Germinating 15 year old seeds: No luck with many methods

[LIBERTYCHICKEN]

I believe once you get them to grow they grow normally

afterall their have ben countless seeds 1000's of years old sprouted and grown out that have produced some intersting varitys

One grain in paticler Kamut ( a wheat) was found in the tomb of some egyption fario , Today the grain is grown commericaly

 

[Cascadian]

Right on, I had some Kamut and Quinoa pasta the other day, good stuff! Glad to hear that the genetics will be unaffected if they sprout.

I have tried many of the methods suggested to me on this thread. No luck at all, i think the seeds are just a little too old and should have been stored in the fridge. The NCGA seedling is still hanging on but no noticeable upward growth. I tried to check on it/dig it up a little today and it appears that it has tried to put down a tap root without sprouting yet. Will see if anything happens, the rest of the failed germination attempt seeds I dug up and put in one pot and covered with saran wrap.

Since I last posted I have sprouted 3 Jack the RipperXPurple Urkle, 1 Strawberry Headband, and 2 GDPXHarlequin. Should have plenty of interesting crosses and quality seed stock even with the likely 0% germ rate on the old seeds.

 

[growone]

good luck, i like old seed threads, but i've yet to see one that got legitimate old seeds to grow
you do mention trying a stronger tea/nute solution, not sure that will help, but i guess you need to try whatever you can
i have seen a few name breeders talk about very dilute solutions of bleach for sprouting, very dilute
think the idea is to inhibit any bacteria, but be mild enough for the seed

 

[Gquebed]

I had a crop go south on me and had to take it down and while waiting for an order of new beans to come i tried germinating some beans a friend gave methat he had kept from high school days. They were 20+ years old...all popped and i got 5 females out of the 8 i started...and i got 22 zs of fiat class bud....just never knew what it was....lol

 

[Cascadian]

That is amazing, I am wondering if you live in a particularly cold climate that might have kept them viable? I suspect that not keeping my seeds in fridge is a big part of why I got 0% germ.

What method did you use to germ them? I do still have 10 MC's breakfast (williams wonder x bubbleberry) from 1998 I will be attempting some time next year.

 

[Gquebed]

It certainly is a cooler climate here. Can drop down to -30 for a few weeks during Nov - Feb, but it hits 25-30 degrees celcius (77-85f) often from Jul - Sep. I'm not sure how my buddy stored the seeds. I think he lost them for a long time and when he moved he found them, so he wasn't careful with them. Maybe I was just lucky, picking the 8 that I did. I still have a good handful of those and should try again just to see. I germ the simple way... a saucer with wet paper towel under and on top, covered by another saucer. The trick for me has been keep the temp constant (75f) and don't let the paper towel dry. Never had a prob that way, cept for bad seeds.

 

[Cascadian]

I tried a similar method with some of mine. I think I just have seeds that weren't stored properly and went bad. Your results do give me some hope for seeds I have left though.

 

[churchhaze]

There's absolutely no reason to keep the seeds dark other than the poor speculative reasoning that "it's dark when it's under soil so it must like germinating in the dark".

Lettuce seeds, for example, have a much higher success rate in the light than in the dark, particularly with red light. In fact, success rate becomes nearly 0% when a pulse of far-red (730nm) light is shined at the seeds before a long dark period and near 100% when a pulse of red (660nm) light is shined before a dark period. Seeds under 24-0 red (660nm) have the highest success rate.

I've always germinated my pot seeds exclusively in the light with no problem. The "make sure it's dark" thing really is just an old wives tale with no scientific backing to it.

Light plays a big role in seed germination in many plant species, so why would it work the opposite with weed? Putting it in a dark drawer makes absolutely no sense. If anything, you make the plant think nights are 24 hours long for a few days before "revegging" when you finally turn the lights on. It's pointless stretching.

 

[Cascadian]

Churchhaze, that makes sense. The one seed that did sprout was under 24hr light in a glass of water at 75deg. I know there are many people who germinate exclusively in water under light and have good success. My preferred method with fresh healthy seeds is soak for 6-24 hours or when the seeds sinks whichever is longer (minimum 6 hours) then just plant directly in soil 1/4" deep. I have had near 100% success with this method. Many ways to skin a cat and there are certainly many old wives tales when it comes to growing MJ.

 

[Great Lemon Skunk]

Churchhaze, that makes sense. The one seed that did sprout was under 24hr light in a glass of water at 75deg. I know there are many people who germinate exclusively in water under light and have good success. My preferred method with fresh healthy seeds is soak for 6-24 hours or when the seeds sinks whichever is longer (minimum 6 hours) then just plant directly in soil 1/4" deep. I have had near 100% success with this method. Many ways to skin a cat and there are certainly many old wives tales when it comes to growing MJ.

hey i was wondering if you got any of those really old seeds to germinate and grow as ive got bout 5 skunk and 10 white widow seeds from 2000-2004 and i started with 15 skunks and i havent been able to get any to crack but one and when it did i put in soil and 2 days later it seemed like it went back into its shell. so any help would be much appreciated!!

 

[Cascadian]

Yeah, I do have 10 MC's Breakfast (williams wonder X bubbleberry) from around 1998. I am holding out hope one will pop when I try to germinate it next year some time. It is supposed to stay very short and finish in 60 days.

The exact same thing happened to me on the one that popped (tap root showed then retracted back into the seed). From what I have read, over time the carbohydrates, enzymes, and nutrients degrade even though the embryo is still alive. This means it has less "fuel" to drive it to the seedling stage. When I attempt the MC's I will be making a tea with some Kelp (I use eco nereo kelp), maybe a very small amount of worm castings, and a bit of molasses (for the carbs). I plan on using multiple methods but all will involve soaking them for at least 24 hours in the solution. Direct sow is my favorite method with healthy seeds but I will probably soak some of the seeds in the solution for several days (changing out the solution with fresh aireated solution every 24 hours) until the seeds pop. Also planning on letting the tap root grow a bit before I remove it from the solution to avoid it retracting back into the seed.

 

[Great Lemon Skunk]

Yeah, I do have 10 MC's Breakfast (williams wonder X bubbleberry) from around 1998. I am holding out hope one will pop when I try to germinate it next year some time. It is supposed to stay very short and finish in 60 days.

The exact same thing happened to me on the one that popped (tap root showed then retracted back into the seed). From what I have read, over time the carbohydrates, enzymes, and nutrients degrade even though the embryo is still alive. This means it has less "fuel" to drive it to the seedling stage. When I attempt the MC's I will be making a tea with some Kelp (I use eco nereo kelp), maybe a very small amount of worm castings, and a bit of molasses (for the carbs). I plan on using multiple methods but all will involve soaking them for at least 24 hours in the solution. Direct sow is my favorite method with healthy seeds but I will probably soak some of the seeds in the solution for several days (changing out the solution with fresh aireated solution every 24 hours) until the seeds pop. Also planning on letting the tap root grow a bit before I remove it from the solution to avoid it retracting back into the seed.

alright thanks alot man!! ill try the tea with some of the other skunks and WW i have and hope your ceeds pop and grow!!

 

[JohnDee]

Cascadian,
I have 17 seed packs...the newest is 6 years old and some are over 10 years old. I won't be germinating them for another 6 months but have researched the technique I plan on using. You need to step outside the ganja community to find data in this technique. It's called cold stratification. First you scuff up the seed and then put it in a rich layer of organic saturated peat. Humic acids and fulvic acids and auxins. Then place seed in this moistened organic mix and stick it in the fridge for a month simulating "winter" and also allowing lots off time for scuffed seed to absorb the rich moisture in the peat. This is what people do with heirloom seeds. The oldest seeds ever sprouted were found in an egyptian mummy sarcophagus...so I can't imagine some 15 year old ganja seeds should be such a problem. Or at least that's what I hope. lol
JD

http://datreestore.com/cost.html

 

[sativa indica pits]

try freezing them.... then scrape or file down the pointy tip of the seed a little bit to let the water in easly before they rot or mildew. but they like to be frozen, its like a natural course of there life and has been for thousands of years.....15 yrs might be to late man unless they were keep in a very dark, air tight container... hopefully in the freezer??

 

[Cascadian]

They were kept in an air tight container in a file cabinet. I will try freezing a few when I give it another try. Thanks
(Edit: did some research and even though it may work I will not be risking freezing my seeds. I still appreciate the suggestion.)

JohnDee,
Thanks for the link and advice. That technique makes sense as the old seeds are depleted of nutes/food for growth. I will definitely research it more and give that a try when I give it another go in a few months.

 

[GrowPops]

Bump

Curious if you had any luck.
I just found a few hundred seeds from the last cross I initiated 15 years ago. I would like to resurrect the strain. I have no idea what genetics. But the male was a good skunk (supposed clone) given to me. The female had to be close to 100% sativa that we loved and was our mainstay every year. When I found the male I bagged it for future harassment of gifter. Then on the way out of the woods when i saw how short little this particular lady was.......anyway I took him from the bag and lightly tapped her on the nose.

I put three into ffof in cups with my tomato starts. 3 days fine. last night mice dug the 4 planted seeds up. two they opened and consumed. Two were still mostly under soil but I looked like it was starting to open. I covered and watered.