Long Term Seed Storage (+5 years)

[Wayne36]

In regards to the freezer - My freezer never stays the same temp. Sometimes ice will form on my burrito when the freezer is stuffed, other times the condensation drips to the bottoms and freezes in a puddle. Point is, there is fluctuation which will introduce moisture to your storage container, keeping up with your desiccants is a gamble unless changed frequently..... which would also change the temp because you are pulling the jar out of the freezer to make the change. I don't care what some people will say, I'll never keep my beans in a freezer or fridge. Beans I made almost 10 years ago still pop for me. Cool dark drawer on the interior of the house. That does the trick for me.

My fancy self wants to argue for tissue culture being the way to keep strains indefinitely.

I high just kept them in a drawer or on a shelf and in a box or bag of sorts never really had like a whole bunch not pop but have had a few more thinks the where dead to me to begin with lmao

[Guest]

airtight container in the freezer as cold as ewe run it . 20 years time they still be viable.

@Chad.Westport you can thank for this:

viewtopic.php?f=60&t=10870&p=196195#p196195

Quite ironic really. So yes, pretty much as cold as you can, for any seed. Global Seed Bank can't get that wrong for sure

I will now be putting mine in the freezer later.

[Guest]

All good @DIY.Rik there is a big difference between my freezer and the doomsday vault. But I'm glad you like my post about that

Well if that much of a low temperature is good enough for the vault, my freezeer I am more than happy with. I just use the coldest part of the house.

[TTL]

I think Chad is saying that the fluctuations in temperature in a normal household freezer can have a negative impact on the storage of your seeds. Also, do the people preparing seeds for storage in the Doomsday Vault know the moisture content of those seeds before placing them in there? Buy a little freezer or fridge that can fit your seeds, pack them in a container that lets no light in/through, fill it with rice, only open it when you need seeds, and I feel like you’ve done what you can. If the seeds don’t pop, on to the next. Also, seems like a lot of work if you don’t have a good amount of seeds to store. Just buy enough seeds for the next couple of grows or keep some moms and use cuts and you don’t have to worry about any of this. Ha.

[Guest]

fluctuations in temperature in a normal household freezer

I'm pretty sure a household freezer won't have massive fluctuations would it? A houshold cupboard in a room would have more fluctuation?

I have loads of seeds I am holding back for years to come.

To the freezer mine are going :-)

[Sage]

My ONLY part in this discussion was to offer a method I've had success with. Including seeds from the 80's and some from the late 70's. My only wish is for success for us all GL to all involved in this thread.

[TTL]

My ONLY part in this discussion was to offer a method I've had success with. Including seeds from the 80's and some from the late 70's. My only wish is for success for us all GL to all involved in this thread.

Did I miss the part where someone was questioning your part in this discussion? Seems to just be people having a discussion. Your part seemed pretty clear. Ha.

[Sage]

My ONLY part in this discussion was to offer a method I've had success with. Including seeds from the 80's and some from the late 70's. My only wish is for success for us all GL to all involved in this thread.

Did I miss the part where someone was questioning your part in this discussion? Seems to just be people having a discussion. Your part seemed pretty clear. Ha.

Cool story bro thanks for the clarification.

[Marcus]

fluctuations in temperature in a normal household freezer

I'm pretty sure a household freezer won't have massive fluctuations would it? A houshold cupboard in a room would have more fluctuation?

Frost free freezers warm up to melt any ice in there and drain it to the workings where it evaporates. So yeah they do fluctuate.

I keep mine in a beer fridge at 3*C as that's the temp it sits at and that's a good temp for beer too.

[seymore_budz]

Thanks guys,

It's not at all clear is it. Some say do others say don't. Here are my thoughts on a few points.

* Use a cool cupboard and don't worry about a fridge.

The trouble with this is my house temp fluctuates a lot. As far as I'm aware, fluctuations in temperature are your worst enemy. I have had seeds stored in a safe place for several years previously but it did in fact contribute to viability. The seeds germinated but not a great success rate and things were slow to start.

* Use a freezer
Although this did seem like a good idea at first, it's hard to tell how old the seed is you're buying and the conditions it has been stored in. This raised a red flag in my head.

The second has already been discussed here. No only does temperature fluctuate when you open the door (happens a lot in my house), most now are auto defrost or frost free. To do these tricks I think the appliance will fluctuate the temperature. Good for no frost but bad for seed viability.

* Keeping seed in the fridge can be more detrimental due to temperature fluctuations when opening the door.

This is why I bought myself a mini one that I keep in my office. The drinks were just to help it drop down to temperature. This is only for seed storage and will be opened a few times a year at the very least.

I have seen the doomsday vault and others that have lots of money spent on them to ensure a consistent temperature and redundancy etc and I appreciate I'm not going to achieve that level of accuracy. When researching the idea I took some key points with me.

* Temperature fluctuations not only burns the seed out quicker it can upset hormone content.
* Freezing the wrong way can damage the embryo.
* Light can also have an adverse affect on the seed.
* Low humidity is required to keep the seed dormant.

The reason why I want to do this is over the years I have grown and lost some great strains but when I've purchased more seeds a few years or even months later the plants are completely different. And not just a little, I mean almost like different strains altogether. And this is not just one breeder or strain I've been there a few times.

When I decided to have a tinker again and setup a little Percy/hobby grow, I wanted to keep a back catalogue of seeds I've grown for preservation purposes. My thinking was to ensure I get a similar result of I grow them out again I would keep back some of the same packet. This way I'd have a better chance of getting a similar pheno as the seed could be from the same mother or at least will be from the same grow.

It's real interesting to hear all your methods guys! Love it and has given me some food for thought.