popin old beans-wtf am i doing wrong!

[kezark31]

my beans are in very short supply...the low down they were stored in a generic pill bottle in a box. It's just been floating around in my garage. ive soaked a few in rain water they sink and then do nothing..no tails nota. tried 24-36hrs. tried some tap water well hoping for a side by side..also failed there ph was just above 6. beans sat in water in the of my kitchen cupboards.

thanks -K

 

[shithawk420]

There just old beans dude.gonna have to get some new seeds and start over.seeds dont last forever unless you freeze them

 

[exploziv]

Try sanding them with a fine sandpaper on the edges (where they should split).
Don't overdo it.
Then 12-24 hours in room temp water (22-27 degrees C) and then plant them in loose soil close to the surface. Mantain heat and good humidity around them till they germinate.

This is how i germinated seeds older than 10 years old with no problems.. with germ rates varying from 30 to 80% depending on how they were kept.

There is a chance that they are completely dead by now, but you should be able to germinate at least a few if you have enaugh seeds.

 

[Stoner4Life]

I've had good luck with older beans by nipping the pointed tip of each one very carefully & only very slightly with sharp nail clippers, then germinating in a moist paper towel & in a baggie on top of my computer tower which provides very gentle heat.


best of luck.......

 

[waveguide]

plenty of threads that list techniques

eg. often using a small amount of nutes helps with depletion from storage.

 

[igrowone]

24-36 hours is not a deal breaker, i've had seeds that have taken longer to sprout

 

[Green Squall]

Back in my bag seed growing days, I had old seeds pop anywhere from 24hrs to over a week. I Would usually soak them until they sink then use the paper towel method. I would also change out the paper towel every two days so the water doesn't get stagnant.

 

[kezark31]

plenty of threads that list techniques

eg. often using a small amount of nutes helps with depletion from storage.

tried aloe water and beansprouts, two serperate cups same outcome they sink and stop.

going to try the sand paper/nail clipper method next i got about 15 or so left.

 

[exploziv]

Oh yeah, forgot to add this. Older seeds will take longer to germinate, so don't quit on them too fast.

 

[Jhhnn]

I've had good luck with older beans by nipping the pointed tip of each one very carefully & only very slightly with sharp nail clippers, then germinating in a moist paper towel & in a baggie on top of my computer tower which provides very gentle heat.


best of luck.......

I haven't worked with really old beans but I use the paper towel/ baggie/ warmth method with great success, usually sanding the seam slightly as explosiv suggests. I put 'em on the glass tops of my aquariums before I got out of that, now use the cable box. I like your nail clipper idea because it's probably easier than sanding & will accomplish much the same thing. Gotta try it next time around. Just take a teensy little snick off the point, correct?

Given the price of high end beans it only makes sense to try to get the best out of them.

 

[waveguide]

the problem with nicking the seam or tip is you can get real close to the radical in some seeds. having prepped seeds professionally (all day) i don't trust myself to (of course i still do it occasionally..). the goal of scarifying is really more a chemical stratification than mechanical, breaking the seed layer. i usually now use a file and saw a groove in the sides, safe. i've never found an increase or decrease in helmet heads to relate to where the scrape is made, only the lack of power in old seeds to throw the shell off (a drip of nutes on these).

i haven't tried using bean water myself, but i expect it's the best. iirc i recently had good result using a N + honey + fulvic brew. gibberellic acid is a bit of a fuss and no help if you're only doing small #s, i'd forget about that, go with stratification, replenishment and using moon phases (i have observed this to be effective).

 

[exploziv]

I've always had good results with sanding. I use a fine sanding pad and never go more than 1mm into the skin of the seed, only on the sharp edges.
I've also heard about people putting a small square of sanding paper in a matchbox then throw the seeds in there and mix the box with the seeds inside to provide some scarring. But I consider sanding them on the sanding pad safer and easier.

 

[stoned-trout]

I use a pill bottle lined with sand paper than a soak in a seaweed solution....yeehaw

 

[Dropped Cat]

My last thunk bean soaked a day and sunk, then went to
soil.

Almost three weeks later she popped, and I still have her, lol.

I f you have a bunch of those seeds left over, break one or two
open and look at the contents. If they dry and crusty brown, they dead.

Good luck, we're all counting on you.