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Connecticut

Hi Everyone,

I was up at the Big E and it made me seriously consider growing again next year. I stopped growing around 2002, but I still have my collection and many of these were good back then. I know they are at least 9 years old, but has anyone had success germinating any of these this year or last? Is any particular way more effective for germinating them?

Seed      Quantity
845 Bobier    7
940 Mombert (98)    1
845 Nesbitt    1
805 Pukos    1
914 Wentzell    1
815 Checkon     2
815 Anderson    1
707 Toftness     2
876 Ly     3
1056.5 Dueck    1
990 Hebb    2
1025 Bobier     1
1020 Kuhn    1
1048 Cox    3
1007 Brown    1
652 Pukos     3

They weren't frozen, but I did keep them cool and dry.

Thanks,
John

10/4/2010 11:56:50 PM

West Sacramento Ca.

john,i grew the 805 pukos and its still an awsome seed,you can see a pic of it at scott henkin's diary

10/5/2010 12:36:06 AM

West Sacramento Ca.

a friend also grew the the 1020 kuhn and grew a 1230 on it this year,the the 940 and 1048 are sweet seeds

10/5/2010 12:37:58 AM

Kiowa, Colorado

I'm still growing seeds from 2000, at least what the mice didn't find before I saved them =)
(So far all of my Bobier and Pukos seeds have done good!)
It will all depend on how they were stored and the quality of the seed when you put them away.
I am freezing all of my current seeds nowadays though.
Errol

10/5/2010 1:54:41 AM

Connecticut

Thanks Scott and Errol, that is really encouraging.

The 805 and one of the 845s are definitely on my list to start this spring. I'm also debating buying newer proven seeds at the seed auctions or trading one of my extra 845s this winter, just so I don't rely solely on older seed.

10/5/2010 2:53:42 AM

Mingo Co. WV

Is freezing the seeds a proven method to keep seed viable for long term if so how does this compare to other methods.

10/5/2010 3:39:31 AM

New York

Out of curiosity, which 845 is it? The '99 or '00 seed?

10/5/2010 6:41:12 AM

I grew an 805 Pukos (00) last year, and an 845 Bobier (00), 898 Knauss (01), and 705 Stelts (99) this year. The 805, 898, and 845 germinated fairly quickly, but the 705 took a little more prodding. After it (and two other seeds) didn't appear to be doing anything, I carefully dug them out of their 6" pots and examined the seeds. To my surprise (and delight), the 705 was actually sporting a tap root. I carefully replanted it, this time in a 4" pot, with fresh media, and placed it back on the heat bed. It emerged from the soil, ever so slowly, several days later.

The 805, 898, and 845 were fairly stout seeds, the 705 looked borderline viable in the first place, and the results seemed to mirror those initial observations. I think, whether the seed is 10 years old or 10 months old, if there's a lot of energy stored up in that seed and ready to push the seedling, you'll have good success. Conversely, if you have a puny seed, you're going to have to baby it.

The wild card in terms of time on the seeds would be how they were handled and stored. If they were kept too moist, you might have a rotten embryo and not even know it. If they were desiccated to the extreme, you might have a mummy in there incapable of being revived.

The only thing you can do is take a look at the seed, see what you think, and give it a shot accordingly. Eddy Z had a pretty good write up in his 2008 diary, when he was germinating some older seeds. You might revisit that for some tips and techniques as well.

PS - if you come across a 567 Mombert in your collection...let's talk turkey. :)

-Neal Leland

10/5/2010 10:38:50 AM

El Paso TX.

I remember reading a few threads about people using Gibberellic Acid aka GA3 ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibberellic_acid )with success on getting older seed to have better germination rates.

10/5/2010 12:24:23 PM

Connecticut

Julian - The 845s are the '00. 5 are still sealed in their P&P packs.

Neal - Sorry, I don't have a 567 Mombert. I'm running germination experiments now on several of the unproven seeds that were kept in the same collection. They look as good as they were when they were put away, so with any luck I'll have tap roots in a few days.

10/5/2010 2:20:03 PM