Ways To Properly Preserve Cannabis Seeds

Cannabis seeds, with their hard outer shell, seem pretty hardy. And while nature has certainly designed them to last through many variety of conditions, cannabis seeds aren’t invincible. Sudden changes in temperature and excessive humidity, for example, can easily ruin a batch of seeds. Luckily, caring for your seeds is simple. Keep reading to learn how.

Your Seeds Are Living

Most people forget this, but it’s real: your cannabis seeds are active organisms. Before they grow, however, they are in a condition of rest, much like some animals when they hibernate. And like all living things, seeds can die. When keeping your seeds, you’ll want to provide them the best conditions to make sure they last until you’re ready to germinate and plant them.

Ideal Conditions for Cannabis Seeds

Cannabis seeds have four main enemies:

1. Humidity
2. Temperature
3. Light
4. Oxygen

Preferably, you want to preserve your seeds in cold, dark, and moisture-free place. Whenever possible, keep your seeds in their factory packaging. At Royal Queen Seeds, we’ve specially designed our packaging to safeguard our seeds until you’re ready to germinate them.

If your seeds get subjected to light or rapid changes in temperature, these conditions will cause them to deplete their food reserves before they ever touch soil, meaning they won’t have the food they need to sprout. Excessive humidity, on the other hand, can trigger fungi to grow on your seeds.

Effects of Humidity on Cannabis Seeds

Humidity is easily one of the greatest threats to your seeds. Here is how varying levels of humidity (% relative humidity) affect your cannabis seeds:

Need advice on controlling humidity for your plants? The Grow Guide offers key tips for maintaining healthy development environments.

Storage Methods to Store Your Cannabis Seeds

For temporary storage, a dark cupboard or drawer with steady temperatures is generally fine. Try to keep your seeds clear of areas of your house that are susceptible to the natural temperature changes of your regional environment.

If, for example, you are in a location with very hot daytime temperatures and cold nights, try to shield your seeds from these changes and don’t place them outside in a shed or garage.

For prolonged storage, it’s ideal to keep your seeds with desiccants, such as silica gel, in an airtight container inside the refrigerator. Remember that opening the door of your fridge can actually produce some pretty dramatic temperature shifts. If you own have an additional fridge that gets opened less often than the one in your kitchen, use that one to keep your seeds.

Again, when possible, keep your seeds in their original packaging. If you do open a pack of seeds and have extras, transfer the extra seeds directly into sealed container.

Ziplock bags, for example, are perfect because you can remove all the air from them to make practically vacuum-sealed container for your seeds. Once packaged, put your bag inside opaque plastic bag or black container to guard your seeds from your refrigerator light.

Low-humidity fridges are the top choice to store seeds. The problem is when there is dampness in the fridge, since humidity is the most dangerous enemy for seeds (more harmful than temperature, light, oxygen…). For this reason, it is preferable to store the seeds in No Frost fridges.

Can You Preserve Seeds in the Freezer?

Yes, cannabis seeds can be preserved in the freezer. The colder the temperature, the less quickly they decline. However, it’s usually not necessary to freeze your seeds. Follow the conditions we outlined above, and you should be able to keep your seeds for up to half a decade and still get a high germination rate.

Knowing Which Seeds to Grow and Which to Store

When you’re ready to germinate your seeds, examine them and germinate any seeds with harm to the outer shell first. The exterior of your seeds is made to protect the delicate genetics inside. Seeds with damage in the outer shell are far more vulnerable and shouldn’t be stored.

At Royal Queen Seeds, we excel in our work and want to make sure every grower only has the best genetics in their garden. That means we check all of our seeds before packaging. If you notice any damage to your RQS seeds, get in touch with our customer service team immediately.

Methods for Germinating Old Cannabis Seeds

We’ve all found an odd seed somewhere at the back of forgotten drawer or cupboard. Here are a few tips on how to grow weed seeds:

Pre-soaking with fortified carbonated water

Before sprouting your old seeds, try soaking them in carbonated water enhanced with fulvic acid, germination booster, hydrogen peroxide, or gibberellic acid. For optimal results, use room temperature water and soak your seeds for https://nativesusa.com/ (https://nativesusa.com) half a day in a dark place.

Scratch your seeds

Older seeds often have very tough outer shell. Gently scratching this shell with light sandpaper can help water and warmth enter your seed at the time of germination. Try lightly scarring your old cannabis seeds just before soaking to help them sprout.

Remove a seed’s ridge

The ridge is the marginally elevated side of your seed. Like sections of the shell, this ridge can become extra tough over time. Eliminating it gently with sharp Stanley blade can help your seed sprout.

Slice open your seed

In a last attempt to germinate your seeds, creating small cut in the shell may help. However, this is no miracle cure, and you’ll need to be cautious to avoid harming the inside of your seed. If you damage the embryo, the seed will never grow.

Remember, some old seeds just won’t sprout no matter how long you try. If possible, avoid getting more seeds than you intend to plant so as to avoid having any issues at the time of germination.