I bet @Guitarzan @Elchischas and @mexcurandero420 might be interested.
here with my group of friends and I are trying to germinate old seeds with the worm bins method.
It is by far the best I have seen for germinating old seeds
For the germination discussion - I had similar issues recently with store bought castings - I think they were old and contaminated - I blanked on 2 packs that should’ve done better than that… shortly after I saw some little “flies” in the castings so I blame that along with the fact I probably had them too wet as well.
To redeem myself I put my next packs straight in solo cups with sterilized soil and plastic wrap over the top, on a heat mat, and removed the plastic once they sprout. I used a mild humid acid solution for the initial watering as well.
For the ones that didn’t sprout I left them in the cups and let them go through several wet / dry cycles and surprisingly had two of the Torreón x Michoacán sprout about a month after the initial germination group.
PS - to echo @misterbee id vouch for @YoBigdaddy as a strong choice for any repro efforts
I would definitely try to track down that jar of old seeds! Just put it back in your freezer as soon as you get them and they could last a really long time. You could be sitting on some old Mexican classics there!
This wet/dry cylcles is what is advised by the realseedco blog to germinate wild cannabis seeds to simulate their original environment and the conditions that trigger their germination: Note on germinating wild Cannabis seeds - The Real Seed Company
Very OG of you @Ratbastrd hope there will be a ton of snowhigh co-ops!
There’s a lot of good growers here for sure won’t fall short of that. I know @Elpolloloco did a run for all of us with some snow high stuff him and all the people he named would be a good start for sure!!
Thnx for mentioned me, but at the moment only interested in old Hawaiian varieties. I live at the sea side, 5 minute walk and i’m at the beach, which means high in humidity, foggy weather sometimes and salty rain drops. Varieties need to be mold resistant.
Old Central American strains are quite mold resistant in my experience. Outside of the highlands, most areas are quite humid.
I live about 2 miles from coast in Sonoma, we get thick fog at night several months out of the year. Only plants I’ve had problems with are hybrid strains.
Thanks for checking in though.
I grew Nevil’s old Oaxacan,which was very mold resistant and early in flowering. The Sativa Seedbank had this variety later on for sale 16 years ago.This Mexican variety turns purple when it got coldest.
@Ratbastrd
What I forgot to say is, i lived 4 miles more inland and over here at the sea side the light is brighter too compared when you go more inland. Probably it has to do with less pollution and more reflection of the light with the sea water.
Likewise. I absolutely love Oaxaca. My all time favorite. I’d be down for that one or Michoacan if it’s up for adoption. Understandable if you want to hold them tight.
Very nice gesture to offer up the SnowHigh gear. Hopefully something germinates. John has disappeared lately.
I’d agree. That and an aloe soak. I recently had kick ass success using just aloe a little differently than I had in the past. For really old seeds, aloe and then the worm bin
Meaning, how do you do that now?
Wind too, may be more humid, but the constant winds from varying directions helps to keep mold and big bugs at bay IMO.
@Upstate , I was hoping you’d have time at some point to repo one or more of them. Your call. Packs X’d out are spoken for. I’m inclined to want to try a few El Primo myself (8 seeds left) and a few people have inquired about the Purple Zacatecas.
If folks are way out time wise before they can run em, I’m asking to hold for them in case someone can run em sooner. They are effectively on hold though
FYI, if you look down to the bottom, John tossed in some seeds that he had not done anything with yet. Not sure where he got them, but they were strains he planned to work with at some point. He was aware of the old seeds I had and what I was trying to do with them, so threw them in to explore. Can’t find any information on Palo Alto or Cola de Borrego, not sure what to expect.
How do I avoid wormies and mold with the castings method? The pictured above all failed, critters got at em. Guess my worm castings or process wasn’t clean enough.
Read the thread on differences in landrace seeds as well. Does make sense that they would probably need that perfect set of environmental variables to germinate and grow after all these years.
I’ve ordered some Gib acid and superthrive. I’ve got a big Aloe in the garden. I’m also looking at this product, curious if any of you are familiar? Worm casting extract
Considering, nuking some coir or seed starter soil, then wetting the sterile soil with the extract to achieve a cleaner worm casting environment. Thoughts?
@YoBigdaddy was gracious enough to offer to try and sprout some of my friends old school seed as well, which I’m taking him up on. Thanks man!
Quick update: I’m sending packets to those that reach out and can do run’s fairly soon. Reserving but hanging onto packets for folks that have prior commitments but have a specific interest in a strain that they will get to later.
I don’t need anything in trade, again, just asking that folks commit to repro’ing the strain as is and being willing to pass those future seeds back to the community when they are done.
Not getting a lot of interest in the two packs on the bottom. Suspect those are the purest representations in the bunch, hope someone takes an interest.
Cheers
So in the past I tried putting the seeds right inside the aloe plant stem, but after about twenty four hours it begins to turn brown and I also get concerned about the lack of oxygen when the seed is fully encased in gel. So this time I took a glass of water and filled it three quarters of the way with Very warm water. I took off a good three or four inch chunk of aloe, the stalk 1 inch thick. I use my fingerto remove all of the aloe that wants to come out and stirred into the water. There was so much it actually floated on the surface So that when I put my seeds in there , half of the seed was in water below and half of it was in the aloe. I can’t say how many seeds popped publicly😁 but 96% + of improperly stored Malawi seed 5 years old. 100% of another and 85% with a 3rd. Typically the seeds go bad in three years with Malawi.
You have to catch the castings at just the right time. It’s actually better before it’s castings. Vermicompost is best. More biologically active And because the worms are still living in it there is constant aeration = more O2