What's new
  • ICMag with help from Phlizon, Landrace Warden and The Vault is running a NEW contest for Christmas! You can check it here. Prizes are: full spectrum led light, seeds & forum premium access. Come join in!

ROOTED clones in refrigerator stasis

kaneboy

Well-known member
Veteran
i had cuts for over 2 months in veg crisper,but learnt to keep them dry ,not water covering stem,just went moldy,open ziplock once a week and to give fresh air,make sure to have long stems when you cut clones as when it comes time to root i always snip few cm off bottom of cut ,let come to norm temp in cup of water,i have had lots of success with this
 

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
While cannabis DOES produce antifreeze, IMO those cuts would have to be very purple to withstand freezing. Almost frozen I can see being viable for a very long time.
 

Ca++

Well-known member
I freeze leaves, to destroy them. The ice crystals burst the cells. It's a recognised lab process, to aid sap extraction. I had been pressing them, which was a lot of effort. Then learned of this approach, and it was game changing. I do find a second freeze offers a greater return, so not all cells pop in the first cycle. It's some limp tissue that's coming out of there though.

It both freezes and defrosts, very quickly indeed.

I'm constantly surprised to hear seeds will freeze. I believe it, but still couldn't bring myself to do it.
 

Orange's Greenhouse

Active member
I'm constantly surprised to hear seeds will freeze. I believe it, but still couldn't bring myself to do it.
From what I heard it is only viable for long term storage. The freeze/unfreeze cycle kills a certain percentage but once frozen viability declines more slowly. Just a fridge kills less seeds initially but decline is more rapid. After a few years (perhaps?) it would have been better to freeze them.

It also depends on how quickly they are frozen. If you throw them into liquid nitrogen they are solid within a minute and the ice crystals that form are smaller, rupturing fewer cells.
 

Ca++

Well-known member
From what I heard it is only viable for long term storage. The freeze/unfreeze cycle kills a certain percentage but once frozen viability declines more slowly. Just a fridge kills less seeds initially but decline is more rapid. After a few years (perhaps?) it would have been better to freeze them.

It also depends on how quickly they are frozen. If you throw them into liquid nitrogen they are solid within a minute and the ice crystals that form are smaller, rupturing fewer cells.
I see.
I'm getting 6-7yo seeds out the fridge, without seeing any degradation. I really don't expect any at that sort of term. I have not tried older. I must have 20yo weed, but no seed that age.

Perhaps if I was storing them for historical value, then that would be the time to sacrifice a few in the freezer. I had not realised that's the route to take, and the cost.

I do have older seed stored in the cupboard, that I have little hope of growing. Even at 5 years, their viability was zero based on samples of 10. The fridge really does make a world of difference. Perhaps at 6-7 years, I'm right on the edge though. Salad can't keep forever. Talking salad, it must keep 3 times longer if cool. Which is a gauge suggesting 10 years in the fridge is where things get sketchy.

I know someone will have more data on this, and hopefully we can draw them out with statements they want to correct :)
 

Tomatoesonly

Active member
I see.
I'm getting 6-7yo seeds out the fridge, without seeing any degradation. I really don't expect any at that sort of term. I have not tried older. I must have 20yo weed, but no seed that age.

Perhaps if I was storing them for historical value, then that would be the time to sacrifice a few in the freezer. I had not realised that's the route to take, and the cost.

I do have older seed stored in the cupboard, that I have little hope of growing. Even at 5 years, their viability was zero based on samples of 10. The fridge really does make a world of difference. Perhaps at 6-7 years, I'm right on the edge though. Salad can't keep forever. Talking salad, it must keep 3 times longer if cool. Which is a gauge suggesting 10 years in the fridge is where things get sketchy.

I know someone will have more data on this, and hopefully we can draw them out with statements they want to correct :)
I stole this from another site and I'm 100% gonna try it when I pop my OLD beans. I've got a strain going now that is 10+ years old seeds, hopefully I'll get to see what it's really made of. But I only had like 3 in 10 pop, 1 died, 1 was a male and I just couldn't keep at the time. Luckily this last one is a female and is looking pretty spectacular. I've had a ton of old beans do NOTHING at all.

I think this was the post being refered to.

So I was having the same issue as you with some beans from the 70s.
I tried everything I could, but nothing worked.

BUT I finally mixed a few methods together, and took some advice from a member here, and got about a 98+% success rate.

First I soaked the beans with a diluted solution of 3% hydrogen peroxide and some Poland spring water.
I did a 6-12 hour soak that was 2 Tablespoons of 3% hydrogen peroxide mixed with 2 cups of spring water.
I shook them in the container every so often.
And if any sunk I took them out !
You don’t need to leave em there for 12 hours. Probably better if it’s less time, but I know I left some in for 12 hours and they still worked. I even left some for around 24 and they worked. But I think around 6 - 12 hours is safest.

Then I took them all out and washed em off with spring water only.
(As my friend @buckaroobonsai just spoke to me about, it is a very important step to rinse the h202 off, so don’t forget.)

Next I took a small plastic Rubbermaid container, like the cheap small square ones from the dollar store, and I filled it halfway with Organic worm castings. I sprayed the worm castings down with a mister just enough to know the the top layer was wet. Like 10-12 sprays. Don’t let big pools of water sit on top, but it should be wet.

Then I placed the seed gently on top, not buried. Just resting on the top of the WC. I give it one more most, seal it up, and place the container in a warm dark place.

I had beans from the 70s pop in less then 24 hours this way when EVERYTHING else I tried failed.

I didn’t see how many beans you had left, but I would try at least one or two this way. It has worked for me.

I tried 15 beans using all types of other methods, and nothing popped. But as soon as I tried this way I popped 6 out of 7 with what I had left of those old beans, and 100% for every newer bean from other strains I’ve tried since.

If you try it let me know, but I’m sure it will work for you.
 

Latest posts

Latest posts

Top