Storing your Marijuana Seeds for Optimal Germination Rates!

There will always be debate as to whether marijuana seeds should be stored in a cold environment, or  simply  in  a  cool, dry and dark place. While I believe in storing marijuana seeds in a fridge or freezer, this does not mean that I believe that reasonable success cannot be achieved with other methods. This is just the way I do it guys and gals.

A seed is a living thing, and when you put it into a cold environment, the life cycle of the seed slows down.  This  also means that the degradation slows which in  turn  means  that  your seed will last longer  than  it  normally  would  in  an  environment where the life cycle of the seed continues at it's normal pace....it's why we put fruit and veg and herbs in the fridge...it slows down the life cycle and the decay, it's the same principle.

What to do

Get yourself an airtight container, eg: small Tupperware container,  film  canisters (which are ideal as they also block out any light) and place either a small amount of uncooked rice or loose/bagged  silica  crystals on the bottom of your container, these are both forms of desiccants which will soak up any moisture humidity  around the marijuana seeds.  You  can  use  plastic  baggies  or envelopes to store your marijuana seeds. I prefer envelopes as they will allow any moisture that has been trapped around the marijuana seeds to be drawn out by the desiccant. Specially designed seed envelopes are available at some nurseries and local seed saver organizations.

I also like to label the bags/envelopes with strain,  quantity  and  date  received  to make sorting easier. Put them in either your fridge or freezer....humidity/moisture and light are the enemies! Also,  write  a  little inventory of what seeds you have so you don't need to keep the marijuana seeds out of the cool environment for too long.

Temperature and Relative Humidity are the most important factors affecting  seed  quality  during  storage. Relative humidity is the more important of  these. marijuana seeds are  hypocrisies, they  absorb  moisture  from  wet  atmospheres  and  dry  out  in  dry atmospheres. Seed storage life is doubled for each 1% decrease in moisture content.

The problems of maintaining seed germination increase with seed moisture content.
This can be generalized as follows:

Seed moisture above:

1. 40-60% - germination occurs
2. 18-20% - heating may occur
3. 12-14% - fungi grown on and in seed
4.   8-  9% - insects become active and reproduce

Heating is caused by the respiration of cannabis seeds,  of  fungi  and  bacteria  in  and  on  the seed, and of insect populations, which
may build up rapidly in a moist environment. High temperature  and  high  moisture  will  kill  cannabis seeds  rapidly  as will  invasion  of microorganisms and insects.

Seed storage life is doubled for each 5¡ C reduction in storage temperature.
Refrigeration to at least 5¡ C is desirable (this is slightly warmer than domestic fridges).
The  cooler   the   temperature  the  more  slowly  seed  vitality  declines.  This  rule  apparently  continues  to  apply  even  at temperatures below freezing. At 5¡ C and below, insects become inactive."


I have heard reports of cannabis seeds stored in this manner being  germinated  with  high  success  rates  after  5  years  of  storage. Whether  or  not  that  is  attainable  for everybody or every  seed  will  most  likely  be  unknown  until  we  gather  ourselves
a little data, but I believe that this is the best way to make that stash last longer.