welcome @Orloff ! Glad you ended up here, looking forward to your thread. Hoping to see you have some successful germination rates on some of this older gear. I am also planning on trying to germ some of the older stuff in my collection. As always I hope to preserve and share lines with my friends on here.
Best of luck brother !
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I agree 
A short little winter nap could be what they need.
All of my 15+ year old seeds have popped and all were stored in the fridge the whole time.
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Mine are constantly in the deep feeeze
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Same here deep freeze storage is the only way to fly .
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Shhhh be very quiet, others think they know better
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As my stash grows larger i have been contemplating a small chest freezer dedicated to seeds. My bulging fanny pack looks suspicious in my kitchen fridge. Lol
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Same here i need a little walmart fridge freezer not only for that but i just need oneā¦lol
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Definatly me to should be having some in the next few months
Peace out and be safe
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What the heck guys, I step away for a day and you start your own party 
. Seriously, thanks for the warm welcome, support and advice, I definitely feel like I made the right choice pitching my tent here. I promise I am actually capable of growing something green 
.
I am trying to figure out a way to quote multiple users in a single post so I can reply to everyone, but it seems hard. So Iāll type manually.
@ShiskaberrySavior: I tried my set-top box, but it seems warmer than most, heating to 33 degrees C, which is a bit high for germination. This last round I put my seeds on a shelf in my storage/utility/growing room. Thereās little variance in temperatures: 24.5-24.9 over the last few days. The freezer trick is something I havenāt tried yet, but seeing more people suggest it here, I am thinking about it.
@SamwellBB thanks man, good to be back! The thing is, my existing storage method all but eliminated light and moisture, leaving only temperature as the variable. Thatās why I was expecting better results. I have a freezer now and plan on storing my future seeds that way.
@beacher the direct sow method is something I was always curious about, seems the most natural way to sprout themā¦ I would like to try it for sure, the trouble is that all non-essential stores are closed in my country due to Covid. That also includes gardening centers. I need some starting peat mix.
@Grohio what can I say man, you donāt even know me and you are offering me beansā¦ several people have already done so here, you guys are awesome and I feel humbled. That said, I am from EU, so maybe some other time. Big thanks anyway!
@dequilo good to know your tribulations are over now 
. Thanks!
@OleReynard I wish! Havenāt seen him anywhere yet, I sure hope he is still active and around. Iāll drag him here if I find him.
@George thanks for the link, I checked it and like @Strayfox protocol a lot. I makes sense.
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Seems I canāt mention more than 10 people in a single post, so here is the second part.
@misterbee I read about scuffing and did it to all my beans with 200-something paper. Expect the very first batch of E$koās seeds that I tried, I just dunked those in a shotglass of tap water like I used to do 
.
@Comacus I didnāt use a pill bottle, I just rolled sandpaper into a little tube, put the seeds in and plugged both ends with my fingers. Works like a charm and all seeds sank after 24hrs or so. They seem to have trouble in the next step thoughā¦
@vernal floating till they sprout you say? Never tried that one, might sacrifice some and try it. Thanks for the suggestion.
@firehead haha it does sound awesome 
. Cosmic is the guy who made them though, so they are just Yeti Fighterā¦ Thanks for the good vibes!
@J-Icky another trick for my repertoir, thanks brother.
@Eudaemon haha thanks man. I have no intention of stopping, still plenty of beans to try all the nice tricks and techniques I learned. Have some new ones on the way as well, so if everything else fails, I guess I will just try fresh seeds like a normal person . Direct sow is definitely something I am very interested in.
@Deadinside88 thanks man, good the be here!
@mtntrogger much thanks, Iāll be sure to document all my steps. Maybe my trials can be of use to someoneā¦
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Maybe our buddy @comacus has a handle on him, what say you Coma?
Or brother Juice, whereās he hanging?
And now for the part youāve been waiting for 
. My first round of pictures was taken after 24 hours in kelp water + 48 hours in paper towels. After taking the pics, I replaced the towels for some fresh ones because I was afraid of microbes/spores multiplying in a stale environment.
After 48 hours more, that proved to be a good precaution. Checking on my beans earlier, I found some seeds that have molded:
That said, we seem to have a survivor! One of the Yeti Fighters managed to put out a tail, even sitting next to a moldy bean!
I was honestly a little surprised and didnāt have my pellets ready. I was spying on their progress a bit and didnāt see the sprout, so I though they all died on me again. I have the Bear Grills bean in a fresh towerl while I hydrate a pellet for (hopefully) her. Fingers crossed she makes it into a real sprout!
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if that was the case life would be grand 
but I aināt heard the fat lady sing yet
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Try home Depot, Walmart or dollar stores for some soil usually they have some small bags hiding out all winter.
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Iām sure the survivorās will to live is such that she will actually make it. But if she doesnāt, this is what I have left in my stash:
- Pure Gooey (Gooeybreeder) - really hoping for some sprouts here!
- Roadkill Bubba (unknown, Potsnobs freebie)
- Plushberry x Starfighter (unknown, Potsnobs freebie)
- Dirty Citronella IX (unknown, Potsnobs freebie)
- Cali Sunset F2 (professor)
- Shiva X C99 (sannie freebie, I believe these were made by E$ko)
- Zazen (gascanastan, before he was Swami )
As you can see, I still have some ammo left. I have 3 vectors of attack that I will try with them, based on your suggestions:
- direct sow + greenhouse
- swimming untill sprout (water replacement every 24 hrs)
- modified @Strayfox protocol.
The later will include:
- scuff
- 24 hours in kelp water for gibberellins, trace elements, sugars and everything else that the magical seaweed proveides
- 48 more hours in tap + H2O2 (didnāt have any, ordered some)
- check every 12 hours for cracked seeds, move those into paper towels
- paper towels are kept between two plates, no more plastic bags!
- replace paper towels and clean plates every 24 hours max to avoid mould/bacteria
- full moon is on 30.11., Iāll see if I can wait that long for my next major sprouting pushā¦ every day with an empty tent is killing my soul a little
I decided against GA3, donāt want to deal with stretched/mutated seedlings.
If all else fails, I have an order from Ace Seeds on the way. Just some pick and mix fems with Nepal Jam, Zamaldelica X Thai Chi, Tikal, CBD#1. I seriously hope they make it, itās been over 10 days since payment and it usually takes 3-5 days from Spain to my country. Covid really fucks things upā¦
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No Home Depot or Walmart where Iām from brother . We do have gardening stores though, but they are all closed due to virus situation. Only open stores are those with basic need items - food, hygiene etc.
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https://overgrow.com/t/how-to-germ-seeds-as-per-simon/30937
I did have great luck with this method
all the best
Dequilo
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Yes you can float them until they crack even if they sink. The big takeaway though is a little bit of heat is really really helpful.
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@OleReynard and @Orloff Cosmic has not been on the boards either in a few years. Most are scattered around, and many are now on IG. Hopefully Cosmic will pop up again too one of these days!
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The little survivor is still fighting! I planted it into a jiffy pellet 4 days ago, gave it a propagator all for itself and have been monitoring itās progress. The little thing is definitely growing, but seems to have trouble shedding itās helmet. Iāve been lightly misting the shell a couple times a day in efforts to soften it and help the little thing out, but it hasnāt produced the desired effect.
Probably couldāve waited a bit longer, but I did something a little more drastic today: Iāve manually and very carefully tried to remove the shell. I got one half to fall off with little resistance, which Iām hoping is enough for the little thing to manage the rest on itās own. The seedling got a bit dislodged in the process, so I reburied it. Fingers crossed!
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