Hello growmies just received my new seeds and want to make sure I store them properly. Temperature indoors here drops to 17C (62F) in winter and goes up to 30C (86F) in summer. As you can see, even in winter it’s not so cold. I was reading that seeds keep best when stored in a cool, dry and dark place, preferably between 4C - 8C. I have 17 seeds in total, but I only plant 3 at a time, so I’m going to have these for a while.
I was thinking of of putting them in the fridge in the fruit and vegetable drawer. What worries me is the fridge light. If I put the seeds in a mason jar with a couple of silica packs to absorb moisture, and wrap that mason jar in a black trash bag, will it work for long term storage? (Around 2 years) Seeds are still in their original packaging, some are just in a ziplock bag because they were freebies.
A little desiccant pack in ur jar will help keep things drier too. Edit. See you mentioned that.
I’ve popped seeds that were stored in a bottom dresser drawer that were over 2 yrs old and they were fine but refrigerated is best practice.
@MagicCultivator420 So long as the jar is sealed it should be fine with just the one pack.
Black plastic , black duct tape ,you can use any thing really that will stop the light.
As far as pack replacement , prob wouldn’t hurt to replace them every now and then but if the jar has an air tight seal ( mason jar ) they should be good for a long while (yr ish ) before replacement.
One final question please. When I actually come to sprout the seeds (I soak them in a glass with water and hydrogen peroxide for around 10 hours before putting them into starter cubes), do I need to let them reach room temperature, or just pop them out of the jar from the fridge and into the glass?
Truthfully they’ll warm up pretty quick once they’re out of the fridge. Shouldn’t be an issue going straight to the water.
Personally I use paper towel to germ no soak.
Still put a few drops of peroxide in the towel tho.
But use what works for you.
Nothing wrong with that way just the towel seems to work better for me in my situation is all.
Happy growing.
Thanks for all the help @Oldguy, you’ve really been awesome
Yeah I’m still playing around with my germination method of choice. I only have 1 grow under my belt so experience is limited. I tried the paper towel method on one of my 3 seeds from my last grow, was a success, so I’m quite a fan of that method too. I just like the starter cubes so I don’t risk damaging the tap root.
So, covering the jar with a black trash bag will be enough to block out light? That’s the thing that’s concerning me the most.
You know the light in your fridge goes off when the door closes right? That said, although black is optimal a little scattered light here and there likely isn’t going to cause any negligible difference…
If you want a cheap light filter keep it simple, just fold up/make an aluminum foil envelope and put the seeds, and desiccant packs inside that folded-up aluminum envelope and drop that inside the jar…
Hello @mingleme, thanks for also contributing to my question Yes I know the light goes off when the door is closed, but I was worried that months/years worth of light leaks when it’s open might have a detrimental effect. Better safe than sorry.
The aluminum envelope sounds like a very good idea! Thanks, I like the sound of that!
Like many other hobbies, this hobby has many that preach in absolutes, but in truth the real world rarely follows absolutes. Will light affect seed storage long term, absolutely, but there is more to it than light is bad dark is good in a practical sense, there is absolute risk and relative risk and other statistical quirks. I will argue any day that the low-intensity light found inside a fridge that is intermittent and short-term is not all that harmful if at all to seed storage over the course of a year or two or even three. I would argue that something as minimal as using an amber jar will reduce any potential light damage over that time period inside a fridge to basically a statistical zero. There should be a point where people accept that it’s ‘good enough’ and not worry about what-ifs that at the end of the day are minute factors in the overall picture. I have seen way to many hobbies stress people out to no end preaching absolutes that are anal hogwash at the end of the day.
Sure sounded like it from all the articles I read, which is why I decided to come ask the pros here rather than continue wrecking my brain over it.
I definitely agree with your reasoning, I just don’t know what that ‘good enough’ is yet though, and there are so many various topics to touch upon in all of growing, it is such a vast process. I have only done one grow so far, and I still feel extremely inexperienced at this.
Thanks also for pitching in That’s good to know, then I surely shouldn’t have any issues with the precautions I’ll be taking.
And plan to store them for years. Grove Moisture pack, sealed glass jar, seeds. Without moisture, I doubt that light would cause germination. 2022 Summer seeds in the loop, now.
I’m personally one to not focus too much time and energy doing it perfectly the first go around, I’m more of a learn-from-experience and seek to improve each time slowly vs stressing about everything. I’m not saying do try and don’t do your research, I’m saying take what you read as the ‘perfect way to do it’ with a big grain of salt and don’t stress when you can’t do it that way. Take lots of notes, like everyday notes on everything you do, then if something goes wrong look back over the notes and change something for next time, same with seed storage, if you find your germination rates went down like crazy just learn from it, try and try again if you fail and find your own path. I certainly don’t know how many seeds you purchased but I’m betting that if you just tossed them in a cabinet drawer in the package they arrived in that over the course of 2-3 years you likely would not even lose 10% viability, and even if you lose 50% viability is it really a deal breaker over 2-3 years for a hobbyist grower vs the stress worrying about it?
While your points do make a lot of sense, and also will lead to a more stress-free life, here’s where we are different. I’m an OCD sufferer, I go full blown anxiety on everything I do and try being a perfectionist. It’s not nice, and not by choice believe me, it drives me absolutely crazy, but I can’t really help it. Been on the meds for it twice in my life, and they are life-wrecking, I’m better off dealing with it rather than going back on those horrible little pills again. Best cure I found for it honestly is smoking loads of weed lol
But yes, I agree with you that it really is a learn as you go process, and no matter how much you read up, theory and practice are quite a different game sometimes, as you said, take what you read with a grain of salt. I feel like I’ve learnt a lot from my first grow, just really wish to refine this process further. I adore our precious plant, and it’s become one of my biggest hobbies growing it, so I really want to be great at it
I thought, I solved my version of this problem with the grow your own seeds plan.
Now, after months of seed mining, I am guilty of weed abuse and have decided to buy seeds in future. and impose Judge Roy Bean rules for males found in grow. ILGM MauiWaui Seedlings eleven days younger than my seedling and surpassing in size. Time to convert seed buying addiction to HLG product aquisition.
Haha, definitely a good problem to have! Can’t say you’re not spoilt for choice
Wow, shows that those ILGM genetics are really shining through there! Ah yes, the never ending ‘to buy’ list. Mine is slowly shifting to extraction equipment (rosin press, hash washer, etc). Fun buying new toys to play with ^-^
just received my new seeds and want to make sure I store them properly. Temperature indoors here drops to 17C (62F) in winter and goes up to 30C (86F) in summer. As you can see, even in winter it’s not so cold. I was reading that seeds keep best when stored in a cool, dry and dark place, preferably between 4C - 8C. I have 17 seeds in total, but I only plant 3 at a time, so I’m going to have these for a while.
