Ways To Correctly Store Cannabis Seeds

Cannabis seeds, with their durable outer shell, look pretty hardy. And while nature has certainly designed them to withstand a wide variety of conditions, cannabis seeds aren't immune. Quick changes in temperature and high humidity, for example, can easily ruin batches of seeds. Luckily, caring for your seeds is easy. Keep reading to learn how.

Your Seeds Are Alive

Most people forget this, but it's true: your cannabis seeds are alive organisms. Before they germinate, however, they are in a state of rest, similar to some animals when they rest. And like all organisms, seeds can perish. When storing your seeds, you'll want to give them the optimal conditions to guarantee they last until you're ready to sprout and plant them.

Perfect Conditions for Cannabis Seeds

Cannabis seeds have four main enemies:

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

Optimally, you want to store your seeds in cool, dark, and https://nativesusa.com/ (nativesusa.com) arid place. Whenever possible, keep your seeds in their original packaging. At Royal Queen Seeds, we've carefully designed our packaging to safeguard our seeds until you're ready to plant them.

If your seeds get subjected to light or sudden changes in temperature, these conditions will trigger them to use up their nutrient stores before they ever touch soil, meaning they won't have the nutrients they need to sprout. Elevated humidity, on the flip side, can encourage fungi to develop on your seeds.

Impact of Humidity on Cannabis Seeds

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

Looking for advice on controlling humidity for your plants? The Grow Guide provides key tips for maintaining healthy cultivation environments.

How and Where to Store Your Cannabis Seeds

For temporary storage, dim cupboard or drawer with steady temperatures is usually fine. Try to keep your seeds away from areas of your house that are susceptible to the normal temperature changes of your local environment.

If, for example, you are in a region with very high daytime temperatures and cold nights, try to safeguard your seeds from these changes and don't store them outside in sheds or garage.

For long-term storage, it's ideal to keep your seeds with moisture absorbers, such as silica gel, in sealed container inside the icebox. Remember that using the door of your refrigerator can actually cause some pretty major temperature shifts. If you have have a second fridge that gets opened less often than the one in your kitchen, use that one to store your seeds.

Again, when possible, keep your seeds in their initial packaging. If you do break packs 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 create an almost vacuum-sealed container for your seeds. Once sealed, put your bag inside dark plastic bag or opaque container to guard your seeds from your fridge light.

Moisture-free fridges are the top choice to store seeds. The problem is when there is moisture in the fridge, since humidity is the biggest enemy for seeds (more dangerous than temperature, light, oxygen...). For this reason, it is recommended to store the seeds in No Frost fridges.

Can You Keep Seeds in the Freezer?

Yes, cannabis seeds can be stored in the freezer. The colder the temperature, the more gradually they decline. However, it's generally not necessary to freeze your seeds. Maintain the conditions we described above, and you should be able to maintain your seeds for up to five years and still get a high germination rate.

Determining Which Seeds to Grow and Which to Store

When you're ready to sprout your seeds, examine them and germinate any seeds with issues to the outer shell first. The outer shell of your seeds is designed to protect the volatile genetics inside. Seeds with damage in the outer shell are much more vulnerable and won't be stored.

At Royal Queen Seeds, we take pride in our work and want to guarantee every grower only has the best genetics in their garden. That means we check all of our seeds before packing. If you see any damage to your RQS seeds, contact with our customer service team immediately.

Methods for Germinating Aged Cannabis Seeds

We've all found random seed somewhere at the depths of old drawer or cupboard. Here are a few tips on how to grow weed seeds:

Pre-soaking with enriched carbonated water

Before growing your old seeds, try submerging them in carbonated water fortified with fulvic acid, germination booster, hydrogen peroxide, or gibberellic acid. For best results, use ambient water and soak your seeds for 12 hours in dim place.

Scratch your seeds

Aged seeds often have an extra tough outer shell. Carefully scratching this shell with some sandpaper can help water and warmth penetrate your seed at the time of germination. Try gently scarring your old cannabis seeds just before soaking to help them sprout.

Eliminate your seed's ridge

The ridge is the somewhat elevated side of your seed. Like parts of the shell, this ridge can become very tough over time. Eliminating it gently with sharp Stanley blade can help your seed germinate.

Cut open your seed

In a last attempt to grow your seeds, creating tiny cut in the outer casing may help. However, this is no miracle cure, and you'll need to be cautious to avoid hurting the inside of your seed. If you damage the embryo, the seed will never sprout.

Remember, some old seeds just won't grow no matter how hard you try. If possible, avoid purchasing more seeds than you plan to plant so as to avoid having any difficulties at the time of germination.