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Post by richardw on Mar 2, 2017 14:10:42 GMT -5
Ive just had a phone call from a woman who was clearing out her grandads sheds and found some bean seed that would be 30+ years old, she's going to send me 10 seeds. Is this seed going to be too old to germinate, if not is there something i can do help it.
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Post by raymondo on Mar 2, 2017 15:48:28 GMT -5
I've never tried seed that old but I have germinated 10 year old seed. I sowed them by placing them on the surfcae, hilum face down, just firmly against the potting mix, keeping them barely damp, with a clear plastic container over them and out of direct sun. Old bean seeds are really slow and often rot before they get going. Good luck with them.
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Post by zeedman on Mar 2, 2017 16:19:35 GMT -5
Although I often germinate old bean seed from my own collection, it is in the 7-10 year range. At that age, I usually still get fair germination, using peat strips, play sand or soil-less mix as medium, & a weak solution of a nitrogen-containing fertilizer. Sterility is important, so I use filtered or boiled water. Only once did I try seed older than that, given to me by a trader who had a similar tale of "found seed". Out of 32 seeds, only one germinated.
Chances are that if the seed was stored in a warm and/or humid area, it will be dead or nearly so. Nothing lost by attempting to revive it... but if possible, try to get a larger sample size, to increase the chance of finding at least one viable seed.
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Post by richardw on Mar 2, 2017 23:11:53 GMT -5
I've never tried seed that old but I have germinated 10 year old seed. I sowed them by placing them on the surfcae, hilum face down, just firmly against the potting mix, keeping them barely damp, with a clear plastic container over them and out of direct sun. Old bean seeds are really slow and often rot before they get going. Good luck with them.
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Post by richardw on Mar 2, 2017 23:16:52 GMT -5
Although I often germinate old bean seed from my own collection, it is in the 7-10 year range. At that age, I usually still get fair germination, using peat strips, play sand or soil-less mix as medium, & a weak solution of a nitrogen-containing fertilizer. Sterility is important, so I use filtered or boiled water. Only once did I try seed older than that, given to me by a trader who had a similar tale of "found seed". Out of 32 seeds, only one germinated. Chances are that if the seed was stored in a warm and/or humid area, it will be dead or nearly so. Nothing lost by attempting to revive it... but if possible, try to get a larger sample size, to increase the chance of finding at least one viable seed. Right then, i'll use boiled water, what you think about using vermiculite?
The seed is coming from the south of NZ where its colder, so that might have given it a better chance, also i couldn't get more than 10 seed, she was only going to give three while there was only 20 in total |
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Post by steev on Mar 2, 2017 23:42:49 GMT -5
And she was saving some for...? Might be able to point out the diminishing likelihood of viability, such that this is HER best chance of keeping this seed alive.
I think sand is perhaps more sterilizable than vermiculite, which is more porous.
Good luck!
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Post by richardw on Mar 3, 2017 3:39:43 GMT -5
Sand ya reckon? sterilize it with boiling water, let it cool down and sit the seed more or less on top with hilum face down.
steev - she wants to try as well, she's a able and confident gardener, so between the two of us, well! fingers crossed. No point me trying now that we are into autumn, and then i dont want to try too early come spring either.
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Post by keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.) on Mar 3, 2017 9:17:25 GMT -5
good luck! I think the n.m. appaloosa spotted beans i tried to plant and germinate all failed and rotted. They were probably at least 15 years old if not more. I tried several different methods to try helping them along, but none of them worked for me.
In the end the best i could do was find a modern source of the red beans. The black variety seems to be extinct. I'm hoping to take a smaller related bean with the same black markings and backcross it with the red one in an attempt to recover something close to the black one.
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Post by reed on Mar 3, 2017 10:52:09 GMT -5
I bought an old canning jar at a junk store one time, the kind with the glass lid and rubber seal. It was about 1/2 full of what looked like smallish blue / white lima beans. The metal bail was rusted and the rubber had fused with the lid and jar to the point it was difficult to open.
I planted the seeds and two sprouted but promptly died. I wish I had known some of the suggestions above at the time maybe a couple would have lived.
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Post by richardw on Mar 3, 2017 12:51:31 GMT -5
Makes you wonder how old they would have been reed.
I'm not getting my hopes up too much, but if i can.
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Post by walt on Mar 3, 2017 15:59:21 GMT -5
How well the seeds will sprout will depend mostly on how they were stored. Nothing you can do about that now. Give it your best shot. All the suggestions given above are useful.
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