20+ year old frozen seeds

[Lynhal]

I looked around for anything similar to my question in these threads but could not find anything remotely close. (I could have missed some threads, though.)

I had a friend pass away recently who had kept seeds from the best weeds they had smoked starting in the mid '80s - early 2000's. They kept them frozen. They didn't note the strains or anything more than, "kicked ass" - "mellow" - "couch potato locked" - "fucking unbelievable high" etc. so I have no way of knowing what percentage of indica or sativa they are, only that they had an awesome enough result that this person wanted to keep those seeds for decades and never let them be discarded. Also, they were mostly kept in film viles wrapped in papertowels.

I am so excited about attempting to reproduce these long forgotten seeds into some amazing, and perhaps long forgotten strains. Has anyone had any success in growing seeds that have been frozen for such a long period of time and does anyone have any advice on what I should do to prep them before I take a leap of faith and let mother nature and my watchful eye grow them? For example, thaw time, soak time/temperature etc. (I am in a subtropical location.)

Thanks in advance for any input you may have on this subject. :smokin:

Lynhal Reviewed by Lynhal on 12-01-2010. 20+ year old frozen seeds I looked around for anything similar to my question in these threads but could not find anything remotely close. (I could have missed some threads, though.) I had a friend pass away recently who had kept seeds from the best weeds they had smoked starting in the mid '80s - early 2000's. They kept them frozen. They didn't note the strains or anything more than, "kicked ass" - "mellow" - "couch potato locked" - "fucking unbelievable high" etc. so I have no way of knowing what percentage of Rating: 5

[Dutch Pimp]

are you an experienced grower?

Sounds like fun!...I germinate old seeds & new seeds the same way:
I soak the seeds 12-24 hours in a shot glass of water; with a drop or two of hydrogen peroxide, added. Then I put them 1/4 inch deep, in loose soil. I maintain 78 degees. I keep the soil moist on top, using a spray bottle.

My oldest seeds are about 4 years old. I don't keep them in the cold. I think bone dry is more important.

Good Luck...I think your old friend would be proud...:thumbsup:

[RAINHAZE]

Man I have no idea if they will work or not for sure, but that would be great to see you getting them going! My best luck to you.
Plus like Dutch Pimp said, This would be a great tribute also.

[oldmac]

Hello Lynhal,

Welcome to the boards.

Dutch touch on a good way to germinate seeds and his point that they be kept dry for long term storage is spot on.

I have successfully germ seeds that were well over 10 years old, and the only issue was that fewer seeds poped then when the seeds were newer.
These seeds were keep in a mason jar with small desiccant packs and the jar vacuumed sealed. But were kept in a cool dark place.

Not sure what the effect of freezing will have had on them.

Good luck with them, it sounds like your friend left you something potentially good to remember him by.
OM

[WashougalWonder]

My 2 cents:

AWESOME!!!!:stoned::stoned::stoned:

Now, have they stayed frozen....never thawed? Let's hope so, as there will be more viability if they have stayed frozen, less seeds that will not sprout.

As in nature, recovering from freezing in a moist warm environment with radiant heat, and they will spring to life.

Like OM, over 10 years in a dry dark place has worked.

If I were lucky enough to come up with such an awesome find, I would only grow one or two at a time. Then record and track which is what, and be sure to grow both male and females so you can pollenate them back and keep the line.

So cool....Awesome.......You are soooo lucky. What a find.

You think I am impressed? Yep :thumbsup: :

[Lynhal]

Thank you so much for your advice and input on this upcoming endeavor I will be taking on Dutch Pimp, RAINHAZE, oldmac and WashougalWonder.

DP - Thanks for the welcome! I am somewhat experienced but it has been a long time. I have been reading and re-reading this forum to be sure I am up to speed on some of the newer techniques being used. I am taking plenty of time to plan this out.

RH - Thank you very much for the well wishes! I think it will be a great tribute and could yield some superb genetics. :rastasmoke:

oldmac - Thanks for the welcome! I am going to take some out and let them thaw and dry out before germ'ing and I guess it couldn't hurt to try different things and experiment a little perhaps germ'ing some straight from the freezer too, label and record all findings. There are plenty of the little buggers. I don't want to get my hopes up too high, although I am truly excited. :dance:

WW - Thanks, it really is awesome!! To the best of my knowledge, they have stayed in their frozen state. They were transported inside a cooler and put directly into another freezer because, hell, I didn't know what else to do? I will take your advice on getting those puppies to spring to life and, as you stated, to only try 1 or 2 seed types at a time. And you are spot on with making sure to keep the line going if this is successful. It will be crazy trying to distinguish what strains I think they could be ... that will be the hardest part after attempting to get something viable produced! :weedpoke:

I take comfort in knowing seeds have their own little "factory" inside ready to do their job. Mother Nature is an incredible lady. :icon220::greenthumb:

[Rusty Trichome]

Bummer about the loss of your friend.

Do you have the equipment, space and a secure location to pull-off a sucessful grow?

If you're an inexperienced grower, you might want to save 'em for when you have more knowledge about the breeding processes. Otherwise, you risk degrading the qualities in the strain(s) that your friend wanted to preserve.
I'd grow one strain at a time, so you won't risk cross-pollination. (hybridizing)
But if you're not going to offer them to the public, (via sedbay or as gifts) then cross-breeding really doesn't matter right now. But down the line when you've gained more experience, you'd likely regret not keeping the strains intact.

As long as the seeds were kept cold and dry, (as others have mentioned) at least some ratio of them should still be viable. They might need some extra TLC to get going, but once they do you should be fine. I'm not too sure I'd re-freeze 'em if they've been thawed though. Speeking from inexperience with that particular situation...I have no clue what the result would be. Might just be fatal though...

How were they packaged? If just tossed in a Ziplock for 20 years, freezer burn is possible and likely. Bummer he didn't know the strain names.

[Lynhal]

RT - Yes, it was a bummer to lose a dear friend. Thanks for that. They would be so happy to know I was going to make use of their "babies". :jointsmile:

I do have most of the equipment and area to grow. I am in a Zone 10 location and I am considering a very limited outdoor grow after I have produced indoor some viable plants for testing purposes. I trust nature more than myself right now. Luckily, the area doesn't have any gated access or foot traffic so it is secure with large dogs as deterrents to any "tourists".

In my first post I stated how they were packaged: they were mostly kept in film viles wrapped in papertowels. I opened one of the viles and inspected them, and it appears the papertowels prevented any type of frost on the exterior of the seeds, so I'm hoping (fingers crossed) that they will produce something even if the ratio of seeds to sprouts will most likely be limited. I do not plan on using all of these seeds. I am going to keep them frozen until I have experimented more.

I didn't consider gifting any because the people I would have gifted to either don't grow any longer or I have lost touch with them. I wish I knew growers in my area that weren't paranoid about sharing info. etc., but I really can not blame them. Until it is finally legalized everyone lives in fear of being exposed for growing a plant ...

[TANKJR]

Yea, bummer about your loss! So sorry.

Welcome here!

What a legacy he left you!...I'm with WW....envious!!! What a fun project you have ahead of you...growing and trying to match up to current strains will be a blast no doubt...want some help? I volunteer to be a taste tester!!!

[Lynhal]

Thanks for the welcome here and about my recent loss.

That is the only way it will be determined what I have on my hands, the look of the resulting plants, time frame of growing stages and the taste. Taste tester ... is that like Coke vs Pepsi?

I have taken out six seeds from a vile they had marked a G2 in black marker. I am not sure if that was the marking from the original film they got from the container or if it is something to remind them of the type of strain or high. I personally searched for a strain by this name and could not locate one.

I have taken a picture of the seeds for record keeping purposes and I am going to use DP's suggestion for germ'ing these and see what happens.