Seeds going bad after a few years?

Im trying to germ 8 seeds and as far as I remember the other 4 I grew years ago germed.

These still haven't popped in over 3 days. Some have cracked open but I cant see anything inside.

I have them in a bag in a damp paper towel and on top if a plate that's raised off of a heating mat made for plants since it's winter here and cold AF

They typically don't last forever. storage conditions plays a big role. Also it can be hard to tell how old a pack of seeds is when you get it, so if you have been storing them for years and they sat somewhere before you bought them, it is hard to tell how old they really are.

If seeds are kept in low humidity and cold temps they'll last a while. I popped seeds earlier tis year I made 5 yrs ago no problem because they were kept in fridge that whole time. But I sent some to a friend in Cali and he only got 1 out of 5 to pop.

A trick for popping seeds is put the in the fridge or freezer for a day or two before you try to germinate them.

I buy seeds, make seeds from the strains I like and use those for 5 years. So, I always have plenty of seeds. After 5 years about 1/3 of them don't germinate. Since I have so many, I don't care. By the end of the the fifth year I have seeded out another plant and it starts over again.
Of course I use other seeds throughout the year.
Yes seeds do get to old to germinate but they don't all get too old at once.

firsttimeARE said:

Im trying to germ 8 seeds and as far as I remember the other 4 I grew years ago germed.

These still haven't popped in over 3 days. Some have cracked open but I cant see anything inside.

I have them in a bag in a damp paper towel and on top if a plate that's raised off of a heating mat made for plants since it's winter here and cold AF

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I have had old seeds take as many as 8 dyas to germinate and they did fine afterward. Older seeds definitely fail at a higher rate, some before germ, some after, some are mutants that grow ridiculously slow and some are prone to damping off. Some seeds like a little scuffing before germination, to help them crack successfully. Old seeds that were stored in poor conditions will fail more than those kept in a cool, low humidity, dark environment. (Like in a padded envelope in the crisper drawer, for instance.) Think Svalbard, Norway.

My methods, or lack thereof, for whatever that’s worth, follow:

I use a heat mat under a short stack of (3) standard seedling trays. Usually no humidity dome for seedlings, or clones these days. I germinate in 1.5” rockwool cubes, usually. I like peat pellets, too, and sowing directly in the medium.

I have never tried the paper towel game; Seems like it is too fussy and provides extra chances to damage healthy sprouts, to me, but a lot of people do it.

If they are not opening or coming out enough just pull the shell off. Be careful and use magnification if need be. Freezing will keep them forever young.

Well I guess they haven't lived the best life. Been sitting in my office in a dark tin, but it definitely gets to like 75 in there during the summer and can be pretty humid.

I'll give them some time before I chuck em and look at better ways of storing seeds.

firsttimeARE said:

Well I guess they haven't lived the best life. Been sitting in my office in a dark tin, but it definitely gets to like 75 in there during the summer and can be pretty humid.

I'll give them some time before I chuck em and look at better ways of storing seeds.

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I did the same thing with beans for years until I finally got the balls to start growing. Left them in a tin rattling around my music studio, a lot of them were eight years old or so and it seems like about half of them still germ with no this day. I pop a few now and then in hopes of finding another Purple Wreck, no luck yet.

Yeah I keep buying new seeds and I made a point recently to run older stock before I touch newer stock.

It also seems like my flower supply is always low so I usually opt for fems and then I buy fems and the regulars just get brushed to the side since I can't fall behind by having males.