18 month old seeds

[Jaz]

Ahh. You mentioned botanists and research so I thought you had an original source.

Have edited my post since.

We have to bear in mind that it really is a little pedantic as seeds still sprout regardless and there's a multitude of factors that will affect the vitality of a plant - too many to list here without taking considerable time.

When it comes to people paying tens, if not hundreds for one seed; you really want to do everything possible to give that seed the best chance possible.

All I know, as mentioned, when I started using this method, my seedlings started to sprout looking healthier than previous.

I remember previously teasing off seed casings many times, from one or both the cotyledons and in my opinion, I'd rather plant the seed the pointy end up to avoid doing this.

j

 

[SparkNShred]

In addition to point up, plant deep enough so that the husk is pulled off as the seeding pushes up through the soil. Too shallow and they emerge with husk stuck tight, and you have to fiddle with them. I plant about 5/8" deep.

As to age, in another thread here guys sprouted seeds saved from the '60s.

 

[skirk]

From this research, I store my seeds in an airtight container, rear top shelf of my refrigerator @ 40°F. As far as germination, I give a 4 hr. soak in a liquid seaweed solution, then place in a warm 82°F, moist Jiffy pellet which results
in a sprout emerging between 36-54hrs. I'm 36 out of 38 with this method with seeds stored up to 4 years. I've never paid attention to seed orientation when planting. If the husk doesn't release upon sprouting, I help it off by inserting a needle between the membrane and the cotyledon. This works for me.

 

[Jaz]

This reminds me of that chart that claimed you could determine the sex of seeds from their shape. Never did seem to stand up to real world testing, but it's still floating around too.

lol, that does sound ridiculous.

As for the planting orientation, in my opinion it makes sense. Each seed has a finite amount of energy which can decrease over time, storage conditions, genetics, etc.

If the root has to expend additional energy to curl around twice; theoretically, it can run out of puff.

Similarly, if you plant too deep, the root can only grow so long before it runs out of steam and the whole organism dies underground.

j

 

[Melville Hobbes]

lol, that does sound ridiculous.

As for the planting orientation, in my opinion it makes sense. Each seed has a finite amount of energy which can decrease over time, storage conditions, genetics, etc.

If the root has to expend additional energy to curl around twice; theoretically, it can run out of puff.

Similarly, if you plant too deep, the root can only grow so long before it runs out of steam and the whole organism dies underground.

j

I agree with all of that, it's just that I have planted seeds point down, and when I knock the soil off the rootball after harvest the stem is completely straight right into the taproot. No j-curve.
But this is kind of off topic, no point in discussing it further.
Happy growing!

 

[Vegan4life]

Another germination method I have read about recently and used with 100% success. Soaking seeds for 12 hours in a mixture of 5 parts distilled water or RO water and 1 part 3% h202. Then putting them in paper towels moistened with distilled water or RO water. All 4 seeds that I did this with showed tap roots in less than 24 hours between the paper towels. I put them in soil and all 4 popped out of the soil in less than 48 hours.

 

[Jaz]

when I knock the soil off the rootball after harvest the stem is completely straight right into the taproot.

I imagine the root gets thicker as it grows and straightens out along the way or that tiny curve isn't noticeable with the thickness, side shoots, etc.

This is only relevant to its life up to the point of emerging from the soil, what happens after that is dependent on a whole lot more.



j

 

[SmokingWings]

That was 5 interruptions and a half hour to type this.

I know this situation very well.

 

[Icemud]

Hi, folks.

I have 3 blueberry auto and 3 sticky beast auto seeds. As I mentioned in the title, unfortunately they are a bit old (purchased 18 months ago). During this time, they remained in the room conditions (in seller's transparent tubes, 20-25 °C). 3 days ago I put one of them (sticky) in a small pot (potting mix) and sprayed it for germination. She still hasn't sprouted. I have had successful attempts with soil and paper before, but I am not very experienced. I want to be careful as there are very few seeds.

I hope with all my heart that they are not dead. If this seed doesn't sprout, should i try another method next time? What would you recommend?

Thank you for any help you can offer.

Just a FYI, if you are storing seeds for long term, or just storing them, its best to keep them refrigerated in a dry container in a refrigerator or similar cool dark dry space. I asked this questions to about 10 different very well known industry breeders and they all responded with the same answer: Cold, dark, dry. Some said refrigeration is good for 10+ years, and some mentioned freezer for longer term storage 20+ years.

My method of germinating is pretty simple and works fairly well with good seeds.

1. I take a 2 oz shotglass, fill it with R/O water and set it on my stove just above my pilot light (for warmth). You cold also use the top of a refrigerator, or heating pad or anything that will keep the water warm.
2. I will use a piece of sandpaper, or nail file and gently rough up the edges of the seed where the seed opens on the seam. Not overdoing it, just enough to help it crack open if the seed coat is thick, but I don't actually try to open the seed, just scratch off a bit of the older layer.
3. I drop the seeds into the shotglass of water, make sure the water is lukewarm, but not hot.
4. Usually within 24 hours, and sometimes withing 6-12 hours, the seeds will crack open and show the taproot. Usually I keep them submerged until the tap root slightly comes out of the seed casing about 1-3mm.
5. Once the taproot is slightly exposed, I take my 2 gallon pots of soil loosly full. I stick a single pinky finger into the soil to my 1st knuckle, about 1/2". I add a very light dusting of mycorrhizae into the hole and surrounding soil.
6. I very carefully drop the seed into the soil hole, making sure to try not to touch, squeeze or move the taproot, and then lightly brush soil over the hole to cover the seed. I soak the soil fairly well with Reverse osmosis water, but trickle it on so it doesn't disturb the seed. (I personally never pay attention to the direction the tap root is in the soil hole, I just drop it in. The seeds naturally will turn the correct way and emerge from the soil, as long as the soil is not too compacted, and the hole is not too deep).
7. I place the pot into my grow tent under lights raised up about 2-3 feet, and usually within about 3 days the seedling will emerge from the soil.

If somehow during step 4, the seed doesn't crack open and its been 48 hours, I will gently empty the water, and use a pocket knife to very very lightly scrape along the seam where the seed splits/opens. Just enough to remove a little more seed coat and help the seed pop open. I don't force the seed open, but just run the knife perpendicular to the seed seam, like a scraper, and just take a fine layer off. Then I place the seed back into the warm water and usually give it another 1-2 days. If it doesn't pop after that, which is rare, then I will try opening the seed manually with a knife and plunk it back into the water again to see if the taproot comes out..

Usually this method works probably 95% of the time with good seeds, however with very old seeds that were improperly stored, i haven't really found a successful way to germinate those yet. I wish I knew, because I have some I'd love to get going, but thus far haven't been able to.

*****IMPORTANT NOTE**** the "hotness" of the soil is a HUGE factor in successfully germinating soil. I've found the best soils to germinate are very light in nutrients and not fortified with tons of guanos, or time release synthetic ferts. Some soils are too hot out of the bag and seem to really burn the taproots and lower the success rate. Ocean forest for example I don't use for seedlings because of this, and although I have successfully used it to germinate, my success rates were much lower than using something less hot.

 

[Rhizome]

Thank you very much everyone. The discussion gave me invaluable information. Unfortunately I could not germinate this seed but I still have 5 seeds. I will try a new one soon and share the process here.

 

[Rhizome]

I managed to germinate one of the other seeds (blueberry). Here she is: