in the refrigerator or freezer they don't last much over 6-7 yrs. Dont believe the BS about people spouting 30+ yr old seeds. It just doesn't happen.

Sorry but I have to respectfully disagree with the first statement. Mixing carbonated water and hydrogen peroxide creates the chemical reaction:

H2CO3+H2O2→CO2+2H2O+O2

As you can see, when carbonic acid reacts with hydrogen peroxide, the hydrogen peroxide decomposes into water and oxygen, along with the formation of carbon dioxide. Why is doing this pointless? Because ultimately, you're left with just plain water for all that effort, with none of the benefits of either starting compounds.

For soaking seeds, I use a 3% peroxide solution for the first 6-8 hours, then a 1% solution until the 16-18 hour mark. By that point, if they haven't opened on their own, I will manually hand crack each hull, then soak in 0.5% solution until taproots extend from within the hull.

I further disagree with your other assertion that cold stored seeds don't last more than 6-7 years. I have an ECSD revival thread started just a couple days ago featuring 13 year old ECSD x (OG x Chem) beans by GanjaRebelSeeds. Albeit requiring a bit more finesse than fresh seeds, they are still popping with the method I outlined above. The youngest seeds from my library are at least 12-13 years old. I'll be cracking them open over the next year or so. You're welcome to check out future projects as they happen.

 

[OleReynard]

By chance, I saved this snippet from Chimera's forum (lost the links he references, though):

Most breeders won't honor bleach water soaked seeds.
Had this trouble with Emery

 

[Rgd]

just germed 25 year old seeds..kept frozen..opened[quickly] many many times

germed fast and good

 

[Turbo5]

Scuff seeds,24hr soak in water and wood vinegar, heat mat set to 77, plant seeds in biologically active soil....wait.