Getting Old Seeds to Pop?!?

[Gamrstwin36]

I did it, and I'm germinating some right now. They stayed 2 year out of the fridge and 2 year in, so we will see, I'll update as soon as they pop. They are soak in a kelp solution for now.

What strains bro?

 

[swamp hopper]

I just recently finished a small run of 5-6 year old seeds. I'm bitched at for how I start my seeds but I am very successful. Dixi cup with sunshine mix 4 and water. I also use flouresnts for seed starting. Last batch i started 9. eight of them were sucessful.

 

[TheCoolestMan]

What strains bro?

A few beans I have made, I didn't label them all unfortunately. I have rez White SD x rez Chem SD and The Prophet x ChemSD, some BlackBerry Bubba x OG made by a farmer. Some kraken s1 and a few OGR s1's too and fems. Going to veg for a week and send them str8 to 12/12. Those are 6 to 4 years old beans.

 

[Gamrstwin36]

A few beans I have made, I didn't label them all unfortunately. I have rez White SD x rez Chem SD and The Prophet x ChemSD, some BlackBerry Bubba x OG made by a farmer. Some kraken s1 and a few OGR s1's too and fems. Going to veg for a week and send them str8 to 12/12. Those are 6 to 4 years old beans.

BlackBerry Bubba sounds amazing. Keep us posted on those germ rates bro!

 

[lino]

Here's a lil' something might interest u:



Abstract:
seaweed extracts

While experimenting with"embryo rescue" procedures I found that seaweed extract use as part of the agar and was very useful in the propagation of radical and plumule of embryo pieces of hypocotyl and cotyledon to produce multiple cloned plants from one 20 yr old seed embryo. Seaweed extract was useful with callus also in propagation of plants. I found Peroxide needs to be handle careful with embryos. Peroxide is corrosive to tissue,. embryo tissue is very delicate,... in plants and animals... I had better luck with salines as opposed to peroxides in plants and animals... We did have some peroxide usage success with embryo rescue and insemination of embryo in bison in the re-creation on the true pure hump back yellow bison at CSU.

 

[TheCoolestMan]

I had 14 seeds on 15 to pop using kelp. Those seeds were 6 years old, which isn't that old if the seeds are wel stored. Here they cracked the shell after being soaked for 12 hours. Those are homemade beans, they were dormant for 6 years and germinated in 12 hours, thats nice.

I will try with older seeds soon using kelp worm casting and a air pomp.

 

[MrBanjo]

I've got some seeds from early-mid 80's Dead tour, that have been sitting in a metal tin filled with stubs for 30+ years, I'm a bit hesitant to try them out.

Also have some seeds a friend of mine brought back from war in Afghanistan. He said they were from pretty far north, near Tajikistan (sp?) I popped some when I first got them, and it was pretty good stuff, but nothing too special. I'm thinking I'll pop another round maybe early next year.

 

[fishwhistle]

I recently read a post somewhere else that advocated popping the seeds in your mouth before germinating,they claimed the acid in your saliva begins to soften the exterior shell quickly and has anti bacterial qualities as well,kind of makes sense.

 

[Seamaiden]

Wait a minute. If your saliva had antibacterial qualities, wouldn't that mean people wouldn't get bad breath, gum disease, periodontal disease, or cavities? Furthermore, if it were true, then why would the first Tx for a human bite that's broken the skin often be antibiotics...? Sorry, I'm not buyin' that one.

What I am buying is that saliva is a 'pre-digestive juice' that begins to break down carbohydrates. That said, what I've read is to crack the seeds gently with the teeth because using anything else will likely crush the seed.

:o

 

[Ambre]

Wait a minute. If your saliva had antibacterial qualities, wouldn't that mean people wouldn't get bad breath, gum disease, periodontal disease, or cavities? Furthermore, if it were true, then why would the first Tx for a human bite that's broken the skin often be antibiotics...? Sorry, I'm not buyin' that one.

What I am buying is that saliva is a 'pre-digestive juice' that begins to break down carbohydrates. That said, what I've read is to crack the seeds gently with the teeth because using anything else will likely crush the seed.

:eek:

I've read the the saliva trick works because of enzymes contained the saliva that help break down the seed coat.

On old seeds, one of the keys to getting them to grow is to provide some form of carbohydrates for them to use for energy. The "food" part of older seeds (endosperm) is frequently so dried up that the seedling can't access those nutrients. I use a "pressure bomb" to germ old seeds - basically, it's a quart size mason jar with a hole in the lid big enough to pass an air line in & seal around the air line with silicone. I put a small air stone at the end of the air line (the line is just long enough that the airstone will sit on the bottom of the jar). I use quart jars filled halfway with warm RO water (1 pint water). To the water, I add:
- 1 tsp molasses (I use molasses from the grocery store for purity, I've had problems using agricultural molasses because it isn't as pure and can cause mold/fungus issues)
- 20-25 drops DMSO (available at Tractor Supply or other feed stores). This helps the treated water penetrate the seed shell and helps the carbs from the molasses penetrate the embryo to enhance growth.
- 1 tsp 3% hydrogen peroxide
- GA3, about 150ppm (don't use high concentrations - as mentioned earlier, that will cause elongation & probable death)
- 10 drops Superthrive

Put the jar on a seedling heat mat in a place that doesn't have much light. I leave the seeds in this pressurized jar for about 24-32 hours and then transplant them to a sterile medium. Do not leave them in the jar too long or you will drown the seedlings. Add some Superthrive, molasses and/or kelp to the water you use to soak the medium before putting the seeds in so they have access to an energy source (worm castings are a good source of nutrients). Keep in a warm dark spot until you see the seeds popping up, then move them under light.

I am still experimenting with this system to find the "ideal" mix of additives. I have successfully gotten an 80-90% rate of germ on seeds from around 1997 using the mix above. Not all of the seeds grew after being put in medium, but I did get most of the seeds to pop open. I did not scuff the seeds before putting them in the pressure jar; the pressure and DMSO will take care of that.

You can soak the seeds for about an hour in a weak solution of laundry bleach or H2O2 in water to kill any fungus or mold that might be on the seed coat before putting them in the jar.

To give credit where credit is due, I got the idea of the pressurized jar for germing old seeds many years ago off of CW.

 

[SunGrown]

I didn't see it mentioned here yet but my research into aspirin recently led me to the fact that aspirin greatly improves seed germination.

Look into it

hope this helps

 

[Seamaiden]

I've read the the saliva trick works because of enzymes contained the saliva that help break down the seed coat.

On old seeds, one of the keys to getting them to grow is to provide some form of carbohydrates for them to use for energy. The "food" part of older seeds (endosperm) is frequently so dried up that the seedling can't access those nutrients. I use a "pressure bomb" to germ old seeds - basically, it's a quart size mason jar with a hole in the lid big enough to pass an air line in & seal around the air line with silicone. I put a small air stone at the end of the air line (the line is just long enough that the airstone will sit on the bottom of the jar). I use quart jars filled halfway with warm RO water (1 pint water). To the water, I add:
- 1 tsp molasses (I use molasses from the grocery store for purity, I've had problems using agricultural molasses because it isn't as pure and can cause mold/fungus issues)
- 20-25 drops DMSO (available at Tractor Supply or other feed stores). This helps the treated water penetrate the seed shell and helps the carbs from the molasses penetrate the embryo to enhance growth.
- 1 tsp 3% hydrogen peroxide
- GA3, about 150ppm (don't use high concentrations - as mentioned earlier, that will cause elongation & probable death)
- 10 drops Superthrive

Put the jar on a seedling heat mat in a place that doesn't have much light. I leave the seeds in this pressurized jar for about 24-32 hours and then transplant them to a sterile medium. Do not leave them in the jar too long or you will drown the seedlings. Add some Superthrive, molasses and/or kelp to the water you use to soak the medium before putting the seeds in so they have access to an energy source (worm castings are a good source of nutrients). Keep in a warm dark spot until you see the seeds popping up, then move them under light.

I am still experimenting with this system to find the "ideal" mix of additives. I have successfully gotten an 80-90% rate of germ on seeds from around 1997 using the mix above. Not all of the seeds grew after being put in medium, but I did get most of the seeds to pop open. I did not scuff the seeds before putting them in the pressure jar; the pressure and DMSO will take care of that.

You can soak the seeds for about an hour in a weak solution of laundry bleach or H2O2 in water to kill any fungus or mold that might be on the seed coat before putting them in the jar.

To give credit where credit is due, I got the idea of the pressurized jar for germing old seeds many years ago off of CW.

DMSO, for real?? I've got all that on hand already, except for the GA3. That's a HELL of a germination rate, that kicks azz!

 

[gfizz]

GA3 is always an option for older seeds.

what is GAR3?

 

[thosedamnkids]

Water soak in tap water to penetrate the shell and then put in whatever your growing medium is