Long Term Seed Storage questions

[Guest 16149]

Hi all

I have found that I am getting too many seeds to keep up growing them so I wanna do long term storage of the seeds.
This is my plan, move all the seeds I have now in their breeder packs into Glass vials and then add Silica Dessicant to the vials also and then freeze them
Any suggestions or am I on the right track?
Thanks

Pics below


Silica Dessicant



Vial Size



Seeded Vial, Seeds and Silica sealed in vial

 

[neongreen]

Yes. You are on the right track.

There are a few considerations though...

Firstly, every time you freeze/thaw seeds, some will be killed, there's no escaping that, but for long term storage (3+ years), freezing is the best way to go.

With that in mind, make sure your freezer is not the type that will automatically go through defrost cycles, and don't freeze seeds you plan to use within 3 years (refrigerate them instead).

Secondly, use glass jars which have an air-tight seal (same sort as for curing bud is probably ideal IMO), and I would also leave them in the fridge for a couple of days before going into the freezer so as the moisture can be absorbed into the silica before it freezes and causes damage to the seeds.

Once in the freezer, don't take any out unless you have to, and if you need to get some out, be sure to get what ever you don't want to use back in quickly. If you have lots, then make notes of exactly which jar, and where in the jar they are so you don't let them thaw any more then they need to.

 

[Guest 16149]

Neongreen
Thanks for the hints
I will separate the seeds I am gonna germ under 3 years from the ones I wanna keep long term, Freeze the long term and refrigerate the short term.
I will put the vials inside of Mason Jars for the frig and the freeze
would you say that this method, the glass vials and silica is good for short term fridge storage also?
Once again thanks for your quick reply and suggestions

 

[neongreen]

You're welcome Blaner123Doobie

For the short term storage, I would say that would be fine, except that there wouldn't be much point in having the vials if you're putting the silica outside them - it should be in the same container as the seeds. I have all my seeds in short term storage until I move, which could happen soon, and they are just dumped in mason jars (in their original packaging) together with one or two sachets of silica in each jar.

Now that I think about it, I see no harm in using vials alone either way (long term or short term) to be honest - I guess it might even make it easier when you have to get at them if they are only in small vials. The only thing is, stuffing a sachet into a vial could be a problem if the size is not right, and it seems like overkill to have just a few beans to one sachet of gel, but that shouldn't do any harm as far as I'm aware.

 

[Guest 16149]

Hmm
I did not stuff the sachets into the vials, just cut them open and poured in the gel
The sachets are cheap enough I can easily afford to put one or two worth into each vial.
Thanks

 

[Navigator330]

Blaner: I read something the other day from a breeders website that 8C is the perfect temp.

Good luck!

 

[littleone]

My method

My method

Hi Blaner123Doobie

I use a Thermos and/or Rice.

I put the seed in cardboard tubes (old type cotton reel or similar) so they can breath very slowly.
Half Fill a large sealed container with dry rice, place cardboard tubes in and top with rice before putting the cap on.
Or as above with in a thermos using a small silica gel capsual in the sealed container.

Note- put your materials in the Fridge or freezer, pre cool preperation.

The advantage being that you buffer temprature changes that happen when the fridge is opened or/and you take some seeds out.
The Rice and/or Thermos acts as a temp buffer.

Just what I do and might give you some simple ideas, I am usualy pretty methodic and make it up as I go based on basic science.

littleone

PS- Any body got advice for my post?

 

[Guest]

i just put all my seeds in deep freeze.thay say you can keep them for thousands of years.
read.http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2...em&ex=1204174800&en=bb161b3e01576e3d&ei=5087

 

[Guest 16149]

Thanks for the responses and ideas all, the reason I use silica and not rice is that I understand rice can carry fungus or molds, plus I can reuse the silica and it has moisture indicator beads, change from blue to pink when damp.

 

[littleone]

Yer, Rice is just a cheap alternative

Yer, Rice is just a cheap alternative

Fugus n mould? Posible.
Rice was cheap n available.
I oven dry first.

Just as a note- I started using the rice as a method to extend the storage of pollen by freezing it, again it is totally seperate physically and acts as a buffer to temp.

Stored pollen for about a month with limmited viability when I finally used it.
Next is to obtain some dry ice and see if I can use it to dry the pollen before storage.

Have fun
littleone

 

[clue7]

What size vials are you using? Im curious cus I was thinking of using amber colored vials maybe 1/2 dram or 1 dram for 10-15 seeds each.

 

[~CH9~]

you can vacuum sealed them,,,it is the best way to go to avoid air and moisture coming in after opening the door regularly....

 

[pokerman2006200]

where do u get the vials and silica gel at?

 

[clue7]

vials ebay

 

[Sam_Skunkman]

I do not use silica as in the past it has dried out the seeds so much it cracked them open. I do make sure the seeds are well dryed, a bit below 10%.
I have saved fresh seeds well dryed, for 20 years frozen at -30 in a freezer, they germinated 100%, before and after the freezing.

-SamS

 

[neongreen]

I do not use silica as in the past it has dried out the seeds so much it cracked them open. I do make sure the seeds are well dryed, a bit below 10%.
-SamS

Thanks for that bit of info Sam. Many years back on OG I asked if it was possible to over-dry seeds, and never got an answer! I did however suspect that it was possible, and have tried to be cautious by not using fully charged gel. Hopefully my seeds have not suffered - I haven't seen any that have cracked open anyway!

 

[Guest 16149]

Great info Sam, I had no idea, guess I will remove the silica from the inside of the vials and just use it around the outside of the vials in the main storage container.
Thanks for all the help and suggestions guys

 

[Londinium]

I do not use silica as in the past it has dried out the seeds so much it cracked them open. I do make sure the seeds are well dryed, a bit below 10%.
I have saveb fresh seeds well dryed, for 20 years frozen at -30 in a freezer, they germinated 100%, before and after the freezing.

-SamS

I have also had my seeds crack when I tried the Silica gel in the 90's so stopped using it back then! I have just had a 40% germ rate on 50 odd seeds of various strains and crosses I lost and found,most of which were from '91 to '94 and were in glass vials with screw caps in a Locking Blue glass jar.They weren't frozen or refrigerated until I found them again late last year.I also couldn't vouch for the temperature or exposure to light as they weren't in my posession for many year's til found by a family member in their junk.I wasn't very hopeful and have been pleasantly surprised with results and will see if I have any probs with the plants as they mature. I would still recommend freezing for anything over 4 years in my experience though.
?Sam,Are there any particular things I should look out for with seedlings`from old seeds or pre-emptive procedures or I might take just in case(I do occasionally use Superthrive if I have sickly plants or I do any transporting,would it be beneficial when the seedlings are a little older)Any suggestions would be appreciated if u get a chance? Ta JBo

 

[joaquin386]

How do u dry the seeds Sam?

 

[Sam_Skunkman]

Paper bags in a dry room for a few months will do it.

-SamS