Techniques for The Germination of Older Seeds

try this " from ShopCoda.etsy.com ------- really check this out – have had 100% germination using this "Seed Starter Mat - it’s not a heating mat --know many whom use them- company also makes fabric conyainers

If stored right no problem. If not…D E D

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Neat project, I wish you luck on reviving this one!

I looked on some old strain guides and it looks like Black Mamba was a cross of Blue Bubble Juice x Black Domina, by Blue Grass Seeds?

I saw you mention Dman on another forum, he’s still around on Instagram, had an account here but hasn’t posted in years:

If you don’t have any luck reviving it, I see this nursery with Black Mamba clones:

And Bogglegum is definitely around the forums, besides being released again by BOGs son, I believe.

That said, I hope you can get these old seeds sprouted and pick up where you left off, I love Black Domina so I’m rooting for you!

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Try putting your seeds in fridge for a few days then take a teaspoon of nice worm castings and add to a cup of rain//spring water
Soak seeds 18-24 hours before planting in some coir and verm
Wait and of course saying a couple prayers to the seeds themselves and the Ganga Gods will also help😉

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Gonna give a technique that has germinated FIFTY/50+ YEAR OLD SEEDS!! It’s called "The Lentil Soak Method"

Step One - Take a 6 - 8 inch Fan of an Aloe Vera Plant. Slit with a Razor lengthwise along the edge. Fold “skin” and scrape the Gel. (don’t discard plant material). Get a Jar w/Lid, add DISTILLED WATER halfway. Add Gel. Chop plant material into small pieces, add to jar also. Add Lid, shake it up, set aside.

STEP 2 - Get a SECOND JAR, add DISTILLED WATER halfway. Now, Take 25 - 45 Beans/Peas (I use Queen :honeybee:'s “15 Bean Soup Mix”…Shhhhh!!) Again, add Lid, again, shake the Jar. Set aside.

STEP 3 - EACH DAY, give each Jar a good shake.

STEP 4 - After 4 - 7 days, combine the contents into ONE Jar. Let set for 48 hours. You can add a small amount of GA3 to this Jar for seeds estimated to be +35 years old.

STEP 5 - You can now use the solution as you would for “normal germination”. A very good friend/Greenhouse Operator popped seeds he gathered while in the Peace Corp/The Gambia during the 60’s!! The oldest seeds I personally germinated were 35+ years old. Plus, you can save the mixture you prepared, store it in the Fridge for 6 months - 1 year.

Hope it helps, it’s a negative to be unable to germinate excellent genetics!! SS/BW…mister :honeybee: :100: :pray: :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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I actually tried doing just that- and nothing whatsoever happened. It’s been almost a month and nada. It was over 100 seeds, too.

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get a “seed mat” NO it’s not a heating pad ----- It’s made by “ShopCoda.etsy.com” get the small one cost $12.00

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I have them in my fridge for now. It’s going to be heartbreaking if they’re not viable anymore, but that’s just how life goes sometimes.

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WHATEVER method you choose, let them “come to room temperature” before you do ANYTHING, less “shock” that way. Seems trivial, but significant, indeed. Good Luck, SS/BW…mister :honeybee: :100: :pray: :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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Actually your memory is better than mine, you’re right- blue grass seeds I think bred the original black mamba. It’s been so dang long ago that I just get confused lol.

I checked out that link and sadly they don’t sell to the public (and I am halfway across the country from any dispensaries that sell their stuff).

I need a GOOD seed source, because I don’t want junky ruderalis mutts. All I see now on Reddit (for example) are scrawny spindly plants with little popcorn buds.

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The older the seed it seems the harder the shell. Try adding this to other methods. Cutting off the pointed end of seed carefully so you do not penetrate beyond shell or you can lightly crack a seed with pressure. Some I bought were pre cracked like this to help in germination. or the making of a tube with sandpaper medium grit on the inside and shaking your seed in it. or you can carefully sand the ridge that cracks open down to just where it devides. Then the water soak with a little gibberelic acid, a couple drops of hydrogen peroxide, a couple drops of superthrive, some sort of instant food like miracle grow or worm casting tea and carbonated water, seal the jar to keep carbonation in keeping it warmed to 80 degrees let soak 12 to 24 hours swirling it a couple times. Then put into a heated bed of worm castings with the heat coming from the top. Old seeds have expended most of their energy to stay viable so cannot crack that hardened shell and the hardened shell is harder to get any nutrients through. . I even wonder if puting them in a fine strainer and lightly sandblasting them to thin the whole shell might be an even better way to go. Most of this is put together from other sources with a COUPLe OF ADDITIONS OF MY OWN and have not actually tried all of it together but I figure it would get the seeds the most energy and nutrients the quickest when they have expended all their own. Just thinking like an old seed. Also yes if they were not stored in freezer or fridge put them in freezer a couple of days in sealed container to keep moisture out. some will not grow without a winter. . Very best of luck to you. Hope some of this can help.

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I have neurological problems and no longer have fine motor skills. I just shake too much! It’s frustrating trying to work with them, because I inevitably either drop them in the carpet and lose them (I’m kinda blind lol) or I just smash them.

I had planned on doing embryo rescue or TC but I haven’t had much luck dissecting them with fine tweezers under magnification. I tried practicing on some sacrificial bagseed, but ruined them.

Here’s what I do: soak them overnight in warm tap water with 3% h2o2, or until they swell up and sink.

After that, I tried soaking them in diluted gibberelic acid solution, then putting them in moistened coco coir with a humidity dome and gently heating them from below.

I have been keeping the coir moistened with h202 and checking frequently, but there’s no signs of life.

I’ve had other seeds open and start producing a tail, but they quit developing. This is why I think someone experienced with ER might be able to get them going.

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. id try a couple…im game if u still have couple.

Do you have experience with embryo rescue, or germinating old seeds? I really think someone experienced with embryo rescue or tissue culture might be able to do the impossible…

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Roger that… Ive heard …gently use a sandpaper and rub both ends before soaking in water with peroxide :persevere:. Thats all i could offer …

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I actually dropped some more seeds tonight. This time I have them in a vial, 9 parts water 1 part h2o2. That seems to soften them up quite nicely, but if I try to work under magnification with fine tweezers, I just can’t seem to split them without destroying them. The interior of them is green, which leads me to think there’s still SOME kind of life- surely there’s gotta be a way to do this!!

I have researched into phytoculture a bit, and discovered this stuff:

https://phytotechlab.com/phytoreadytm-ms-cannabis-multiplication-medium-w-meta-topolin.html

Then there’s this stuff:

[MS Cannabis Multiplication Basal Salt Mixture with meta-Topolin]
(MS Cannabis Multiplication Basal Salt Mixture with meta-Topolin)

It doesn’t have a gelling agent, though, so I would have to get that too. I don’t have an autoclave or any kind of lab equipment, but this can’t possibly be that difficult to do…right?

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I have a 100% germ rate, I use open air method. Glass bowl, hydrogen peroxide, straight 3% and water to keep the Gauze Sponges sliding like an egg for 2 to 3 days , I do zero preparation and it pops old ones too.

3 days I have them all popped.
Less than 24 hours if I cut the bellybutton off the seed. :dove:

Colder temps doesn’t delay germination and room temperature is fine with this method.
The open air Gauze Sponges I reuse after rinsing in hot water.

If in 3 days in colder temps i don’t see tails, I add a mild heat source under my glass bowl to finish popping them.

Working every try with seeds old or new, and does perfect with a heavy hydrogen peroxide dose for healthy seeds. I just made a video showing how step by step.

Pics are seeds just popped in 68 degrees average, took 2 days. Red Devil seeds up and running. :dove:

1 seed tail has a brown look, with the dose I gave it no seed should show any sign of damage, so I tossed that one right away. :dove:

20221124_174845

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Normally I have no problem with getting seeds to sprout, but these are just not doing anything.

I put some in a vial with h2o2 and h20, most of them have absorbed enough water to crack open slightly and sink now- but that’s as far as they get.

I’m hoping to try the gibberelic acid again and see if I can get a radicle to finally emerge. I am considering buying that MS stuff from phytolab supply and see what it does.

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What about a mild heat source under the seeds?

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I actually have my seed starter trays sitting on top of the lights in my hydroponics rack. It gently heats them from below, but doesn’t get so hot that it cooks them. Once the seeds pop, I can immediately put them under the lights. It’s worked beautifully for my lettuce and other stuff, but these old seeds are pretty difficult.

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