Will 35 year old seeds sprout

Try Willow Water, Fresh green Weeping Willow branch, cut the leaves off, then cut the branch(switch...ouch) into one inch pieces and let it soak in a few cups of water for a couple days. The Water should turn cloudy. Then use this water to germinate.

Reasoning: Willow trees have many varied ancient uses, including pain relief, antibiotic if ground into a mash and place on wound. This tree is what Aspirin is made from - originally - by herbalists. But the Willow has hormones that can be used to grow clones of nearly anything you want to grow. There are stories of the Willow twig being stuck in the ground and a tree will grow.

I use it to clone, by itself, no clone gels or powders, just root plugs, a dome and an old dirt covered stinky heat pad.

I have not planted a seed before but since I have a 100% clone record on two sets of 12 clones, 24 total, maybe I am a green thumb. This is my first grow. I would likely use this water to germinate seed as well. I just haven't had to germinate yet. I have 4 seeds of Stinky D aka Sour D in a test tube for about 6 years, stored in the dark of a drawer. When I finally get through with this current cloned grow I plan to germinate that Sour D.

If you haven't tried it yet what have you got to lose?

I wish you luck, try it one more time:Namaste:

:peace:X
 
Hash Hound said:
revisited my old friend the other day and he dragged out the rest of those 35 yr old seeds. there were a 2 surprises; Thai stick and seeds, and about a gram or two of what I believe to be some Colombian

I have tried sprouting each of them over the past year or so except the Thai which I will give a try first.

here is a little glimpse of the stuff, and of course I tried some in a bowl and believe it or not I am high. Not fresh WW high, but I def got a buzz.
Columbo_multi_color_78.jpg


Thai
Thai_stick_n_string.jpg


this is a large zip of Mexican mix
Mex_Mix_big_bag.jpg


this is a medium zip of Oaxacan
Oaxacan_medm_bag.jpg


together I bet it is over 2lbs of seeds
2_bags_Mex.jpg




Colombo Gold
Columbo_Gold_78.jpg


Kono Gold
Kono_Gold_78.jpg


Colombo mix
Columbo_78.jpg


Maui Wowi
Maui_Wowi.jpg
Click to expand...

This is what I dream about when I sleep! DaMMMnnn, that needs to be brought to Washington and grown!!! When are you coming? Seriously, I have had dreams about finding all my seeds from the 80's.
 
Every few weeks I toss a few in some dirt or in between towels.

I haven't had luck sprouting any of them yet.

Storage in an attic must have done them in with the summer heat.

My best hope is for some of the Oaxacan to sprout. Some of the seeds in the middle of the bag might have been insulated a bit more and protected from the heat.
 
No do not bring them here!!!! Lord Indica does not remember the days of the pure sativas. Snow was the time you harvested your tiny worthless sativa buds. Now if that Colo gold is from the fall of 1980, Do whatever you can to save that. That batch was one of the best sativas. Some of those seeds sent to Kona became instant Kona gold in 81. I had seeds from trips to Maui in 76,78. Kona in 82,85. Time to see what I still have. By the way the flowering time is measured in months not days lol.
 
pucker huddle said:
No do not bring them here!!!! Lord Indica does not remember the days of the pure sativas. Snow was the time you harvested your tiny worthless sativa buds. Now if that Colo gold is from the fall of 1980, Do whatever you can to save that. That batch was one of the best sativas. Some of those seeds sent to Kona became instant Kona gold in 81. I had seeds from trips to Maui in 76,78. Kona in 82,85. Time to see what I still have. By the way the flowering time is measured in months not days lol.
Click to expand...

I started smoking weed in 80. The only thought I had at that time was making enough money to get a "lid" or "2finger" bag, still save money for my car fund and kick my brothers ass at Atari 2600! You are exactly right, I do not remember the days when Sativa sucked but I sure would love to get some of those genetics to play with. The Punta Roja, Columbian Gold and Kona Limon are the original landraces that I keep hearing about. They are the new original (sounds stupid when I say it too) land race finds from South America. I got a lot to learn but it sure is fun trying to figure it all out. I hope you germ those seeds and grow the best bud on earth brother, then give a brother a clipping to spread the good cheer. Peace
 
the Colo Gold is from the 76 or 79 superbowl trips in Miami. I'm leaning towards 76. It was very very good. I still have a few of these.

The Kona is 81. I don't have them any more. I kept trying to sprout them til they were gone.

I hear they can take the genetics from old seeds. If so I need to know how to get the rest of the Colo and Maui to someone that knows what to do with them.

I imagine they are pure land race strains I have.

I just watched strain hunters vid of them in Colombia. He wanted to trade the guys seeds. In a few years when his strains taint all the land race in Colo. He will have the only pure land race Colombo.

From most of the specials I have seen. Not much land race in Jamacia, Morroco, and a few of the other places they have visited.
 
Hash Hound said:
the Colo Gold is from the 76 or 79 superbowl trips in Miami. I'm leaning towards 76. It was very very good. I still have a few of these.

The Kona is 81. I don't have them any more. I kept trying to sprout them til they were gone.

I hear they can take the genetics from old seeds. If so I need to know how to get the rest of the Colo and Maui to someone that knows what to do with them.

I imagine they are pure land race strains I have.

I just watched strain hunters vid of them in Colombia. He wanted to trade the guys seeds. In a few years when his strains taint all the land race in Colo. He will have the only pure land race Colombo.

From most of the specials I have seen. Not much land race in Jamacia, Morroco, and a few of the other places they have visited.
Click to expand...

I sent you a PM
 
Crack some of them seeds open... if they are white inside and not a little shrivelled up nut they should pop man
. Chances are they are old dead and dried out.
 
Don't get me wrong. The sativas where great smokes. That's why I flew to Hawaii almost every year till I planted a friend there lol. But they would not come close to finishing here. We used to have seed cracking contests, Lord knows we had enough of them. Wet paper towels and heat.
 
Damn sweet topic :)
I wish I had some of these when these sativas ruled the earth, but wasn't even born unfortunately :)
Next year I'm gonna grow them pure strains anyway as I found a great source: Ace Seeds. These are Spanish breeders and they brought back Panama Red, Colombian Mangobiche and also crossed them to get Punto Roja (mixture of Santa Marta Gold and Panama Red phenos). They also sell Bangi Haze (Nepalese Charas Plant x Congolese Sativa), which has been grown all around Europe and is supposed to have amazing ability to survive rains, cold and frostbite! Well, next year I'm picking these ones for a long outdoor run as I have a good climate over here.

Good luck with your germination, man! I'd really like to see some sprouts :D
 
I have had excellent results sprouting 20, 30, and 40 year old tomato seed with a Black Tea soak. A two to sixteen hour soak seems to be the time-frame for best results. We are not quite sure what it is in the Black Tea that "wakes-up" the seeds or somehow helps it to sprout (The tannins in it have been suggested).
I have successfully sprouted 40+ year old tomato seed that was practically dust; meaning... it was probably in the same environment as your seed was. Out of 50 old tomato seed varieties sent to me [from the early 70's to the mid 90's) I only had two that did not sprout. One variety there was only one seed and the other two seeds, so it is a proven method we just do not know the science behind it... yet. So brush off those failed methods, pick up some hope, and giv'er another try. :peace: You can do it!

Here is another post from a couple more-seasoned breeders/growers [of tomatoes] than myself: Guru #1

In 2007, I got a pack of Mozark tomato seeds from Dr. _____, University of Missouri, Columbia. The pack was marked "1964" but I never found out if they were kept in refrigeration or not. Dr. _____ just said he found them "in the lab."

Dr. _____ told me in an email that he had gotten 50% germination using bottom heat. I soaked the first batch of 100 seeds in a mild black tea solution overnight in the refrigerator and germinated them in a folded paper towel soaked in the tea and enclosed in a Ziploc bag. The bag was kept on top of the refrigerator for 7 days.

I got 50%+ in the first five or so days, and ended up sprouting 72 seeds (72%) after a week or so.

I ran another test with the same batch of seeds when I was ready to start my seeds for the season, and just put the seeds directly into starter mix dampened with a very light solution of Miracle Gro fertilizer on a recommendation from Carolyn _____ to use some sort of high nitrogen product in a very mild solution. With bottom heat on that tray of seeds, I got around 45 - 50% germination.

I've never used bleach as a germination aid because I've had adverse results treating seeds with bleach in solutions stronger than 1:4 Clorox:water when soaking over 4 minutes, as a disease treatment. I found soaking longer than 4 or 5 minutes dramatically reduced viability of the seeds. But that's just been my experience.

As a result of these experiences, I usually start with simply going to the starter mix dampened with a mild solution of high nitrogen fertilizer, keeping the starter tray damp but not sodden, covered with plastic wrap, and either setting on a heat mat at 80*F + or -, or set in a warm spot. The reason? Simplicity and to avoid over-handling and fiddling about with paper towels and little rattail sprouts.

Guru #2
I ran a controlled test soaking old seed in tea a few years ago. The optimum time for soaking in black tea is 16 hours. I ran soak tests with 4 hour intervals from no soak, 4 hour soak, 8 hour soak, 12 hour soak, 16 hour soak, 20 hour soak, and 24 hour soak. The 16 hour treatment gave best germination. Also, adjust the temperature to exactly 85 degrees. I tried it cooler and I tried it warmer and 85 was best. One special note about this though, some of the wild species of tomatoes like to get really HOT before they will germinate. I've had exceptional results with them by letting the greenhouse get up to 120 degrees for 2 or 3 hours. This year is a good example, I had 1 seedling from a S. Pimpinellifolium from TGRC. After the heat treatment, 20 more seedlings popped within 3 days. The seed had been in the start tray for 4 weeks before the heat treatment.

Some of my results:
Amazing Grace 7 of 7
- Raycjeskove 5 of 8
Beduin 7 of 11
- Fanal 13 of 75
F.H. Crow 5 of 7
- Fline 5 of 16
Adelia 35 of 50
- Georgian 1 of 3
Brandywine x Stupice 2 of 8
- Milzani 2 of 19
Loomis 4 of 6
- Karzelek Pulawski 30 of 47
Jagged Leaf x Potato Leaf 1 of 5
- Variegated 3 of ?
Neris 9 of 10
- Heineman's Vortreffliche 1 of 19

I hope this posts fosters new life into those with old seed, and to bring that old seed out of storage for a try with a proven method that actually works.
 
TBobERoyale said:
I have had excellent results sprouting 20, 30, and 40 year old tomato seed with a Black Tea soak. A two to sixteen hour soak seems to be the time-frame for best results. We are not quite sure what it is in the Black Tea that "wakes-up" the seeds or somehow helps it to sprout (The tannins in it have been suggested).
I have successfully sprouted 40+ year old tomato seed that was practically dust; meaning... it was probably in the same environment as your seed was. Out of 50 old tomato seed varieties sent to me [from the early 70's to the mid 90's) I only had two that did not sprout. One variety there was only one seed and the other two seeds, so it is a proven method we just do not know the science behind it... yet. So brush off those failed methods, pick up some hope, and giv'er another try. :peace: You can do it!

Here is another post from a couple more-seasoned breeders/growers [of tomatoes] than myself: Guru #1

In 2007, I got a pack of Mozark tomato seeds from Dr. _____, University of Missouri, Columbia. The pack was marked "1964" but I never found out if they were kept in refrigeration or not. Dr. _____ just said he found them "in the lab."

Dr. _____ told me in an email that he had gotten 50% germination using bottom heat. I soaked the first batch of 100 seeds in a mild black tea solution overnight in the refrigerator and germinated them in a folded paper towel soaked in the tea and enclosed in a Ziploc bag. The bag was kept on top of the refrigerator for 7 days.

I got 50%+ in the first five or so days, and ended up sprouting 72 seeds (72%) after a week or so.

I ran another test with the same batch of seeds when I was ready to start my seeds for the season, and just put the seeds directly into starter mix dampened with a very light solution of Miracle Gro fertilizer on a recommendation from Carolyn _____ to use some sort of high nitrogen product in a very mild solution. With bottom heat on that tray of seeds, I got around 45 - 50% germination.

I've never used bleach as a germination aid because I've had adverse results treating seeds with bleach in solutions stronger than 1:4 Clorox:water when soaking over 4 minutes, as a disease treatment. I found soaking longer than 4 or 5 minutes dramatically reduced viability of the seeds. But that's just been my experience.

As a result of these experiences, I usually start with simply going to the starter mix dampened with a mild solution of high nitrogen fertilizer, keeping the starter tray damp but not sodden, covered with plastic wrap, and either setting on a heat mat at 80*F + or -, or set in a warm spot. The reason? Simplicity and to avoid over-handling and fiddling about with paper towels and little rattail sprouts.

Guru #2
I ran a controlled test soaking old seed in tea a few years ago. The optimum time for soaking in black tea is 16 hours. I ran soak tests with 4 hour intervals from no soak, 4 hour soak, 8 hour soak, 12 hour soak, 16 hour soak, 20 hour soak, and 24 hour soak. The 16 hour treatment gave best germination. Also, adjust the temperature to exactly 85 degrees. I tried it cooler and I tried it warmer and 85 was best. One special note about this though, some of the wild species of tomatoes like to get really HOT before they will germinate. I've had exceptional results with them by letting the greenhouse get up to 120 degrees for 2 or 3 hours. This year is a good example, I had 1 seedling from a S. Pimpinellifolium from TGRC. After the heat treatment, 20 more seedlings popped within 3 days. The seed had been in the start tray for 4 weeks before the heat treatment.

Some of my results:
Amazing Grace 7 of 7
- Raycjeskove 5 of 8
Beduin 7 of 11
- Fanal 13 of 75
F.H. Crow 5 of 7
- Fline 5 of 16
Adelia 35 of 50
- Georgian 1 of 3
Brandywine x Stupice 2 of 8
- Milzani 2 of 19
Loomis 4 of 6
- Karzelek Pulawski 30 of 47
Jagged Leaf x Potato Leaf 1 of 5
- Variegated 3 of ?
Neris 9 of 10
- Heineman's Vortreffliche 1 of 19

I hope this posts fosters new life into those with old seed, and to bring that old seed out of storage for a try with a proven method that actually works.
Click to expand...

Awesome info! I think the chemicals in the tannin are an exciter for the process of germination. (research needs to be done) We are going to be using your information here over the next few months and I will give you a heads up. We have some (mixed colombian from the 70's) from back in the day. (thank you so much HH) If your method works :thumb: It will be a glorious day in the great NorthWest and things will be getting interesting. I ordered some El Dorado from Nirvana seeds just in case. (plus I want to try some) If your info works your going to be my new hero! What is it about the tannins? Hmm. God I hope this works! Peace.
 
If this Colombian - I hope it's the legendary Santa Marta Gold - cracks open, let us know & make some fresh seeds if you get to it. I'll be willing to exchange whatever I have for some of these :grinjoint:
 
TB

thanks for the info, I will give it a try.

If I ever get any of these old seeds to sprout, 1. clones will be taken if female, 2. I will try making fem seeds from them. At the least I will cross it with some other strain whether male or female.

conrad

I'm not sure which Colombian it is, but it was the prettiest multi colored buds I have seen to date and the smoke was superb.

The sort of high I have been looking for in some of the new strains i grow, but nothing is like the soaring high/couch lock stone from that strain.
 
Hey Hash Hound. We missed you At hemp fest!! But we did meet some awesome scientists and your name was mentioned. Your famous man... Exciting stuff man and thank you for lighting another fire under my butt! This plant saved me this year folks! I got the flu. I ate the cannabis because smoking it was not an option. I only had mild symptoms and it was over in 3 days. I am usually the worst person in the house if I am sick. Turns out cannabis is anti viral. It is also an barrier agent (more studies have to be done). I think the cannabis made a HUGE difference in my recovery. Just an fyi. Peace.
 
Back
Top Bottom