Like the thread title says... I was moving my old mystery machine van today, haven't driven it in about 4 years. I found an old stash box under the seat. In it were my old rainbow papers, a handcarved pipe, a letter scale, and a tiny baggy with 10 or 15 really old bagseeds. I read a thread a bit ago, where this guy's dad had a seed that was 25 or more years old, and it germed when they soaked it! You can bet I'm going to try to sprout these suckers, I'm just excited, and wondering what you all think the likelyhood of success will be? These little buggers may be as much as 8 years old. Anyone think none will germ? A few? As many will germ as would have when they were new?
Sounds like they were kept in a decent condioton so yes it should work. Even if they do not sprout tiny tap roots or all of them crack even at all, you can still try planting I have had ones that still grew.
I just sprouted 4 out of 5 seeds that were 5 years old and not even kept in optimal conditions. They're amazingly resiliant. Won't hurt to try, will it. Israel got a 2000 year old date seed to grow.
Thank you, very optimistic opinions! You can bet I'll leave some photos of the babies here, and a link to a grow thread. I have some autoflower seeds coming in the mail, this is going to really make my summer. I'm delighted to have some variety! I had a good grow spot in mind, now I think I need to find another spot too, maybe two areas. One for the autos, one for fem bagseed babies, and one for some boys and girls to get together. I sprouted some seeds once, a long time ago. Got them in pots, but they didn't have more than their cotyldons showing. I had an anxiety attack over unrelated issues, and a bunch of firemen came into the apartment. We pulled up the little sprouts in case they were seen. We didn't really have a plan for growing them, at the time I lived in a tiny apartment in downtown Seattle. Now I live in the boonies with enough land, and a plan.
I am not necessarily as optimistic. MJ seeds can last a very long time -- if kept under the right conditions. Where has this Shaggymobile been parked for 4 years? What kind of temps and humidity has it experienced? I wonder if the seeds have been exposed to some extremes. Ultimately, though, there's only one test -- give it a try.
If they are as old as I think they are, their first 4 years were spent indoors in a closet. Then they moved out to the van for another 3 to 4 years. The van is older than me, not very weather proof. They have undoubtedly been in both freezing temps and over 100 degrees, summers in a van in direct sunlight must be hot. It has not been both hot and humid here, we get humid and cold though. Seattle sunshine is what we call the misty rain that is almost just heavy fog. I had a better look at the seeds, there's more than I thought. I counted 21, and one crushed one. About half of them are a pale green, the rest are tan with dark brown lines. I would guess the lighter ones are less mature, from what I've read around here recently. I have not picked up any gardening materials yet. Going to be sprouting some actual vegetables too. It will be a couple/few weeks until I have any pics to share, but I can get a photo of the Shaggymobile in a day or three, for entertainment.
That's what I was afraid of. Still give 'em a try, but I'm doubtful given the conditions they've been in. Forget the pale green ones, as you surmised they are immature and probably never were viable in the first place. You want brown to grey color and no crackling when you roll it firmly between thumb and forefinger. Stipes, spots, or lack thereof don't tell you anything about the seed, so it's potentially OK if you have stripes and/or spots but just as potentially OK if you don't.