Germing 20 year old seeds

[Devon Cream]

Hiya been having a rummage thru a box of old seeds they’ve been fridge stored the entire time there’s a few packs wanna try to germinate some are about 15 years old some older! What’s the best way I’m not banking on much happening. Is best way to scour the seeds with sandpaper first and use GA3? Never used the stuff before but folk said it’s good on old stored seeds thank you.

 

      TS

[Dr feelgood]

I wash first in mild bleach or peroxide then maybe gently crack some before soaking, i then soak in pure coconut water for a day or 2 then into cotton wool with plain water.

I have just attempted to germ some 20 year old sensi skunkf2 and got 1 live plant from around 30 seeds so maybe not the best method but ive tried the giberelic before and it did nothing.

Good luck mate.

[Owderb]

Just do as you would normally. If they crack they crack and if they dont they dont. Thats how I look at it. I just bang them in the medium and hope for the best

 

Owd

[Herbal Kint]

Dont expect much, i recently cracked 5plus years old Sour K seeds,none germinated :/

[Guest Default Attribute]

I tried to crack some 10 year old seeds recently, had pretty shite germ rates just a game of chance really when they are that old but still worth a try

[nigelpotter]

One of the recent potcast episodes with Mean Gene of Freeborne Selections (ep53 &53.5), he talks about the possibility of using tissue culture on really old seeds that won't pop i.e. creating a callus from the endosperm. He does go on to say though that he is trying to find a lab/company that he can trust to do it.

 

GA3 experiment: 

  

[twigs]

stick a few in the freezer for a few days then into a warm medium and keep them ‘warm’ - read some good things about coconut water and or sea weed juice lot help (I use a bit of coconut water mixed with water) 

 

Does Freezing Kill Seeds?

Seed banks store rare, exotic and heirloom seeds in refrigeration units or cryogenic chambers to ensure the survival and future of specific plant varieties. As a home gardener, you probably don’t have a cryogenic chamber in your garden shed, and you also probably don’t need to store thousands of seeds for decades. That said, the kitchen refrigerator or freezer are sufficient for storing leftover seeds, as long as they are stored properly. Improper freezing can kill some seeds, but other seeds may be less fussy. In fact, many wildflower, tree and shrub seeds actually require a cold period, or stratification, before they will germinate. In cool climates, plants such as milkweed, Echinacea, ninebark, sycamore, etc. will drop seed in autumn, then lay dormant under snow through winter. In spring rising temperatures and moisture will trigger these seeds to sprout. Without the preceding cold, dormant period, though, seeds like these will not sprout. This period of stratification can easily be simulated in a freezer. Using Seeds that are Frozen The key to success when freezing seeds is storing dry seeds in an airtight container and keeping consistent cool temperatures. Seeds should be thoroughly dried before being frozen, as the freezing process can cause moist seeds to crack or split. The dry seeds should then be placed in an airtight container to prevent them from absorbing any humidity and taking on any damaging moisture. Seeds stored in a refrigerator should be placed near the back of the fridge where they will be less exposed to temperature fluctuations from opening and closing the door. Storing seeds in the freezer will provide seeds with more consistent temperatures than refrigerator storage. For every 1% increase in humidity, a seed can lose half its storage life. Likewise, every 10-degree F. (-12 C.) increase in temperature can also cost seeds half their storage life.

 

[Dodgee]

If they been in the fridge the whole time there should still be viable seeds there I think. 

 

If it were me I'd take them out of the fridge for 24hrs first to let them warm slowly.  Then soak in plain water for 12-24hrs (or until they sink). 

 

Then into your usual medium. 

 

Good luck with em 

[KC]

I had some 10 year old ones, only 2 but 1 germinated and luckily it was a girl.

[Keye]

I know someone who just popped about 10-15 11ish year old seeds and they've all sprouted. Weren't especially well looked after.

[Arthur Mix]

I tend to soak older seeds for a while in a weak nitrozyme solution , seems to help older ones .

[Whatwentwrong]

Plagron makes a seed booster product. I haven't used it but I'm gonna buy some now. 

 

I just managed to get a sssdh seed to pop and they are ancient. Luckily it's a mum. Looking at the stuff on line it think they're from the 90's or early 2000's. I put 30 into paper towel and after 5 days nothing. So I slightly cracked a few and one of these germinated. Keeping them warm and moist is the most important thing but then equally a lot of them rotted and had dissolved into a white paste after 5 days in too much water. Some cracked but didn't go any further. 

 

It's roulette with old seeds. I'm gonna mix it up next time. Soak them in this seed booster then some straight in the soil and some in the paper towel. 

 

I forgot it was around £20 so I'll wait till next month. I've just bought a new tent and stuff, brand new best quality, 480w full spectrum Samsung lm301b board with uv and ir, genuine meanwell drivers off alibaba so money is a bit tight. 

Edited May 28, 2021 by Whatwentwrong

[Barnes]

What strains are they Sinnerman just out of interest?

[JockBudman]

Ah done a wee test on some near 15 year old seeds early this year.  Stuck mine in a tub of homemade wormy compost wi a wee spritz of water - jist laid them on top.  Got the idea off another site where a guy done a test on a ton of methods using 20 odd year old Mex seed an that was the best of the bunch (though everyone else focused on tryin tae arse about wi GA regardless)

 

Anyways, ah got 4 cracked,  2 tails, 1 out the soil but it died early on. Mine were duds but the guy who ran the test got pops on all his an they had good vigour so ah'd gie it a crack again in future masel.