"shelf life" of seeds

[shadetree]

I have been toying with trying to germ some bagseeds that a friend has had lying around for a few months off and on. I don't know exactly how old they are, but they are probably 10+ years so I doubt they are any good. I could get a few of them to crack and they would just barely shoot out the start of a taproot, but it was brown or black and would just stop at that point. It's really no big deal, I was just curious, as I've got some widow and bubblelicious seeds in some starter sponges right now that I just got from the Dr. so we'll see what happens. I may start a grow journal on them, I don't know yet.

 

[King Bud]

Start a journal, all the cool kids are doing it :evil:

err, might be a little high right now

I think seeds can stay viable for decades 'in the right conditions'. I've heard of suppliers giving out free 'old seeds' with orders, because the success rate was so low, but still viable.

 

[Stoney Bud]

I sprouted some 2 year old seeds recently. They acted a little weird.

 

[cannagro]

i got some seeds from the cup 6 six years ago and im trying to germ them now, i dont know if im gettin them warm enough, shadetree let me know what happens, i remember the seeds i bought but i dont know which are which, silly me mixed them up

 

[shadetree]

yeah, I don'k know in what conditions these had been kept, but I'm sure they weren't in any refrigerator and over the course of that many years and several moves, I was really surprised that they had so many seeds left. Thanks for the input.

 

[THCPezDispenser]

They acted a little weird.

Intriguing, do elaborate...

 

[mastersativa]

I was just trying to germ some 4 to 5 year old seeds and they acted wierd also, they cracked and sprouted about 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch and just stalled out. I trie to put them in soil and then after a feeeeewwwww days nothing. I moved the dirt from the top of them and they hadn't grown at all and smelled horrible. I have grown successfully before with these same seeds, so i dont believe it was me. So i think that old seeds do go bad.

 

[THE BROTHER'S GRUNT]

We have some two year old seeds that were still using with no problems. As long as you keep them in a cool, dry dark place they should be fine.

 

[shadetree]

I tried everything I could find or think of, as it became a challenge after some time. Warm, cool, dark, light, glass of water, paper towel, peroxide, scuffing, you name it I tried it, nothing seemed to work. I had no money in the seeds so I figured what the hell anything is worth a shot. It ***** too because there was supposedly some northern lights, a hash plant of some sort, and some good skunk in there, all mixed up though. Would have been a fun grab bag of sorts.

 

[Stoney Bud]

I sprouted some 2 year old seeds recently. They acted a little weird.

Intriguing, do elaborate...

They took a day longer to pop than the first time with the same seeds using the same exact method. When they did crack, the growth of the tap root was markedly slower and smaller.

I think this depends entirely on the specific strain. I've grown others that were many years older with no problem at all.

 

[Stoney Bud]

We have some two year old seeds that were still using with no problems.

TBG, you could stick a broom handle in the freaking ground and grow a tree!

BOTH of your thumbs must be bright green...

 

[BioG1]

They have recovered seeds from millions of years ago that still have to potential to grow. So I'm guessing your fine.

(Biology/History lesson of the day.)

 

[shadetree]

I have heard that. Fresh seeds are alot nicer though, all 10 of the ones I started thursday afternoon have come up. Getting ready to throw them into my small dwc with pure water in a few hours, and then we're off!

 

[Stoney Bud]

They have recovered seeds from millions of years ago that still have to potential to grow. So I'm guessing your fine.

(Biology/History lesson of the day.)

I'd like to read about this. Could you direct me to a scientific article about one that has been found?

 

[cannagro]

yeah cuz i kept my seeds good but they dont want to pop and they are 6 yrs old, i still have my fingers crossed cuz their good strains

 

[That crazy vancouver guy]

I'd like to read about this. Could you direct me to a scientific article about one that has been found?

no doubt... doesn't stuff that's been sitting around for a million years or so usually fossilize? ? ? ( I think someone's been smoking some good sh-- ....)