fridge seeds

though i expect folks to come out of the woodwork to tell me that they just keep their seeds in the dark and have no problem, there are countless posts and recs to keep beans cold, dark and dry.
however, i have seen a few people post that the fridge harmed the germ rates.
what is the verdict on this?

also, what is the procedure when using from the fridge?
do i need to take them out 3 days in advance of using them?
Can i take them out and put them back in?
the process at the beginning of each grow is to get a single plant for many different strains. it sometimes takes a few seeds to get each slot filled with the correct strain. the problem is i would need to take seeds out, wait 3 days, germ for 3 days, check results, take out seeds and wait 3 days, then germ for 3 days again, then repeat again if neede that is a long spread of time to get all the germinations done. this makes the grow quite offset if running tent as a unit.

in case it matters: i have most of my expensive stuff in the fridge, inside a carboard box that is inside two freezer bags. most of the seeds are then in small baggies, small tubes or in their factor sealed packs. i kept anther stash of lower cost and self made seeds in my normal drawer in the lung room. is this ok? do i need to keep them there for now on?

I keep all my seeds in mason jars in a mini fridge. Be sure to let the jar come to room temperature before opening. If something doesnt germinate, I move on, I dont blame the refrigerator.

I just don't think a fridge is a truly "controlled environment" and it freaks me out to think of putting my seeds in there. I have, however, started keeping veg cuts in the fridge, and am currently attempting to root a cut that's been stored for 55 days, nothin fancy just a ziploc baggie purged of air, rolled & put into a small box.

I just keep seeds in a box in a dresser but I never tout it as "the way" to store beans, it's just what I do. I find the temp more regulated if I ever want to pull them out & ponder over what i have, then I'm not exposing them to temp swings or excess moisture or anything.

waterproof808 said:

I keep all my seeds in mason jars in a mini fridge. Be sure to let the jar come to room temperature before opening. If something doesnt germinate, I move on, I dont blame the refrigerator.

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oh, each type of seed is in a different jar? i would have to take out my entire collection, let it thaw, then use...does that work?

PopAndSonGrows said:

I just don't think a fridge is a truly "controlled environment" and it freaks me out to think of putting my seeds in there. I have, however, started keeping veg cuts in the fridge, and am currently attempting to root a cut that's been stored for 55 days, nothin fancy just a ziploc beggie purged of air, rolled & put into a small box.

I just keep seeds in a box in a dresser but I never tout it as "the way" to store beans, it's just what I do. I find the temp more regulated if I ever want to pull them out & ponder over what i have, then I'm not exposing them to temp swings or excess moisture or anything.

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i wish i didn't put them in the fridge. i should have just got a small cooler and kept them sealed inside that as it would reduce any temperature fluctuations.

If you have a decent fridge you should be fine. They stay mostly around one temperature cycling on when the thermostat goes up too much. Long time ago I kept them in the freezer but after dealing with frost a couple times I now keep them in the fridge. I still occasionally start 10 year old beans that used to be in the freezer and get pretty normal germ rates.

Splinter7 said:

though i expect folks to come out of the woodwork to tell me that they just keep their seeds in the dark and have no problem, there are countless posts and recs to keep beans cold, dark and dry.
however, i have seen a few people post that the fridge harmed the germ rates.
what is the verdict on this?

also, what is the procedure when using from the fridge?
do i need to take them out 3 days in advance of using them?
Can i take them out and put them back in?
the process at the beginning of each grow is to get a single plant for many different strains. it sometimes takes a few seeds to get each slot filled with the correct strain. the problem is i would need to take seeds out, wait 3 days, germ for 3 days, check results, take out seeds and wait 3 days, then germ for 3 days again, then repeat again if neede that is a long spread of time to get all the germinations done. this makes the grow quite offset if running tent as a unit.

in case it matters: i have most of my expensive stuff in the fridge, inside a carboard box that is inside two freezer bags. most of the seeds are then in small baggies, small tubes or in their factor sealed packs. i kept anther stash of lower cost and self made seeds in my normal drawer in the lung room. is this ok? do i need to keep them there for now on?

Click to expand...

I had White Widow Auto seeds that I kept in the fridge for nearly three years and all three germinated and grew with no issues at all. The way I wrapped them aside from inside a envelope was inside a zip lock bag tapped up to prevent any moisture going inside then inside a black bag put into the bottom drawer inside the fridge.

All my current seeds are stored the same way and I'll either pull some out to allow to come to room temp a minimum of 72 hours before I do a 12-24 hour soak then transfer to damn paper towel method. Or I'll buy or trade for different auto strains with a friend and leaves the rest in storage until I feel like I want that specific strain again.

I have no hard evidence to back it up but I think putting them in the fridge might help winterize seeds, especially fresh ones, possibly leading to even better germ rates. Many plant species require winterizing (winterization?) to germinate.

A mini fridge dedicated to your seed collection is perfect. It's not something you want to constantly be opening up though. Just make sure your air tight containers have some silica gel packets, and bring them up to room temperature before opening.

My 2 cents....Since I've stored all seeds in my fridge for the past 20 years and get 100% germ, sometimes with 5 yr old seeds, I'd have to think their may be an advantage to storing that way.

Over the years my partner and I always made our own seeds , partner has always stored them . Vacuum sealed and kept in a cabinet in his basement where temp never gets much over 65f . He keeps a dehumidifier running also .

We've had 10 yo seeds germinate fine , some now have to be pushing 20 years old . Come Oct and it's legal I plan to try popping some of the oldest . We shall see but I expect they will .

MtRainDog said:

I have no hard evidence to back it up but I think putting them in the fridge might help winterize seeds, especially fresh ones, possibly leading to even better germ rates. Many plant species require winterizing (winterization?) to germinate.

A mini fridge dedicated to your seed collection is perfect. It's not something you want to constantly be opening up though. Just make sure your air tight containers have some silica gel packets, and bring them up to room temperature before opening.

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so i had double bagged them in ziplock freezer bags. no desiccant. it's in the regular fridge, in the back. it's opened a lot. it's been a month or two. am i screwed?

Just popped 12yr old seeds I store in new paint cans with dessicant in the fridge. 5/5 popped but didn’t grow them out since they were old herm seeds

Splinter7 said:

so i had double bagged them in ziplock freezer bags. no desiccant. it's in the regular fridge, in the back. it's opened a lot. it's been a month or two. am i screwed?

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should be ok. If there's no humidity showing up on the ziplock. Try to add a dessicant. I don't like plastic bags, for the crush risk, I prefer solid containers. Anyway, your seeds sshuld be ok in the fridge this way.

Gemtree said:

Just popped 12yr old seeds I store in new paint cans with dessicant in the fridge. 5/5 popped but didn’t grow them out since they were old herm seeds
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wow. 12 year old seeds. I’m on day 2 or 3 of germination for a 3 year old fridge seed.Hasn’t popped yet. I get the feeling it won’t. Since it fell on the floor and cracked.

mountaindew34 said:

should be ok. If there's no humidity showing up on the ziplock. Try to add a dessicant. I don't like plastic bags, for the crush risk, I prefer solid containers. Anyway, your seeds sshuld be ok in the fridge this way.

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It also has a cardboard box inside. Ya no moisture visible. It's double bagged too. I ordered some desiccant. I can drop that in and I might even vacuum seal it....not sure I need too

Splinter7 said:

oh, each type of seed is in a different jar? i would have to take out my entire collection, let it thaw, then use...does that work?

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I have a bunch of different jars I use so I'm not exposing my whole stash every time I want to get something out.

waterproof808 said:

I have a bunch of different jars I use so I'm not exposing my whole stash every time I want to get something out.

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ok. it sounds like am screwed. maybe i should just take it out? let it thaw then i can seal it up in an air tight container with desiccant and put it back in the lung room at 60-70f in a small cooler.

This has made me re think my butter drawer storage. I'm liking the jar idea in my roe fridge. Yes I have my own fridge for bait cause the wife was sick of looking at my worms, leaches and eggs beside dinner! Haha (not really I had my own drawer)

Skoal said:

wow. 12 year old seeds. I’m on day 2 or 3 of germination for a 3 year old fridge seed.Hasn’t popped yet. I get the feeling it won’t. Since it fell on the floor and cracked.

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I've got some gems from the late 90's early 2000's that I've been holding onto. Bunch of tga dank bank stuff. Last time I popped a timewreck (male) about 2 years ago, it had no issue.

Splinter7 said:

ok. it sounds like am screwed. maybe i should just take it out? let it thaw then i can seal it up in an air tight container with desiccant and put it back in the lung room at 60-70f in a small cooler.

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What's a lung room?