Sifting through the Seedbank: more questions about old seeds

[White Beard]

I’ve just dug out my old seeds, which have been put away since I stopped smoking seeded weed; looking them over, I came to dig up what I could. My results have been only about germinating old seeds, but I think that’s only part of the story.

I have maybe 2000 seeds, which have been “stored” in glass jars and plastic baggies, most with maybe a dozen seeds, all dug out of mids between ‘81 and ‘00; these packages have been in an old metal box which has been kept indoors, away from moisture, heat, and sunlight.

None of these packages have been opened in ~20years.

Before packaging, I did my best to find and remove bunk seeds, seeds that were cracked, pale white, and or would come apart when rolled between thumb and finger. That was the best I knew to do.

Thing is, I’m sure that’s not all a seed can tell me: I’ve heard that one can tell female seed and male seed apart, for one thing.

So my questions boil down to one - what can I learn from the seeds themselves? Likelihood of sex? Signs of sterility, contamination, general health, hemisphere of origin? Anything else that can be learned from examination of the beans themselves?

I consider these seeds to be precious. I intend to grown them out when (if) I can, so any information, etc that I can use to improve my outcomes will be hugely beneficial.

So, as Ross Perot said to Al Gore...”I’m all ears”! And thanks in advance!

 

[green-genes77]

Seed morphology is generally not indicative of genetic or geographic origin, at least at this point in history. Maybe this was the case in '81 but I was 4 years old then so I can't speak to this. Regarding the sex this can involve a lot of factors. If the seeds resulted from intersexing they may be essentially feminized, though also likely unstable to some degree. I myself have never heard of sexing seeds by simply observing them. Any seeds with anything growing on them obviously need to go. Generally, the darker and properly formed seeds are the best, but I've had pale seeds that germinated like champs and produced vigorous plants.

Regarding sterility it is likely the majority of these are nonviable. Over time the viable ones will have formed an extra thick pericarp and you'll have to coax many of them to germinate. Some sandpapering of the seam and pre-soaking in a solution of kelp extract (1 TBS per gallon) will help to soften the pericarp and provide an influx of plant hormones to the embryo as it becomes exposed. You may need to manually pop some of them with your fingernails or incisors eventually to get the root radicle to emerge. That having been said there are many here who have successfully germinated seeds even older than yours. I myself have germinated seeds up to 18 years old.

These are precious seeds for sure, and I personally wouldn't worry too much about the sex. The males from those old lines can be just as valuable in creating new lines. Best wishes for this project-sounds like a blast.

 

[White Beard]

Thank you!

I *have* heard of sex-linked appearance factors, but that’s not really my focus: I as always am trying to learn as much as possible about the seeds themselves.

I’m not in a rush, I still need a place to work, but now that I have them ‘in hand’ I want to make sure I don’t miss an opportunity to prepare my stock, if that’s possible (fortunately they are dry and clean w/ no ‘growths). Given the number of threads covering germination of old stock on IC, I feel like I have a good grasp of my options at that phase. OTOH I removed most of the smaller and pale-grey seeds long ago...fast forward to *now* and my first seed purchase is full of seeds that look very much like those I removed.

That now
Seems like it was a mistake. I don’t want to make any more mistakes in ignorance.