Will 35 year old seeds sprout

Here is a simple method that I found in The Burn Mag Volume 1 Issue 4 Pages 28-29: This is an excerpt from that article:

--- Let's shift this conversation away from freshly purchased seeds and onto that old bag of seeds you saved from days gone by. I had some Jamaican Sativa seeds that were 15 years old and had been exposed to extreme heat. I gave them to an individual who liked Jamaican Sativa but let that person know "look" there is almost no possible chance these will germinate.

-- This person using the paper towel method was determined. After a few weeks passed I believed all hope was lost. This person pushed on changing the paper towels regularly and keeping seeds moist.

-- I always believed if nothing germinated by 2 or 3 weeks it would never happen. I would discard the seeds as bunk, no good. After a month past we began teasing this person. "You're crazy, there is no way those seeds will ever germinate...etc." I was surprised to see those seeds actually germinated after six weeks.

-- Talk about an old dog learning a new trick. I thought about all of the strains I tossed after three weeks had passed without germination and all of the strains I still had believing their time had passed. I jumped right into my oldest seed stock with enthusiasm [and] was able to bring several strains back into existence. One Ethiopian Sativa strain I finally germinated at 48 days. I now call the strain E48.

-- One of the longest germinations I have seen was between 56 and 60 days on a batch of 24 year old P3 (War Hero) seeds.

-- So, if you are a breeder or pack rat that has an old bag of seeds from days gone by there is a good chance you can germinate those seeds after all. A friend of mine actually germinated a batch of Acapulco Gold seeds from 1979.

-- I believe growing from seed plays a vital role in understanding the plant's entire life cycle. I encourage all growers to get some seed growing experience. Plants grown from seed often finish faster than clones and the best method of isolating that special mother plant is from growing seeds.
Me Rudy - So basically he is saying to sprout in paper towels in a dark area at room temperature and keep the towel moist, changing at certain timeframes to keep things fresh; and have patience, lots of patience. And do not try sprouting in a refrigerator because that is simply too cold.

------------------------

I myself have a friend with some very old, locally grown, Indica seed. And these days we are always reminiscing about how good our strain was back in "the day". Now I have a chance to actually sprout and grow some of "The Really Good Stuff" legally. As a matter of fact I was just in contact with that person and this year was the first year in many years that he had planted a crop, got a harvest, was talking to me, and was too high to jam, because I was ready to go over and sample and jam. He just wanted to sit and enjoy the buzz and listen to Coast to Coast radio and contemplate life.
It has been a great year for legal outdoor harvest here in Michigan. It does take some adjustment going from illegal growing back in the day, spending time in jail, and switching frames of mind to a legal operation. Although we still maintain our circle of secrecy. There is a certain guy around here who builds outdoor grow "cages" so to speak. It is basically a solid pole barn frame with cow panels which keeps it safe from all but the most dedicated rippers.
Happy sprouting my cannabis coalition constituents.
 
Hash Hound said:
I have tried the paper towels several times for about a month and nothing.

Maybe I'll give it a shot changing the towels and water and see what happens.
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I would encourage you to stick to the [simple] plan. Keep them moist, Change often to keep it fresh, keep at room temperature, and have patience; Even if it takes 3 months. don't give up. Just think of those times people told you you couldn't do it. You can do it! I do not have access to a wide array of old seed like most do on the West Coast. Just some local fantastic Indica and some true Mowie Wowie from the 70's. The Indica for sure. The Mowie Wowie will take some tracking down. I have had not a single Mowie Wowie that even compares to the Mowie Wowie of old. I want THE original! And I am sure others would too.
You can do it HH :goodjob: I am stepping out in faith and giving you a thumbs-up in advance.
My condition merits the buzz of old. The "new" hybrid strains just aren't getting it done.
 
Recently I grew an excellent batch of sativa, that were from seeds over ten years old! I had stashed them in an amber, screw-on glass pill bottle, threw them in a drawer and forgot about them. I didn't think they would grow, but gave them a whirl anyways. Just threw them in some wet rock wool and four days later all had popped, eventually I transferred some of them to 3 gal pots outside and put the rest in a dwc hydro grow. The hydro plants finished a little earlier than their outside sisters but both grows grew big and long buds. The indoor buds were not nearly as dense and hard as the outdoor grow, but both produced excellent smoke.
 
RudyRuderalis said:
Here is a simple method that I found in The Burn Mag Volume 1 Issue 4 Pages 28-29: This is an excerpt from that article:

--- Let's shift this conversation away from freshly purchased seeds and onto that old bag of seeds you saved from days gone by. I had some Jamaican Sativa seeds that were 15 years old and had been exposed to extreme heat. I gave them to an individual who liked Jamaican Sativa but let that person know "look" there is almost no possible chance these will germinate.

-- This person using the paper towel method was determined. After a few weeks passed I believed all hope was lost. This person pushed on changing the paper towels regularly and keeping seeds moist.

-- I always believed if nothing germinated by 2 or 3 weeks it would never happen. I would discard the seeds as bunk, no good. After a month past we began teasing this person. "You're crazy, there is no way those seeds will ever germinate...etc." I was surprised to see those seeds actually germinated after six weeks.

-- Talk about an old dog learning a new trick. I thought about all of the strains I tossed after three weeks had passed without germination and all of the strains I still had believing their time had passed. I jumped right into my oldest seed stock with enthusiasm [and] was able to bring several strains back into existence. One Ethiopian Sativa strain I finally germinated at 48 days. I now call the strain E48.

-- One of the longest germinations I have seen was between 56 and 60 days on a batch of 24 year old P3 (War Hero) seeds.

-- So, if you are a breeder or pack rat that has an old bag of seeds from days gone by there is a good chance you can germinate those seeds after all. A friend of mine actually germinated a batch of Acapulco Gold seeds from 1979.

-- I believe growing from seed plays a vital role in understanding the plant's entire life cycle. I encourage all growers to get some seed growing experience. Plants grown from seed often finish faster than clones and the best method of isolating that special mother plant is from growing seeds.
Me Rudy - So basically he is saying to sprout in paper towels in a dark area at room temperature and keep the towel moist, changing at certain timeframes to keep things fresh; and have patience, lots of patience. And do not try sprouting in a refrigerator because that is simply too cold.

------------------------

I myself have a friend with some very old, locally grown, Indica seed. And these days we are always reminiscing about how good our strain was back in "the day". Now I have a chance to actually sprout and grow some of "The Really Good Stuff" legally. As a matter of fact I was just in contact with that person and this year was the first year in many years that he had planted a crop, got a harvest, was talking to me, and was too high to jam, because I was ready to go over and sample and jam. He just wanted to sit and enjoy the buzz and listen to Coast to Coast radio and contemplate life.
It has been a great year for legal outdoor harvest here in Michigan. It does take some adjustment going from illegal growing back in the day, spending time in jail, and switching frames of mind to a legal operation. Although we still maintain our circle of secrecy. There is a certain guy around here who builds outdoor grow "cages" so to speak. It is basically a solid pole barn frame with cow panels which keeps it safe from all but the most dedicated rippers.
Happy sprouting my cannabis coalition constituents.
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thx for sharing . :)
 
I found some seeds I'd been saving since 1989...havent had any luck at all...saw your idea gonna try...how have you made out of late?
thanks,
Treetops
 
Interesting thread. Yeah probably not gonna pop. But hey if you do come to Seattles hempfest hit me with a pm. I can send you away with stellar genetics. However as for previous posters never heard any talk of anyone on 420mag at hempfest any year.
 
Hash Hound said:
Well my friend had these in an attic since late 70's, freeze in winter, real hot in summer = bad storage
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Yah, that is the bane of storing MJ seeds. Heat! Humidity is the other problem. They get attacked by mold and mildew in warm and damp conditions. I have kept my landrace and heirloom seed collection viable by keeping them 1) DRY and 2) in the FREEZER. I read about long term seed storage in one of my MJ books back in the 70's. Basically they said that they will keep forever in the freezer. I have found that to be true. The reasons for this? My guess is that MJ has evolved through the ice ages like we humans have, and they have adapted to long term freezes in the ice sheets. I have had upward of 100% success germinating my seeds. I have had some problems with dampening off of some strains after they sprout, so I use sterile soil in 4 inch pots for starting them, after germinating in paper towels. You do have to be careful not to crush or break them when transferring to soil. As for the root hairs sticking to papers towels, you can cut them out of the paper towel and plant that with the seeds. I transfer them as soon as the seed coat swells and pops. Any orientation is fine, they sort out gravity on their own.
 
The main problem that I have found with germinating old seeds is that the seed coat gets really hard over time. This is a good thing to help keep them viable and the infections out, but it also keeps the water out and so they will not germinate. I have given out seeds over the years to various people and some have complained that they do not germinate... at first. Then I tell them to nick or file down the seed coats, and whallah! They get better results. MJ is not the only plant that you have to do this with, many types of seeds have to be nicked to germinate. I use a magnifying visor and I use a small rounded file* and file down the seed coast in one 'slice' just until I get to the base of the seed coat. You can also squeeze them gently to crack the seed coat halves just enough to allow water to penetrate the seeds, or lever the seed coat open just a smidge with a very sharp knife. You can also decrease the surface tension of water by adding a little soap (use soap, not detergent) to the water that you moisten the paper towel or soil with so the water becomes 'wetter' and penetrates the seed coat. I have also found that the seed coats often times do not pop open all the way and fall off as the seeds become older, so I use tweezers to lever the seed coats open when they germinate. Sometimes they break or get cut and die as you mention. It takes a steady hand and some patience, and lots of magnification for overcoming presbyopia.

*By the way, the sandpaper method posted here earlier in this thread is similar to my file method, but I do not think that it is aggressive enough. You only have to scratch or nick one part of the seed coat to get results, but you want to scratch it deep enough so that water will penetrate. I also do not soak my seeds; I use a damp paper towel. Also make sure you use previously boiled water. I have found that dampening off is a problem when germinating old seeds, especially eastern hemisphere indicas. For some reason I do not have problems with dampening off sprouting my western hemisphere landrace sativa seeds, but the indicas all seem to be susceptible.
 
Hash Hound said:
The Colombian Gold was from Miami. Very multi colored weed with a mostly gold over tone. Great kick ass weed that would get you going, or couch lock you depending on the situation.

The Kona Gold was for the most part all gold weed. Very nice sativa high.

The Maui Wowie was all green and probably the first sensimilla type weed I ever saw that had very few seeds which was rare for those days. more of an up high that was good for afternoon partying.

At least that's the way I remember them.

However it still can't compare to the hash I smoked in Germany in the early 70's. That's why my quest goes on, and why I am the HASH HOUND. :Hookah:
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It sounds like you did what I did back in the day. I saved the best 38 landrace and heirloom seeds and put them in small manila envelopes, marked them with names, dates, price and notes, and then sealed them in plastic zip-lock baggies. I put those in a plastic box, and that was wrapped in plastic again and I have keep them in the freezer wherever I have lived for the past 40 years now, going back to 1975. You can read about this on my posted thread on 420:

Original source seeds from the 70's: Yes I have some

As for the Hawaiian pot, supposedly Kona Gold seeds were sourced from Colombian Gold, and Maui Waui was sourced from the early green skinny Thai sticks. I also agree with you about hasish. I used to get Lebanese red and blonde hash through my oldest brother (he never disclosed his source, but I presume it was military and through Germany) and that was the best high that there was. Better than any bud that I have smoked, except maybe Ganja. I grew some of my favorite Morelos weed this year and they came in real nicely. They taste, look and smell just like Oaxacan with the same clear high. They are curing and mellowing nicely now. My brother grew some of this as well (I supplied him with plants on July 1 when it became legal to grow here this year :cheertwo: ) and he got some MONSTER 1 foot colas. His daughter is making all kinds of edibles with it, brownies, honey, and liquors.

But the hash, I have to figure out how they made hash in Lebanon and from what type of plants. I could get a grow and processing license and make and sell that stuff all day and all night here. Oregon Red, and Oregon Blonde. $20 a gram! Hell, I would be in hash heaven making that stuff.
 
Buckshot said:
In the late 70's I was in Florida. I believe I had what you describe above it was billed as "rainbow" it had the most amazing vivid colors.
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Some Colombian that I have seeds for was like that. Green, red, purple and gold buds. I also have Colombian 'wacky weed' that was psychedelic. I also have Colombian red, Colombian green, and lots of Colombian brown seeds. I also have one lot of Colombian seeds that a friend gave me from 20 different types. I may grow some of these next year now that I know how to force flower them early enough to get a harvest before frost here (I usually get my first frost in mid-October). I grew Colombian in California one year and they flowered insanely late; even by Thanksgiving time they were just thinking about it. Southern Mexican sativas like Oaxacan flower rather early, just a few weeks after indicas do in early September here.
 
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
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Wow! 'lombo gold brick weed! I have not seen any of that in over 30 years! Looks tasty! That is a shirt load of seeds there. Way way more than I have. I would say even if only one in 30 is viable you can get some to sprout. They (the seeds) look good... my guess is that they have hardened off. You can sort through them and toss a few in water at a time. If they float they are no good. White, smashed and cracked ones are likely goners. Dark marbled ones are likely good. Crack a few open gently to see what is inside. If they are empty, dark or black inside, they are toast. If they are white and meaty, they are likely still good.
 
BigSur said:
But the hash, I have to figure out how they made hash in Lebanon and from what type of plants. I could get a grow and processing license and make and sell that stuff all day and all night here. Oregon Red, and Oregon Blonde. $20 a gram! Hell, I would be in hash heaven making that stuff.
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Hey Big Sur thanks for stopping by and the advice.

As for making hash.

I saw an episode on Drugs Inc about hash making. I'm sure you can find it on demand or youtube. The first part shows how they do it in Morocco that is pretty neat. They just put a screen over a bowl, load the weed, cover it with plastic and beat on it with what looked like drum sticks.

I also saw a good one on Nat Geo by Jacques Cousteaus' son once, but I can't seem to find it again.

Everyone I gave a g to loved it.

I usually use dry ice which works great. Cost $25 min to buy though.

The last time, I just used the same screen and shook the heck out of it and it turned out just as good. Not sure which one produces more though.
 
Well, I have made hash several ways. Ice cubes/blender, bubble bags, boiled in alcohol, screening, etc. The results were not the same as Lebanese hashish though. I have seen the beaten screened bowl method videos, which is supposedly similar to the way that they made it in Lebanon. I have also seen videos of them making hash a different way in Morocco; they hung the plants upside down in a room covered in burlap. Then they whipped the plants and scraped the walls of the trichomes and made that into hash.

I like the way that I read back in the 70's that they made hash in the golden triangle of SE Asia: Naked women would run through groves of ripe female plants, and guys would scrape their sweat and trichomes off. They would then pound that into round shapes and wrap it in rice paper.

I have read that hashish from Lebanon is made using the sieving method similar to the way that they make it in Morroco. Lebanese blonde hash was and is made from the early season flowers, while red Lebanese was and is made from the later more ripe red flowers. This guy has a YouTube video on making Lebanese hash:

I may have a new purpose for my old silk screens! Of course I get hash fingers and scissors after harvesting and trimming my buds. Smoking that stuff knocks me out though.
 
Hey there Hash Hound! Cool thread, lots of history here. I'm wondering if you have any of those old beans left? That is what brought me here. I'd like to give some a shot at life, if you have some left and would consider sharing? Please get in touch with me :)
 
barefootgrdnz said:
I'm wondering if you have any of those old beans left? That is what brought me here. I'd like to give some a shot at life, if you have some left and would consider sharing? Please get in touch with me :)
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If you are ever near Western Pa let me know

They were not stored properly at all.

In envelopes in an attic up north, real hot - real cold for 35 years did them
 
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