25 Years old Seed! Need Help!

[Lady]

Hello RIU,

My husband found 20ish seeds that are around 25years old. He used to have them when he was a teenager and just found them two days ago while cleaning house.

Seeds are in paper towel trying to germ and the problem is; it been 2 days and all we see is white dot at the extremity of the seed but there nothing more going (been like that since almost beginning)

Is there any trick to help those old seeds have more chance to germinate? Because she is a slower! Usually the tap root is out in 24h max.

Would like to clone that strain to have an oldies around!!

Thanks alot guys and wish you a good day!

 

[Lady]

Going to bed, hope to find some answers tomorrow to help the lady!

 

[superbak3d]

I recently tried to germ some seeds ive collected over the past 15+ years.

Ive germinated tons of seeds before, but my usual methods were no go.

But, I didnt give up on them. My final method was to let them sit in a small cup of water overnight, once they sunk to the bottom i just went straight to soil. 3 days later I broke ground. 4 days now since breaking ground, and my sprouts are doing great.

So it's still possible to grow from old seeds, it just might take longer.

 

[Smuggler]

Get a coffee cup of water and add a couple of drops of SuperThrive, found at Wal-Mart, to it and soak the seeds until they crack and germ. Make sure you cover the coffee cup with a saucer or something to keep them dark and warm (on top of the fridge is good). Once they sprout, drop them in pre soaked (add SuperThrive per instructions to the soak water) cubes (root pointed upwards) 3/8 of an inch deep and have at it. That’s what I think will give them the best chance of germing. If they don’t sprout within 2 weeks this way, they won’t. Good luck and keep us posted! S

 

[Lady]

I recently tried to germ some seeds ive collected over the past 15+ years.

Ive germinated tons of seeds before, but my usual methods were no go.

But, I didnt give up on them. My final method was to let them sit in a small cup of water overnight, once they sunk to the bottom i just went straight to soil. 3 days later I broke ground. 4 days now since breaking ground, and my sprouts are doing great.

So it's still possible to grow from old seeds, it just might take longer.

Would taking em from toilet paper and putting em in a cup of water a good idea? or should let em where they are and give them a couple more days?

 

[just L]

i have found that seed are only good for around 3 years. if you keep them in perfect conditions you could keep them longer. but i have never had 5 year old + seed sprout

 

[Smuggler]

Seeds that are decades old have germed. SuperThrive is a vitimin that helps the cells reproduce like nothing else. Won't hurt at all to move them into water because, as you said, they haven't cracked yet.

PS, old genetics can be valuable if they are of old land race strains. There have been some threads on this in the Advanced section. Do a search and you may learn that you have something real good on your hands. S

 

[cmt1984]

i had some stubborn seeds that were 7 or 8 years old. i couldnt get them to sprout in paper towel like normal so i soaked them in water for 2 days then put them in paper towel and kept it very very warm. 8 out 15 popped within 2 weeks. i'd say just keep em warm and give em a few more days.

 

[turdnugget420]

Smuggler's got that right!

 

[HowzerMD]

If you're starting to see a white dot take a closer look to see if the seed casing is cracking open, it sounds like it's the root starting to pop. And yes seeds are viable for alot longer than seed vendors and people that believe their shit say they are. I popped some seeds my father gave me that were from 1974.

 

[BoomerBloomer57]

Old beans?

omg, We got old beans. And they still pop.

Tins and tins and more tins dating back to the 70's. Sealed and stored by mvf.

Mason Jars filled with lower grades.

Let me show you something,,,

all those little babies?

Beans from 1983. Collected in some part of Asia Minor by yer's
truly,,,

Pure Sativa.

bb57

store em right and you'll get em to pop.

these were in reg tap water in a whiskey glass in a closet for a few days
until they popped. I stopped the paper towels years ago.

bb57

ftp

 

[Smuggler]

It's good to leave them in the coffee cup until the root is 1/4 inch long. Let em drink up the SuperThrive and they will be the more healthy for it. S

 

[HowzerMD]

Old beans?

omg, We got old beans. And they still pop.

Tins and tins and more tins dating back to the 70's. Sealed and stored by mvf.

Mason Jars filled with lower grades.

Let me show you something,,,

all those little babies?

Beans from 1983. Collected in some part of Asia Minor by yer's
truly,,,

Pure Sativa.

bb57

store em right and you'll get em to pop.

these were in reg tap water in a whiskey glass in a closet for a few days
until they popped. I stopped the paper towels years ago.

bb57

ftp

The '74 beans I had turned out to be the most phenomenol sativa I ever come across. I did some pollenating and collected dozens of seeds for future generations. I wish the buds I grew up with were as spectacular and untainted as what you ol' fogies had, thank god the seeds stayed viable.They came from what my pop called "colombian quality bud." Most amazing soaring sativa high I've ever experienced. I'm waiting to move somewhere with a larger yard to sew these babys. I wouldn't subject these plants to the torture of indoor life, seeing as they are what they are.

 

[SmokesLikeBob]

Wow, if those seeds germinate, you must've been storing them like the mona lisa or something! haha GL Mrs. and Mr. Lady!

SLB

 

[HowzerMD]

My pop had them inside of a film canister that was inside of a plastic baggie, that was inside of a coffee can with ancient weed crumbs in it. They were storred in a deep dark portion of the chasm that is his basement. I'd imagine it was the consistant temperture and humidity levels over the years that kept them safe in his basement.

 

[greenpeace31]

i started four seeds that came from nam when my old man was at war. the picture in my avatar was what was grown from them. the seeds was 40 years old. seeds have been sprouted that was over 200 years old(don't call me a lier its all over the net google it) i have a thread here about it.

 

[superbak3d]

Honostly, If seeds are kept in a somewhat "ideal" environment, there shouldnt be any reason why they wont germ.

If they were in a dark spot that wasnt crazy humid or hot, they should be fine. It's not like they were baking in the sun for 25 years.


@Howzer. Funny you mentioned the columbian strains. I know for a fact in my seed collection I have seeds from a columbian strain ( those buds were soooooo good!). Ive collected (found lol), columbian strains, white strains, NL, super silver haze, ny diesel, and some others I probably cant name.

But I guess I just have to grow em to find out huh?!




This little girl is only 5 days old today. She was one of the few who survived in my collection. I still have like 20+ more seeds, but of the survivors this is the strongest. No paper towel, root hormones, germ kits, etc. Sat in distilled water for 24 hours until submerged (she didnt crack), straight into soil (FFoF). This is what she looks like only 5 days this morning.

 

[Spanishfly]

Seeds have been found in 4000 year old pyramids that have germinated - but they were NOT MJ.

I have found that seeds that were 5 years old lost their viability. Maybe they could have been stored better, but I would not seriously expect seeds older than 5 years to reliably germinate.

 

[Lady]

Thanks everyone for help & answers

We will take care of em! None germed yet! Hope 1 or 2 will pop at least. Going to buy Superthrive today and use it for that! (Is there instruction on the bottle for the dosage for seeds?)

 

[Lady]

Oh, by the way! If they germ , there will be a grow journal!