Germinating 10-Year-Old Seeds

Hey guys, I’m back from a ten year hiatus. I have half a dozen seeds to choose from, but I have a few questions about the germination process. In my early growing days, I used freshly purchased genetics, which I assume were fresh seeds. I had no problem getting a 99-100% germination rate. I used the wet paper towel method, placing them between two plates with a heating pad. I also had some success germinating seeds using the paper towel method in a ziplock bag next to a heat source.

Most of my seeds now are about a decade old. I know there are several threads on germinating old seeds, but most of them involve germinating seeds that are 20+ years old. One thread was about germinating seeds from 1972! Mine have only been in storage for 10 years.

Storage-wise, my seeds were refrigerated for the first two years, but were then kept outside of refrigeration. They were stored in layers of ziplock bags / envelopes away from heat, light, moisture, and air.

Do 10-year-old seeds fall into this same category of germinating ‘old’ seeds? I.e. are 10-year-old seeds considered old old? Should I use the same technique as seeds that are 20, 40, 50 years old?

First re-attempt

To re-wet my feet, I tried germinating two feminized seeds from the stash. I soaked for 24 hours in a shot glass of bottled water until they sunk when tapped. I used a combined method of the one described above, using tap water in paper towels inside a bag inside two plates around a heating pad. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m rusty, my small sample size (2 seeds), feminization, or because of their age, but one seed displayed evidence of mildew and the other has not cracked. I believe utilizing the ziplock bag to contain air and moisture may promote mildew. Should I keep using the paper towel method, just without the ziplock bag?

Next Steps Based on Research

I spent a few hours browsing ICMag and reading on germination techniques for old seeds. It seems like everyone has their own method, without a clear consensus. Plus, I’m not sure 10-year-old seeds should be germinated the same way 20/50-year old seeds are. However, the threads seem to suggestion the following things I'm close to trying:

1. Gently wash the seeds for at least 3-4 minutes
2. Soak the seeds for 24 hours in a mixture of tap water and hydrogen peroxide*
3. Utilize paper towel method without bag to circulate air
4. Don’t pre-soak old seeds at all*
5. If you pre-soak old seeds, only do so for 5-12 hours*

*There is conflicting advice here, some say pre-soaking old seeds make them more susceptible to mildew.

Advice I’m hesitant to pursue:

1. Crack / scuff the bean to make it easier to sprout
2. Plant directly in soil (with no humidity dome)
3. Plant seeds in coco noir or a verm or other mix

I'm not sure which advice to listen to or ignore. I have a lot of refreshing of my memory to do.

Main Questions

• Are 10-year-old seeds old enough I should treat them as “old,” and follow the same methods for 20 & 40-year-old seeds?
• If I continue with the napkin germination method, should I keep the ziplock bag, or should I utilize the two plates and check throughout the day? (i.e. remove humidity)
• Is there another germination method or technique I should be utilizing for seeds this age?

Apologies for the length of my post, and thanks for reading. I appreciate you!

i recently cracked a few beans from 5-6 different strains the oldest i’ve had since 08’-09’. the oldest were first to crack and more vigorous then the rest. all stored in tupperware with rice in drawer of fridge. i did nothing different then my usual.... 12-24 hr soak then straight into medium(coco). good luck!

I feel that ph is more important than almost any other factor. Plant cells live and die by the ph of the fluids in and around them. It's the difference between a thriving 20 year old bean and a 3 yr old dud. Make sure to keep ph of your paper towels in the 5.3-6.3 range. This is basically micro-hydro we are doing, just without nutrient. H2o2 isnt necessary, and easy to overdo, killing precious cells.



I've been popping old beans a long time. Last month I was given a few hundred bag seed from 98-04 from a friend of my wife's, who had kept them during college but never had an opportunity to grow them. Most won't pop since they were kept in a dresser drawer, but some have, and many are attempting to....slowly. pics are of those seeds. No idea the original genetics, mostly mids and some good ol brown mexi here n there I'm told, but mostly just saved the ones from the better smoke. Not many real small/mexi looking seeds, so I doubt I'll find any long flowering plants.



Same as prepping rockwood, I soak the paper towels in 5.5ph overnight, then layer in a container and add fresh 5.5ph water with 1 drop of clorox per quart. Add just enough that you get a little puddle when u tip it to be sure everything stays fully saturated.



I dont sand seeds, but a little roughhousing helps crack the seal. Ever seen that sam Adam's commercial where the guy runs a handful of hops and smells em? Like that, minus the smelling. The rolling pressure cracks that old glue along the edge of the hulls.



If they weren't kept in cold, dampen (dont soak) a paper towel and drop in a bag with the seed and put them in a crisper drawer for at least a few days to begin hydration while they chill. I usually do this pre-hydration/chill every time, regardless. It's a head start on the hydration process. Once the seeds are on the heat, the clock is ticking. You only have so much time to get them going before infection and rot stop your clock and the extra head start makes a big difference for me.



Be real careful with a heat mat. They can easily overheat the little sealed nursery. I like to fluctuate from just warm, to pretty warm, to room temp, etc. Seems to promote the fluid exchange/osmosis that beans need to get goin.



The cotyledons of a nearly desiccated/dead seed usually show some scarring, but once established, the true leaves grow normal. once the seeds show a root pushing, I use tweezers (no gross fingers in there) and drop in the warm pro mix flat. It can take 2 weeks to get them above soil level so be patient (and sterile!)

Method shared by Senior member

Method shared by Senior member

Hiya LFOD,

I archived this post and ensuing discussion in the thread for myself and share whenever the question comes up. EWC, sterility, hormones, and time. To be transparent I will try some oldies using this method in early spring but haven’t yet.

SolarLogos method

Peace,
F2F

Beaucephus said:

i recently cracked a few beans from 5-6 different strains the oldest i’ve had since 08’-09’.

all stored in tupperware with rice in drawer of fridge.

Click to expand...

What was the Germinationrate in overall? Im interested cause i use plastic Tupperware in Kitchen-fridge. Heard Plastic is slightly porous..

Funny that...coincidentally I’m currently trying to germ 6 WallyDuck C99xCali-O seeds from 2006. Doing it the way I always have: moist paper towel inside a ziploc. Each seed gets its own bag and they are all resting on top of a towel covered seed starting mat for warmth. Next step: cross my fingers and hope for the best. There’s no turning back .

ETA: these have been kept in the fridge in a ziploc with a desiccant pack for the duration.

F2F said:

Method shared by Senior member

Method shared by Senior member

Hiya LFOD,

I archived this post and ensuing discussion in the thread for myself and share whenever the question comes up. EWC, sterility, hormones, and time. To be transparent I will try some oldies using this method in early spring but haven’t yet.

SolarLogos method

Peace,
F2F

Click to expand...

Do you know what hormones or techniques??? Always had lousy results with seeds. They crack then stall and die. Just had 10 of 10 do that. Need method that can go in coco, so hopefully rockwool method.

The method linked above relies on goodies (hormones) in EWC and coconut water. Bleach for sterility, H2O2 for oxygen.

I stratified some old old old Italian cypress seeds in fresh EWC…after 1mo in the fridge I went to check and they were sprouting already at refrigerated temps (~40F).

Peace
F2F