I have been attemping to germinate seeds that are originally from Amsterdam in 2002, there are a number of NL crosses including Purple Haze x NL, NL x Burmese and some pure Purple Haze, Burmese and NL. Now the problem i am having is with mold. The increase in time it takes to germ an older seed has been leading in mold growth on the seeds before signs of cracking, i have lost many seeds unfortunatley. I soak my seeds for 24 hours in filtered room temp water, poking them now and then. Transfering the seeds to damp paper towel in a sealable container, leaving them in a dark place, ive tried differing temps, from room temp (20 degrees C) to ontop of a boiler (ambient 27degrees C) but i have had little success, only 3 seeds have ever cracked and been planted. Any advice? Thanks in advance.
Thanks LumperDawgs, K+ Would the VAM & Activator with Humic Acid work just as well? Just looking cost wise here, it's 1/4 the price of the Ful-power Humic Acid.
Siegen Call Ryan at BioAg and he'll dial you in. He's very, very good people. And probably a stoner as well - LOL I am working with some genetics from December, 1970 out of Afghanistan and his suggestions made all the difference. Also ask Ryan about using "Acadian Seaplants' and their 'powdered seaweed extract' which will be well worth your efforts. It was for me at least. HTH LumperDawgzs
Siegen Are you familiar with Dr. Stephenson's (founder of Maxicrop) studies in the area of using seaweed extracts for germinating seeds by any chance? Let me know and I'll post a link if you're interested. Just a suggestion. BTW - I hold graduate degrees in both botany and horticultural sciences. My posts are based on science and not the usual 'stoner stuff' HTH LumerDawgz
Thanks again man. No unfortunatley im not familiar with those studies, but i am interested. I have heard Kelp meal is a great soil additive though but i've never got around to using it. And i noticed i can buy the full strength Humic Acid in quarts which is half the price, i may just go with that!
Siegen Contact Ryan at BioAg because the over-application (i.e. high-dosing) of humic acids can cause any number of problems. Trust me - BioAg is a good company. They're in no way associated with the 'cannabis-growing' paradigm. They ain't a 'grow store' and all of that stupidity. They're scientists and nothing more. Proceed with their information, IMHO and you'll be miles and miles ahead on your search to learn how to maximize your efforts to germinate the old strains that you're holding. I use their products to earn a living via organic farming. They're at the top of my list. HTH LumperDawgz
I'm sold. I will look deeper into this tomorrow after work. You're help is exactly what i needed! Hopefully i can some get some positive results this time. Was getting frustrated when all my efforts ended with moldy seeds! Anyways, when the plants are growing i will be doing a grow journal, i plan to grow atleast 3 of the mentioned strains. LumperDawgz saves the day! Muchly appreciated man.
Siegen BTW - I'm working on my doctorate in the 'general' area of the application of ACT (aerated compost teas) and if you have an interest in this area of organic growing let me know. As well as the subject of bokashi composting and related enzyme inoculants as it relates to organic growing. LumperDawgz
When I got out, I had genetics from the 80's that had been stored for over 10 yrs. I began some research and found that using a drop or 2 of hydrogen peroxide in water that is around PH 7.0 worked very well and gave me over 80% success. I then made my own seeds so I always kept a fresh supply. The NL #2X5 I have is from this stock, as is all my IBL's and Pluton 2. less
Hey just dropping by, long day at work deserves a spliff and some forum browsing time! Lumperdawgz, I've grown outdoors a number of times now with regular compost, Soil, Perlite and Verm. I've only recently heard about using aerated compost teas. They protect against foliage disease, toxins and help nutrient intake, yes? I'd like to use some this year but if i do it will be indoor soil grown instead of outdoor ( I moved from suburban area to inner city, no random 100 acre forest to grow in anymore ) lessismore: How much peroxide vs water? I usually use a 500ml glass and soak all my seeds for a day, seems like a few drops in that amount H20 would be fine. & would you continue to use the peroxide water with the paper towel? I was told to use afew drops of bleach once, didnt work out for me although i had tried it after the mold was appearant on the seeds. Thanks!
I would never use bleach. I use a shot glass, and I use a dropper and add 2 drops of hydrogen peroxide to the shot glass about 3/4 full of water. Personally, I do not use the paper towel b/c I was never happy w/ the results and overall progress of the plant when compared to soaking the seeds and planting them directly into the soil. less
H202 in a small amount does work well to stop mold, although it will also kill all the good things if you are using compost or something of the sort. This is how I germinate. Everyone has their own way of doing it, and I'm not saying mine is the best or better than any other way, but it's how I've come to do it. I used to use a plastic bag, a kitchen plate, 5 paper towels, and a solution of Maxicrop and water. I didn't like transplanting them from the towel and sometimes the plate would dry out, and all in all it was just kind of a sloppy process for doing it. What I do now is I use regular green bottle Maxicrop, compost, a seedling heat mat, a plastic seedling tray with a clear lid, a two foot fluoro fixture with two 'blue' plant specific bulbs, and rockwool cubes. I make a solution of water and maxicrop, put in a pouch of cheesecloth filled with compost, and an air bubble stick. I try to keep the water kind of warm, too, if possible. I leave it like that for about two days. After that, I soak the rockwool cubes in the solutioin for a couple hours, take them out and cut the plastic off the sides, and put one seed in each. I put the cubes in the tray, and fill in around them with 50/50 perlite and compost. Put the tray on top of the seedling heat mat (which are normally just the size of a seedling tray), poke some holes in the sides of the lid, and put it on. Hang the fluoro right above the lid. Nice little ecosystem in there. As long as you have a little water in the bottom of the tray, the rockwools will stay saturated with the right amount of moisture. Use the leftover solution to water your plants while they are young. As soon as they get 1" out of the top of the rockwool I take the lid off and move the fluoro down to almost touching them. When their roots start coming out of the sides and bottom of the rockwool, I transplant them to a pot so that the bottom pair of leaves are just above the soil line, and put them under a 400W Metal Halide. I started doing it this way for a couple of reasons. It works almost 100%, I don't really have to worry about transplanting the sprouts from the paper towel, I know the rockwool is keeping them moist enough, I can observe how well they are rooting, I can easily drop the rockwool into a pot of soil and not worry about losing the seed, and I can get them a nice jumpstart on nutrients with the maxicrop and compost soaked growing medium. Hope that helps. If nothing else, the Maxicrop is cheap, easily found, and really beneficial.
Thanks again Lessismore and to you Boddy Digital, quite the method u have there! I've heard of similar ways. I'll do afew in soil along with my DWC, Hydro and Soil in harmony, lol... I'm going try to right after this post, the shotglass and H2O2. I dug through some old hydro stuff and found quite afew suprises! Amung the nutes and ph down, blooms and cloning gels, i found GROTEK super gro liquid humic (can't believe i almost ordered more, lumperdawgz, ahaha) and Super Oxy food grade H202 aqueous solution. I'll try drops of both in seperate shot glasses. I will attemp to germ, again, these 7-8 year old seeds from Holland, they include: Burmese, "B2" (B-2 bomber? A burmese cross? i'm not sure lol) and "PZ" which i believe should be the Purple Haze. Gunna do 10 of each, need to fill a 24 pot DWC vegger i'm building at the moment (just need smaller netpots, 2 new airpumps (my other one is 5 years old and all clogged up), and choose a grow media. This is my first DWC attempt, i'll probably use hydroton and rockwool. Any suggestions??
Ok, done! 6 Drink Glasses ea. 500ml or so, 3 diluted w/ filtered water+humic acid and 3 diluted with water+h202. I used 1 drop of Humic acid per 1 Gallon (I mixed mine stronger at first by accident, then adjusted the mix) and 250ml water with 2-4 drops aqueous Super Oxy food grade H202. These measurements may be off, fukk it we'll just have to wait and see what happens! (5) B2 Bomber in Humic Acid, (5) in Peroxide (5) Purple Haze in Humic, (5) in Peroxide (4) Burmese in Humic, (4) in Peroxide