ClearBlueLou
Well-Known Member
With Mom’s encouragement, I’m putting this up as its own thread, in hopes it may be of use to others.
THE STORY SO FAR: like a lot of folks, I have saved bagseed from different batches of weed over the years, from the early 80s until sometime in the 90s. Yes, that makes them 30-40 years old, and old seeds are notoriously difficult to germinate - so much so that many attempt it by damaging the seeds themselves in various ways. These are not my ways: I come from the age of scarcity, pot is precious to me, and wasting it is not in my nature.
The biggest single obstacle to germination old seeds seems to be improper storage. These seeds are in two broad groups: special batches from exceptional herb, and general bagseed (sounds like a forum handle...). The general seeds have been stored in bulk, the specials have been stored in individual batches, but all batches have been handled the same since the beginning. Specifically, each batch has been culled of white seeds, broken or cracked seeds, and seeds with gunk on them; they’ve then been placed in small baggies, rolled up tight and sealed. Many rolls were taped up; some few went into small amber bottles, but ALL were kept in a metal box, away from light, and in air-conditioned quarters.
They were left this way until I recently did an inventory, when they were examined for damage (and culled again when necessary), and then put but the way they were. They are literally all shapes, sizes, and colors - mottled, tiger-striped, grey, brown, sandy, huge, tiny, average, and misshapen. The seeds I am using for this series of trials are from the bulk, of which I have maybe an ounce.
I have been studying the germination process, grow reports, scientific studies, picking up hints and developing ideas for some time now, and in my eagerness to do *something* toward my eventual grow, I began this project.
The initial round of experiments involves one gram of seeds (0.999, to be precise) - 60 seeds, and I’ll work with them in groups of 10. The initial trial is underway, and subsequent trials will be focused on improving germination rates (assuming I don’t get 100% the first time).
TRIAL #1: ten seeds, all different, but deliberately NOT selected, left in ambient conditions (~75F, 45%RH) for 48 hours.
The seeds went into 15ml of distilled water at noon today, when they were riding high in the water. 90 minutes later, they are roughly half-submerged. Now I wait. While I wait, should I outline my plans for the subsequent trials? The goal is to reach full germination, not to torture the seeds, so it probably won’t be sexy unless you’re the same sort of geek as me....
THE STORY SO FAR: like a lot of folks, I have saved bagseed from different batches of weed over the years, from the early 80s until sometime in the 90s. Yes, that makes them 30-40 years old, and old seeds are notoriously difficult to germinate - so much so that many attempt it by damaging the seeds themselves in various ways. These are not my ways: I come from the age of scarcity, pot is precious to me, and wasting it is not in my nature.
The biggest single obstacle to germination old seeds seems to be improper storage. These seeds are in two broad groups: special batches from exceptional herb, and general bagseed (sounds like a forum handle...). The general seeds have been stored in bulk, the specials have been stored in individual batches, but all batches have been handled the same since the beginning. Specifically, each batch has been culled of white seeds, broken or cracked seeds, and seeds with gunk on them; they’ve then been placed in small baggies, rolled up tight and sealed. Many rolls were taped up; some few went into small amber bottles, but ALL were kept in a metal box, away from light, and in air-conditioned quarters.
They were left this way until I recently did an inventory, when they were examined for damage (and culled again when necessary), and then put but the way they were. They are literally all shapes, sizes, and colors - mottled, tiger-striped, grey, brown, sandy, huge, tiny, average, and misshapen. The seeds I am using for this series of trials are from the bulk, of which I have maybe an ounce.
I have been studying the germination process, grow reports, scientific studies, picking up hints and developing ideas for some time now, and in my eagerness to do *something* toward my eventual grow, I began this project.
The initial round of experiments involves one gram of seeds (0.999, to be precise) - 60 seeds, and I’ll work with them in groups of 10. The initial trial is underway, and subsequent trials will be focused on improving germination rates (assuming I don’t get 100% the first time).
TRIAL #1: ten seeds, all different, but deliberately NOT selected, left in ambient conditions (~75F, 45%RH) for 48 hours.
The seeds went into 15ml of distilled water at noon today, when they were riding high in the water. 90 minutes later, they are roughly half-submerged. Now I wait. While I wait, should I outline my plans for the subsequent trials? The goal is to reach full germination, not to torture the seeds, so it probably won’t be sexy unless you’re the same sort of geek as me....