20 year old seeds are popping!!!

TedeBoy

TedeBoy

Well-Known Member
20 years ago I grew some short, fat, and potent Indicas. I had about six females in a grow shed and I separated a healthy male and put him outside way in the backyard.
As the girls matured I harvested some pollen in a film canister, used a small paint brush, and carefully pollinated the lower flower branches.
I coated the seeds with fungicide and placed them in a prescription bottle (the best ones) and the rest in two small bottles. I never had a chance to try them...until now.

Yesterday I heated a quart of filtered water, put 1/4 tsp each of kelp powder and black unsulphered molasses plus added a few drops of Superthrive. I took some very fine sand paper 220 grit and made a tube, shook the seeds in it for a while, I then placed 20 of the seeds in the solution in a small glass next to the DVR to keep it warm.

It's been about 20 hours. I drained the water off and low and behold I see what appear to be tiny feet emerging!

I soaked a paper towel with the same water and rung it out. I then placed the seeds on it and folded it over. The I placed that in a semi inflated zip lock Baggie on top of the slightly warm DVR covered with a little bowl.

I am so damn excited about this.
More updates to follow.
 
MonkeyGrinder

MonkeyGrinder

Well-Known Member
You could always wait til peak harvest time and then send some sample buds in to have them tested and whatnot. Who knows you might luck up and have some fun keepers in there.
 
Cpappa27

Cpappa27

Well-Known Member
You could possibly talk to some seed breeders and show them the plants the emerge from those seeds and they may be interested if they are fairly stable.
 
TedeBoy

TedeBoy

Well-Known Member
Uncle Ben said:
You were doing fine until then.

Good luck and congrats!
Click to expand...
I only left then in there a few hours. Not long. They are in Root Riot starter cubes now under a dome which I misted inside with water. They starter dome is under a T5 for warmth and light. It's 78F and 88% humidity now in the dome.

As I transferred them I started to have doubts if they were really popping.

I'm learning.

I've got a lot more of these seeds if these 20 don't work out.

I'm open to suggestions.
 
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Uncle Ben

Uncle Ben

Well-Known Member
Here's a germ archive I wrote years ago. In a nutshell - no domes, no misting (you're inviting pythium rot) and NO paper towels! I wrote it for newbs. The principles are what's important.
*********************************************************************************************************************************
Germinating Cannabis Seeds (for Bio Growers)

Your seedlings will be alot better off if you germinate directly in soil - less handling and mechanical disturbance means less chance of physical damage to the plant's taproot (and roothairs) and less food reserves used to position itself due to the natural hormonal influence called Gravitropism. That translates into less food reserves used and increased seedling vigor, especially in the very early critical stages of seedling development.

This is my foolproof method for Cannabis Seed Germination in soil:

First, if harvesting seeds from my own crosses, I air-dry newly harvested seeds for a couple of weeks, and then store them in the refrigerator with a little rice. Cold-treatment seems to increase viability and germination rates, especially with indica-dom strains. I almost always get a 100% germination rate with quality seed stock.

Soak the seeds in plain water for 12 hours prior to planting to hydrate them, which will speed up germination. In general, good seeds will sink, bad seeds will remain floating (they contain air, not an embryo). I first sterilize seeds in a bleach solution (1 Tbsp. bleach/1 gallon of water) for 1/2 hour to kill any fungus residing on the seedcoat.

Sterilize enough *damp* fine soil with heat to germinate all of your seeds. You can do this by treating the damp soil to temps of (no more than) 180F for 20 mins in a conventional oven, or in a microwave oven on high for 2 minutes, while stirring a couple of times. Your goal is to get and hold the entire soil mix's temperature at 170F to 180F for about 20 minutes which can be monitored with a probe type thermometer. Let the mix cool thoroughly. This will insure that damp-off fungus spores have been killed in the soil mix. Make sure the soil mix is light and humusy (not real coarse). You can add a little sand or vermiculite to aid in drainage and weight.

Buy some white 20oz styrofoam "drinking glasses", commonly called "Styro-Cups", and punch holes in the bottom (and side bottom) for drainage. I use a red-hot ice pick for this. These containers are 6 1/2" tall and will allow ample room for the taproot to grow before cotyledon emergence which will increase your seedling's vigor. The taproot (radicle) is already at least 4" long at the point of emergence - don't restrict it (in order to maximize seedling growth rate). Styro-Cups can be found on the shelf displaying picnic items at your local grocery store.

Fill the pots almost to the top with your soil mix, water well to settle the mix, take a pencil and make a small hole about 1/4" to 1/2" deep, NO deeper, and drop *one* seed in. Cover the seed with fine soil, only enough to top up the hole, firm lightly with your finger, and lightly water until water runs freely thru the drain holes. Place in a warm spot around 80F/26C. Do NOT cover the cup with saran wrap or anything else. The seed has been hydrated from the soaking and will germinate soon. This container should not require further watering until the seedling is up and running.

During the first couple of days, mist the top soil surface lightly (if need be), never allowing the top to crust over, but not to the point that the medium stays waterlogged which will invite pythium rot (damp-off). "Less is more" at this point. Do NOT water this pot any more until the seedling is up, and only if it needs it at the point of emergence. Again, no need to cover with plastic wrap as the radicle (taproot) will grow at least 4" before the cotyledons emerge from the soil. IOW, even though you can't see it, the plant's root is seeking and finding moisture at the container's lower soil levels. I cannot emphasize this enough. The seedling will emerge anywhere from 2 to 10 days from the time you sowed it.

That's all to it! With good care, your faves will be ready to transplant within 1 to 2 weeks, and will easily slip out of the "cup" with a solid rootball that will never know it's been disturbed if potted up gently and quickly. Move up to a final pot of 3 to 5 gallons to sex and finish.

Good luck,
Uncle Ben
 
TedeBoy

TedeBoy

Well-Known Member
Uncle Ben said:
Here's a germ archive I wrote years ago. In a nutshell - no domes, no misting (you're inviting pythium rot) and NO paper towels! I wrote it for newbs. The principles are what's important.
*********************************************************************************************************************************
Germinating Cannabis Seeds (for Bio Growers)

Your seedlings will be alot better off if you germinate directly in soil - less handling and mechanical disturbance means less chance of physical damage to the plant's taproot (and roothairs) and less food reserves used to position itself due to the natural hormonal influence called Gravitropism. That translates into less food reserves used and increased seedling vigor, especially in the very early critical stages of seedling development.

This is my foolproof method for Cannabis Seed Germination in soil:

First, if harvesting seeds from my own crosses, I air-dry newly harvested seeds for a couple of weeks, and then store them in the refrigerator with a little rice. Cold-treatment seems to increase viability and germination rates, especially with indica-dom strains. I almost always get a 100% germination rate with quality seed stock.

Soak the seeds in plain water for 12 hours prior to planting to hydrate them, which will speed up germination. In general, good seeds will sink, bad seeds will remain floating (they contain air, not an embryo). I first sterilize seeds in a bleach solution (1 Tbsp. bleach/1 gallon of water) for 1/2 hour to kill any fungus residing on the seedcoat.

Sterilize enough *damp* fine soil with heat to germinate all of your seeds. You can do this by treating the damp soil to temps of (no more than) 180F for 20 mins in a conventional oven, or in a microwave oven on high for 2 minutes, while stirring a couple of times. Your goal is to get and hold the entire soil mix's temperature at 170F to 180F for about 20 minutes which can be monitored with a probe type thermometer. Let the mix cool thoroughly. This will insure that damp-off fungus spores have been killed in the soil mix. Make sure the soil mix is light and humusy (not real coarse). You can add a little sand or vermiculite to aid in drainage and weight.

Buy some white 20oz styrofoam "drinking glasses", commonly called "Styro-Cups", and punch holes in the bottom (and side bottom) for drainage. I use a red-hot ice pick for this. These containers are 6 1/2" tall and will allow ample room for the taproot to grow before cotyledon emergence which will increase your seedling's vigor. The taproot (radicle) is already at least 4" long at the point of emergence - don't restrict it (in order to maximize seedling growth rate). Styro-Cups can be found on the shelf displaying picnic items at your local grocery store.

Fill the pots almost to the top with your soil mix, water well to settle the mix, take a pencil and make a small hole about 1/4" to 1/2" deep, NO deeper, and drop *one* seed in. Cover the seed with fine soil, only enough to top up the hole, firm lightly with your finger, and lightly water until water runs freely thru the drain holes. Place in a warm spot around 80F/26C. Do NOT cover the cup with saran wrap or anything else. The seed has been hydrated from the soaking and will germinate soon. This container should not require further watering until the seedling is up and running.

During the first couple of days, mist the top soil surface lightly (if need be), never allowing the top to crust over, but not to the point that the medium stays waterlogged which will invite pythium rot (damp-off). "Less is more" at this point. Do NOT water this pot any more until the seedling is up, and only if it needs it at the point of emergence. Again, no need to cover with plastic wrap as the radicle (taproot) will grow at least 4" before the cotyledons emerge from the soil. IOW, even though you can't see it, the plant's root is seeking and finding moisture at the container's lower soil levels. I cannot emphasize this enough. The seedling will emerge anywhere from 2 to 10 days from the time you sowed it.

That's all to it! With good care, your faves will be ready to transplant within 1 to 2 weeks, and will easily slip out of the "cup" with a solid rootball that will never know it's been disturbed if potted up gently and quickly. Move up to a final pot of 3 to 5 gallons to sex and finish.

Good luck,
Uncle Ben
Click to expand...
Thank you. What "fine soil" do you use,
Also, in your opinion with older seeds like I have does the kelp, molasses, and superthrive help like I have read about?
 
bf80255

bf80255

Well-Known Member
im really skeptical about this especially because OP (what i can tell from posts) barrely knows how to grow and is trying to name drop a bunch of techniques that sound copy and pasted from stickies on this site.
plus pics or GTFO
 
TedeBoy

TedeBoy

Well-Known Member
bf80255 said:
im really skeptical about this especially because OP (what i can tell from posts) barrely knows how to grow and is trying to name drop a bunch of techniques that sound copy and pasted from stickies on this site.
plus pics or GTFO
Click to expand...
I got a bit excited I'll admit. Maybe jumped the gun a little. We will see if they grow. You are correct in that the kelp molasses and superthrive technique was taken from an Internet search I did for starting old seeds.

And I am relatively new to this having only two grows in 40 years. I have grown lots of veggies however.

OBTW...I wasn't trying to claim any technique as my own by name dropping. Next time I'll be more diligent to link to the source. You sound offended. Sorry about that. No offense intended.
 
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