Do old seeds work?

[Politicalboi]

I may be able to get a hold of some 1980's seeds. They haven't been kept in a cool place, but they have been kept in the dark. I believe a plastic film container is holding them. Has anyone here had any luck with old seeds?

[kestrel91316]

1. I recently sprouted a bagseed that was either 2 or 6 years old.

Give it a try - you might get lucky.

[Webster Green]

2. Sometimes.

I've had 4 to 5 year old seeds germinate, and grow fine. I would be amazed if '80s seeds germinated, but it's worth trying.

[Politicalboi]

3. I will be sure to let you guys know

This would be great if it worked. There may even be Thai seeds. When I get started it a few months, I will log it here.

[Petrushka]

4. One way to test them for viability before actually planting them out & perhaps wasting your time--->

Last edited Wed Aug 15, 2012, 01:44 AM - Edit history (1)

Put three or four seeds between layers of dampened paper towel and place in a plastic sandwich bag (to keep the towel damp), leaving the bag open at one end; then, every four or five days, check to see how many (if any) seeds have sprouted.

There are a number of websites with seed viability charts and, since most of them seem to disagree with each other---which is to be expected, considering that some of them are selling seeds and would have you purchasing more fresh seed than is necessary---I've always relied on the dampened paper towel test. I've had cucumber, tomato, squash & melon, as well as various flower seeds remain viable for 15 years or more . . . by keeping them in their original seed packets which I stored in a plastic shoebox in a dry basement.

Anyway . . .
When wheat seeds found in a pyramid proved viable after 4,500 years, you've nothing to lose by testing the seeds you have.

Good luck with the gardening!






I just noticed what "group" this is!

[Politicalboi]

6. 4,500 years WOW!

So there is hope.

If I do get these plants growing, and they are just as good as they were then, I would like to share with fellow DU's here with legal prescriptions of course. I'll show you what real cotton mouth is, and the red glazed eyes that are the dead give away. I don't believe the "tolerance" BS. I think the weed today is weaker.

[RainDog]

9. LOL

the reality is that, until someone gets into fancy stuff that some mj growers do, gardening is gardening.

I've checked seeds for viability just as you explained (not mj - I only grow legal things)

And I've taken cuttings from plants and rooted them in moist sand to increase my perennials - right now I have some santolina, lavendar, Russian sage and chocolate drop sedum that I'm rooting in recycled cups with plastic baggie and rubber band "greenhouse" covers.

- except in the world of mj, cuttings are called clones. and the plant you start out with is the "mother plant." - instead of just the plant in your garden - that description always makes me think of "mother ship" for some reason...

and people who grow mj spent a lot of time in the 1980s and 1990s, it seems, creating hybrids for a market that wants a shorter plant, no matter the subspecies, that doesn't want side branches so ppl can grow a "sea of green" indoors with uniform access to light, and that wants to maximize THC (and sometimes the effects of one subspecies while using the growing habits of another.)

did you see Michael Pollan's article about growers during the Reagan era? It's a great article.

[tridim]

5. Maybe, probably.. Grow them out now and if they're viable..

take clones from each plant, flower all of the clones, then trash the males (original and clones).

You can use the original female plants as mother plants for many many years, or make new mothers from clones. Make sure you label everything well!

[Politicalboi]

7. My friend who has these seeds

Doesn't live very close to me, and they are in her mothers attic. That is a 2 hour drive for me. I told her to call me when she goes back and I will climb up there in this heat to get them. Believe me, it will be known when I get these sweet seeds. I just got over anxious and thought I would ask if old seeds work.

And I have thought of the potential of cloning. If these plants turn out like I hope they will, I will have the best weed around. The kind that sticks to the baggie. The kind that smells in your pocket even though it's double wrapped. It does not exist anymore. These seeds should be of a skunk strain, and possibly Thai also.

[tridim]

8. Cloning is pretty much a requirement

There is a lot of genetic variability in seeds from the same parents, and if you find a good phenotype you probably don't want to lose it. Cloning is the only way to preserve the genetics. It also makes perpetual gardens much easier to deal with, and you never have to deal with males.

Check out the grower's forums here:
http://www.icmag.com/ic/index.php

There is a vast amount of knowledge available on that site.