d.c. beard
Well-Known Member
Got a question today about seed storage and thought it would make for a helpful thread. If you've ever had questions about what to do with your seeds once you've made them by breeding two plants, this should answer some of them.
Let the seeds dry and cure naturally in the buds, or at least leave them out in a dark place so that they dry really well. Once they're bone dry, just put them into film canisters, jars, or ziplock baggies labeled with what the contents are (this is what I do, I use the little jewelry bags).
I actually write the strain is (Female x Male), whether it's mostly indica or sativa, tall or short, yield description (low, med, high), and the date that the seeds were done so that you'll know exactly how old they are when you go to use them years from now. Once you have all your beans separated and labeled, put a couple of grains of dry, uncooked rice in each baggie with the seeds. This is a desiccant, and will absorb any moisture that might get into the bag preserving the seeds. Gently squeeze out all the air, seal up the bags with the rice grains in them, and then put all of those individual baggies of seeds into one tight-sealing jar with one of those silica packets, which of course is another form of desiccant. Seal the jar up and then store in a completely dark, cool area.
They do say that storing them in the freezer will help them to retain their viability longer, but I can't stop thinking that the moisture in the freezer would get into the seeds and be bad for them. I mean, all our meat and everything we put in the freezer ends up getting freezer-burnt if you leave it in there long enough (like a year), so I don't see how this wouldn't affect seeds as well. You always end up seeing that crystallized condensation on the INSIDE of the meat packaging and stuff. Moisture is a seeds worst enemy in terms of storage. The problems of maintaining seed germination increase with seed moisture content. At 8-9% moisture level insects become active and reproductive. At 12-14% moisture fungi can grow on and in seeds. At 18-20% internal heating may occur, which speeds up the process of decay. And last at 40-60% moisture seeds start to germinate. So like I say, I keep mine in the dark in a room in my house with low to average humidity. I've popped seeds that were years old and still had almost 100% germ rates, so the dark, dry room method can't be all that bad.
Happy growing!
dc
UserQuestion: said:
Let the seeds dry and cure naturally in the buds, or at least leave them out in a dark place so that they dry really well. Once they're bone dry, just put them into film canisters, jars, or ziplock baggies labeled with what the contents are (this is what I do, I use the little jewelry bags).
I actually write the strain is (Female x Male), whether it's mostly indica or sativa, tall or short, yield description (low, med, high), and the date that the seeds were done so that you'll know exactly how old they are when you go to use them years from now. Once you have all your beans separated and labeled, put a couple of grains of dry, uncooked rice in each baggie with the seeds. This is a desiccant, and will absorb any moisture that might get into the bag preserving the seeds. Gently squeeze out all the air, seal up the bags with the rice grains in them, and then put all of those individual baggies of seeds into one tight-sealing jar with one of those silica packets, which of course is another form of desiccant. Seal the jar up and then store in a completely dark, cool area.
They do say that storing them in the freezer will help them to retain their viability longer, but I can't stop thinking that the moisture in the freezer would get into the seeds and be bad for them. I mean, all our meat and everything we put in the freezer ends up getting freezer-burnt if you leave it in there long enough (like a year), so I don't see how this wouldn't affect seeds as well. You always end up seeing that crystallized condensation on the INSIDE of the meat packaging and stuff. Moisture is a seeds worst enemy in terms of storage. The problems of maintaining seed germination increase with seed moisture content. At 8-9% moisture level insects become active and reproductive. At 12-14% moisture fungi can grow on and in seeds. At 18-20% internal heating may occur, which speeds up the process of decay. And last at 40-60% moisture seeds start to germinate. So like I say, I keep mine in the dark in a room in my house with low to average humidity. I've popped seeds that were years old and still had almost 100% germ rates, so the dark, dry room method can't be all that bad.
Happy growing!
dc
