So we know these things can help old seeds sprout …
smoke
Temps
Gibb/GA
Brass
Chitosan
Saltpeter
Antioxidants
Tissue culture formulas
BAP
Thiamine/vit.B
H2o2
Bleach/chlorine
digestive aids (bromelain, papain) ect.
Very low concentrations of fertilizers.
Kelp
Scarification/scuffing
@Comacus
Do you still have the info we discussed about the salt peter for seed starting?
Remember you found the info on the ready-made seed starter and posted it at the Lab.
I can no longer find it there and I can not seem to find it in my notes.
Do you know what thread that was located in?
Any help is appreciated.
Has anyone tried soaking seeds in a Sprouted Seed Tea extract! It seems like sprouted seeds would have all the goodies/hormones needed. Just soak the cannabis seeds with some barley seed extract.
@shag I think it is in this thread here somewhere and at the Lab in the old seed germinating thread.
But, I got it as Seeds n Such. It goes in and out of stock but looks like they have it.
Have you found any techniques to get the plant to start growing when the old seed germinates but only the Cotyledons are present with no growing tip? I started several older seeds, and have 5-6 that I got to germinate but that are not generating a growing tip.
The strangest one is a Master Thai Love Sick #1. It looks like there are two female flowers but no growing tip! Hard to see in the picture but under a 30X loupe they appear to be white female pistils.
@Comacus Thank you for the link!
Did we ever work out the amount of salt peter we needed for seed popping?
I do not seem to have any notes on that at all.
I found this on the web.
A saltpeter steep is made by mixing 1 teaspoon of saltpeter in 1 quart of water. Seeds are steeped in the room-temperature solution for as little as four hours or as many as 72 hours. Larger seeds and seeds with tougher husks are steeped for the longer time, smaller seeds or those with more fragile husks for the shorter time. An alternate method is to soak a pad in the saltpeter solution. Place the seeds on half of the pad and fold the other half over the top and allow it to sit for up to 72 hours. After this pretreatment, the seeds are rinsed and planted immediately.
I have not had an opportunity to try anything out on plants that only the Cotyledons are present with no growing tip.
But I would guess brassinolide and auxin should have at least some benefit.
I suggest IAA, but IBA should work too.
GA/Gibb too, but that is the male cannabis hormone and may cause intersex issues.
They should induce growth in the growing tip, in full-grown plants this is exactly what they do.
Amounts should be listed above.
Hmmm?
This may be a real good tip.
I may have to try some DMSO next time.
The DMSO should in theory help all the ingredients in the mix penetrate the seed shell better.
I know it works that way on human skin, and I hear it will penetrate some rubber gloves too.
I used a solution of only 1-2% salt peter.
So a gram of salt peter to 100ml is a 1% solution.
I also don’t think leaving them in for longer then 24 hours is a good idea.
Btw a cheap way to get salt peter AKA Potassium Nitrate, and without getting a red flag next to your name is to go to Lowes or home Depot and pick up a black and orange bottle of Tree Stump Remover.
I think it’s like 10 bucks for about 4 - 6 cups of it. Basically enough to last you a lifetime haha
Make sure to check the back label, but the one I found was 100% Potassium Nitrate.
You can then careful grind the granules. Tho it’s not flammable, it is a strong oxydiser, and will accelerate a burning fire. Just store it safely and don’t mix it with stuff near a fire.
As for the beans that only have Cotyledons growing, do you mean there is no root showing at all ?
For older beans I picked up a very useful tip from a good friend on here awhile ago.
When your older strains pop, only burry them up to the seed. So just bury the taproot and leave the seed case above the soil.
For some reason this worked from me incredibly well. I think it has to do with the seed not having the energy to break through the surface.
This way it allows the root to grow down and collect resources and not spend energy trying to break the surface. I don’t really know tho.
I just know that side by side comparisons showed me that when I used the same older strains, if I buried the entire seed they would only come up 25% of the time. I had amazing success when I just buried it to the seed base tho.
And if you have some beans to work with, please try the worm castings Tek I outlined earlier. That has been by far my most successful method with older strains to date. I now don’t use anything else. Tho combining a few methods together never hurt either.
Thanks for that I needed some credible cannabis info, I think that was just general seed knowledge I posted.
See the pic below… no growing tip, well it is there, it just ain’t growing…LOL
Not the best pic but it will do.
Agreed!
Worm castings contain microbes to prevent infection, just the right amount of food, and hormones such as auxin as well as cytokinin.
Probably more but that is from memory.
I found these microclone kits, and am seriously considering buying one. My seeds are currently stored in my fridge until I decide what to do with them.
I am used to ghetto tech.
But if you got the cash, I say why not.
If you have valuable seeds and don’t wanna mess around this looks perfect.
Looks easy peasy and pretty fool proof to boot.
You could do this and that to copy the process but that looks like BAM!, and your done.
Let’s just say this I would love to have one…
This was interesting from their page…
We all kinda knew this but it is good to see science tell us it works and why.
Seeds that have sunk are ready to plant, Sinking indicates the hydration, enzyme activity, and change in specific gravity occurring to seeds.
Looks interesting
Have you tried any of the ideas above yet tho ?
If you do decide to purchase it, please let us know how it goes.
And in the future you can probably make a simpler replication of this kit for much cheaper. I know you can buy some liquid culture powder (I own some) and a simple diluted hydrogen peroxide wash should be enough to clean any beans you have.
It does require a bit more work and research, but I guarantee it would be cheaper with the same results.
Looks like I will have to try some of these techniques. Never had to before. But now it seems I must. Threw some C99’s in water yesterday. Today looks like dead fish floating in aquarium. Am afraid my C99 is gone. Hopefully Ill revive some.
I’ve tried all kinds of things and am almost out of seeds now. I think I’m going to try this method, since everything else has failed. If it doesn’t work, then I can’t say I didn’t try… Lord I hope it works, though.
@Hippiechik
I hope you do
Someone recently just used my technique to get their older, stubborn beans going after all other attempts failed.
Just make sure to do it as outlined, they left a few cliff notes about the process under their initial one to help someone else who had questions on the technique.
But if you have any questions at all you can always ask me. I really want to see you succeed.
It’s really easy to do tho, and I’ll be sending you good vibes. 🪴
@HappyTrees23s here are some more tips you sent me; thanks again!
So I was having the same issue as you with some beans from the 70s.
I tried everything I could, but nothing worked.
BUT I finally mixed a few methods together, and took some advice from a member here, and got about a 98+% success rate.
First I soaked the beans with a diluted solution of 3% hydrogen peroxide and some Poland spring water.
I did a 6-12 hour soak that was 2 Tablespoons of 3% hydrogen peroxide mixed with 2 cups of spring water.
I shook them in the container every so often.
And if any sunk I took them out !
You don’t need to leave em there for 12 hours. Probably better if it’s less time, but I know I left some in for 12 hours and they still worked. I even left some for around 24 and they worked. But I think around 6 - 12 hours is safest.
Then I took them all out and washed em off with spring water only.
(As my friend @buckaroobonsai just spoke to me about, it is a very important step to rinse the h202 off, so don’t forget.)
Next I took a small plastic Rubbermaid container, like the cheap small square ones from the dollar store, and I filled it halfway with Organic worm castings. I sprayed the worm castings down with a mister just enough to know the the top layer was wet. Like 10-12 sprays. Don’t let big pools of water sit on top, but it should be wet.
Then I placed the seed gently on top, not buried. Just resting on the top of the WC. I give it one more most, seal it up, and place the container in a warm dark place.
I had beans from the 70s pop in less then 24 hours this way when EVERYTHING else I tried failed.
I didn’t see how many beans you had left, but I would try at least one or two this way. It has worked for me.
I tried 15 beans using all types of other methods, and nothing popped. But as soon as I tried this way I popped 6 out of 7 with what I had left of those old beans, and 100% for every newer bean from other strains I’ve tried since.
If you try it let me know, but I’m sure it will work for you.
@HappyTrees23s I just finished mixing up some new formula.
I mixed about a quarter teaspoon of molasses, a quarter teaspoon of brown sugar, and a very tiny amount (enough to coat the tip of a spoon handle about 1/8”) of clonex gel to a cup of hot (not quite boiling) water and divided into 4 cups, with a little left over. One of them got a VERY tiny amount of gibberelic acid- just a whisper of it, too.
I will label them and see how they do. This will be my seed soaking experiment. I’m hoping that it will help.
Is there a consensus of what technique has been found to work the best from the compiled information in this thread to date? That would be nice to have just that pinned until a better technique is found then pin that.
My guess would be no.
Why?
Everyone thinks that their method works the best.
If you are feeling frisky, maybe try a couple out and report back with what you find.
A side by side test is always best for real scientific facts, but hey at this point anything is acceptable.
I personally have not tried it as of yet, but the worm castings are most likely your best bet.
I am pretty sure a live worm bin would prove to be even better than bag castings.
Also, I feel you should try your best to understand what each individual component does so you can use it as it is intended with precise aim and pinpoint accuracy to achieve the desired goal perfectly.
This approach is the opposite of throwing anything and everything at the project with a shotgun approach hoping for something positive to happen.
If you don’t understand what you are doing and why you do it you are just shooting in the dark.
Shooting in the dark can lead to unwanted consequences.
For example, if you are trying to slow growth and you add Gibberellic acid but it has the opposite effect than the desired one because you did not understand how it worked.
All of the things mentioned here have scientific merit under the proper circumstances of course.
†
🪴 
