Will 35 year old seeds sprout

[Hash Hound]

I visited an old friend to catch up with and turn to him on to a bud of my NL. He pulled out an old box from back in the day that had all his old bong, pipes etc. AND he had bags of seeds I had given him about 35 years ago.

A huge zip loc bag almost full with old school Oaxacan seeds. And a few other small envelopes with maybe 100 seeds in each marked; Colombian gold, Kono gold, and Hawaiian. I remember each of them being excellent smoke.

What's the chance if any that a few will sprout?
Any advice on how you would go about it to give them the best shot at sprouting?

 

[medme]

wow,,,,, good luck,,,,, but a hybred might be better smoke,,, alot has changed..

 

[Be Irie]

You can get hybrids anywhere... Man, if you get those to sprout you will be in heaven... I wish I still had seeds from 20+ years ago.... That kicks ass, hope you get a few to sprout...Heck, those seeds are older then the majority of people here, they have no idea about the originals, oldschool ....

 

[Droopy Dog]

Doubtful, being stored that way.

Put them in the fridge (NOT the freezer), for a few weeks to simulate a winter dormancy and then germ like any other seed.

Might get lucky with a few.

DD

 

[lingus]

My ex father in-law had some old seeds from Vietnam. Tried sprouting them but they were long gone...

 

[Captain Kronic]

As long as you keep them at about 5% RH... otherwise, they could sprout if they have more RH than that!
Good luck w/them seeds... I remember the days. Panama Red, Acapulco and Blonde Leb!

Doubtful, being stored that way.

Put them in the fridge (NOT the freezer), for a few weeks to simulate a winter dormancy and then germ like any other seed.

Might get lucky with a few.

DD

 

[Hash Hound]

since I have so many of the Oaxacans, I threw a bunch in between paper towels a few days ago and nothing.
Not as many of the others, so I just put 5 or 6 of each in towels, and nothing

I wrote a few seed breeders to see how they would go about it and have not heard back yet.

Would like to get at least one or two of each to sprout and try to get some seeds from them.

 

[Hash Hound]

Well, one Maui Waui seed started to sprout, and I think I hurt it. Only a very tiny tap root seemed to be sticking out, and when I picked it up with tweezers to put it in dirt, the root stuck to the paper towel. I have read that is one of the drawbacks to that method. I stuck it in dirt anyway to see what happens.

And I stuck 5 more of each seeds between more paper towels. If I get another one to sprout, I will cut out the piece of towel and plant the whole thing and see what happens. If one showed signs of life, I'm sure others will also. I will give them a week or two, then on to plan B

Plan B:
I am going to fill a small flat with dirt and stick the seeds directly in soil and see what happens.

 

[Firestone]

Sometimes it can take 2-3 weeks plus for old seed to sprout and even then the germination rates are low.

What would be ideal would be having a couple hundred of each type of seed,about enough to tie off in the corner of a baggie. You could germ 25-30 at time,giving you a better shot of getting a couple of healthy seedlings.

I don't think a bit of paper towel will hurt that seedling.

Glad to hear you've got one sprouting so far. Not a bad start for a bunch of seed stashed in a box for over three decades.

 

[Hash Hound]

No sprouts on the second attempt, been 2 weeks.

Today I tried shaking them in a sand paper tube that I read about. Soaking them a few hours. Then into rockwool cubes under the lights with my clones.

If that doesn't work the last of them will be direct into soil.
Probably should have tried that first, but wanted to be able to see progress if they sprouted in the towels.

 

[TorturedSoul]

A huge zip loc bag almost full with old school Oaxacan seeds.

That's the beginning of my favorite recurring dream, lol. I wake up and my pillow is scorched on one end.

Yeah, do the refrigeration thing for a couple of weeks, lightly scuff-sand the or score the seed casings... and hope.

Germination rates will suck. But hopefully they will be above 0%. Think I read that they've successfully germinated seeds that were found in tombs from ancient times. So if 2500+ year old seeds have a chance, maybe some of yours will too.

They might not have the vigor to germinate on their own if the seed case is unmolested. They also might not have the proper stored nutrition to grow to a state where the plant can search for and take up nutrients from the medium (IOW, you might see puny seedlings that come up, look stunted, and die).

But if you get even one of those to make it to harvest, you'll look back through the sativa haze and realize that it was worth it.

Good luck!

 

[Hash Hound]

Thanks for stopping buy guys and thanks for the tips.

About a month for the last try and still nothing.

Into the fridge they go today and then in 2 weeks I'll try to scuff them and then direct into dirt.

 

[Hash Hound]

2 weeks in the dirt and nothing.

I still have more seeds left to keep trying, but as of now, apparently 35 year old seeds will not sprout if not stored properly.

 

[Captain Kronic]

35 years, man those are some prehistoric beans... I have been saving this for my own usage should I ever need... maybe it will help someone else:

UNCLE BEN'S OLD BEAN SOAK:

1 tablespoon molasses - per gallon water
1 tablespoon kelp/kelp meal - per gallon water

Might have a couple drops of superthrive as well, or at least it wouldn't hurt...
This should be used as a germinating soak, and even to water/ fert with as the seeds are sprouting...
Here's why it works, and why it's nessesary for old beans...
In old seeds the carbohydrates are depleted, they break down with time- the vitamins and minerals as well are "diminished" in the composition of the seed itself. Law of physics- everything breaks down with age....
The seeds often are able to still pop up, but expend what energy they have doing it..
hence the mollasses to replace the carbs, and the kelp to replace the minerals/ vitamins...."

 

[Hash Hound]

Thanks Captain, I will give it a try.

 

[Growing247]

Some should sprout. I am growing a strain right now from EMERALD TRIANGLE SEED COMPANY called "BUBBA '76" It is Pre98 Bubba Kush crossed with vintage seed stock supposedly of 1976 Afghan origin. I have heard seeds have a very long shelf life, especially if they are kept somewhere cool but not cold, dark, and dry. Sort of like a wine cellar I suppose.

 

[Hash Hound]

Well my friend had these in an attic since late 70's, freeze in winter, real hot in summer = bad storage

 

[Growing247]

Well you got nothing to lose by fillin a Dixie Cup with some distilled water and see if the seeds grow a small rootlet. Be patient though. Sometimes seeds will pop open and all but jump out of their shells in 24 hours, or sometimes its take 72+ hours before they begin to even show signs of cracking open and exposing the white rootlet inside. So, that is what I would do if I was in your shoes. Try to germinate some by soaking them in cup of water. What have you got to lose? You might get lucky and find something really special like some long lost genetics that aren't around anymore. That would be really cool if some of them sprouted and you got some buds off them.

 

[Hash Hound]

G247, Thanks for the idea/advice. That's about the only method I haven't tried yet. I just put the rest of what I had in between paper towels last week. I will be visiting the guy soon that had saved them and he still has more. That is the method I will try.

It's like I am on a mission to sprout one of those buggers. Even if it turns out male, I'll use him to pollinate what ever may be growing at the time. I don't know about potency comparison, but I know I loved smoking those strains.

 

[Growing247]

That's cool. Let us know if you're able to get something going out of them. Do you remember what strains they were called back when they were going around back in the day? Was it brick weed from Mexico or S. America? Some people say brick weed or swag sucks but I used to live in New Mexico right next to the border and down there you could get a quarter pound of brick for like 100 bucks and if you don't have any weed at all, swag looks like an oasis in the desert for a man who is about to die of thirst. Now, brick weed isn't all crap. Sure it has seeds in it most of the time and some of it is really crappy but some of it is actually pretty well grown. Some of the bricks would be better than others and they would have some pretty good buds in them. The only thing wrong with them was the Mexicans use a bottle jack, a metal form, and marijuana tea in a spray bottle to form the loose buds into bricks,this would smash a lot of the seeds and also the buds were smashed and compressed but they were stoney as hell once you would break them up. This was quite a few years ago, so quality weed was a lot harder to come back then, not like it is today where the quality herb has pretty much spread to all 50 states. Anyway, if you get any of those vintage seeds to sprout please do post a photo and a report. -out-