Cannabis, just like other plants grows from the seeds. The seeds’ life cycle for several months from growing into seedlings up to getting into its flowering phase once its beautiful buds are harvested begins with the seeds. Cannabis growers know the value of marijuana seeds and that’s why most of them are stock seeds of their favorite cannabis plants for future use. However, not only cannabis growers are aware of the advantages of marijuana seeds. And even consumers love to dredge cannabis seeds into their food to make it more nutritious and delicious. However, how long are marijuana seeds viable and what are the things to do to store them correctly. In this article, we will feature all the important factors on why your seed doesn’t germinate or last longer throughout the storage.
How Long are Marijuana Seeds Viable?
How long before I know if my marijuana seeds are viable? In some varieties when it comes to different cannabis strain seeds, under the normal states, viable marijuana seeds would remain for germination for up to 5 years. However, it still depends on the quality of the cannabis seed to start with. High-quality marijuana seeds might stay viable for 6 years if it is stored properly, whereas low-quality marijuana seeds, ones coming from a cannabis strain that isn’t so hard, might only last for only about 3 years before they’re no longer available for growth and germination.
How To Preserve Cannabis Seeds?
How long do marijuana seeds remain viable and would still be able to germinate, even after many years of storage? There are four main factors that could cause marijuana seed to germinate early, which for the main part are also the same components which could cause them to rot, to take harm, and become entirely unviable to germinate.
Temperature
The most significant way to remember is that temperature would cause cannabis seed to germinate, and intense high temperature might cause your cannabis seed to rot abundantly. If you’re storing your marijuana seed and you want to make sure that the temperature is kept evenly low, around 5 degrees Celsius is the most relevant. Keeping them in a cool place would make sure that they will not germinate because naturally, more heat signals the beginning of the growing season, which would cause the cannabis seed to germinate. Storing them in a cool place would also make sure that they’re not exposed to too much heat that could damage them. Put them in a cool place, and some people use a fridge or freezer, or something that you cannot touch later.
Light
Another important part to remember here in “light”. Naturally, bright light is the sign to plants that it is time to grow. So if you expose the seed to light, it would move on to the germination process. At the same time, extra light, even without germination, could cause harm and cause you marijuana seed to no longer be feasible. In storing your marijuana seed, place them in a cloudy container that doesn’t allow any light in, so keeping the cannabis seeds far from light. Just ensure that this cloudy container is stored in a cool place. Preferably, if you want your marijuana seed to be stored somewhere in a totally dark and doesn’t expose it to any light at all.
Humidity
Humidity is another factor that could cause marijuana seed to germinate prematurely. Marijuana seeds are evenly dried up, for them to split open, germinate, and begin developing the root system, they require a good deal of moisture. This is why each germination method involves exposing your marijuana seed to a particular degree of moisture. And if you don’t want your marijuana seed to germinate too soon, then your seed must stay dry as possible. At the same time, even if the cannabis seed doesn’t germinate, excess humidity could cause the cannabis seed to rot, which would make them entirely unfeasible to be germinated. So you need to put them somewhere very dry. The humidity level of over 5% is advisable for both long term and short term cannabis seed storage. This might be difficult to achieve depending on where you are located.
Oxygen
Marijuana seed also needs oxygen for them to germinate, so if there’s no oxygen, they won’t germinate. However, bacteria and all kinds of pests also need oxygen, and if you don’t want your cannabis seeds being attacked by pests, keeping oxygen to a minimum level would be beneficial too. This could be hard to achieve, but any type of airtight container or vacuum sealing will do. You need to keep your marijuana seeds dry, cool, in a dark place, and exposed to a little oxygen as possible.
How to Tell if Marijuana Seeds are Viable?
Appearance and Feel
How to tell if marijuana seeds are viable? Another way to measure the traits and quality of a marijuana seed is to look for their appearance. Some features are obvious, while others take some time to be recognized faster. Healthier and hereditarily superior seeds would show dark shades on the outer shell. Shades of black and grey are signals that it’s a good seed, sometimes showing a tiger stripe is aesthetic. Darker and high-quality seeds would feel firm to touch. Put the cannabis seed between your index and thumb finger and squeeze it, not enough power to bend metal, but enough to test its strength. And if the seeds feel firm and don’t bend or break under pressure, then it means that it’s worth planting.
Old seeds or poor-quality cannabis seeds would crumble and crack when applied pressure. If they break into pieces under slight pressure, they would be useless. Cannabis seeds are simply pods of the plant genetics. With time, they would age and become useless. Cannabis seeds that are obviously past their main aren’t worth wasting time on. Young and immature seeds would be white and green in appearance. It’s unlikely that these seeds would germinate, and if they survive, it would take longer. It’s worth having a fresh cannabis seed that is of ideal age.
Germinate Them
Another accurate way to test the genetic potential of cannabis is to simply put it in the soil. It would not take too long to see the outcomes. This method is ideal for the hobby home growers who have space and time to spare for a risky endeavor.
Source Well
The best way to have quality seeds is to look for a reputable cannabis seed bank. These companies pride themselves on their breeding expertise just to ensure that their clients will receive exactly what has been advertised. They have reputations to look for, giving anything less would damage their company’s name. The option to this is to risk seed from a hobby grower. If you don’t know them or their skills, then this isn’t to say that hobby growers can’t generate amazing genetics, there’s no way to know whether your cannabis seeds would grow.
Float Test
Float test is another way to test if the seed you have right now are marijuana seeds viable. If you’re still doubting the quality of your cannabis seeds after examining their toughness and appearance, this method might help you. This test is quite easy and only has 2 potential results. Fill up a glass jar or a drinking glass with water and put your cannabis seeds on the surface. This cost-effective and simple method is an ideal way to indicate good genetics from the bad. If they sink or swim. Cannabis seeds that stay floating on the surface are more than of poor-quality. Cannabis seeds that sink to the bottom like a botanical cannonball are likely healthy and must be germinated. But, patience is needed in conducting this test, as the outcomes aren’t instantly evident. You would have to wait for around 1 to 2 hours before getting the results. Some good-quality cannabis seeds would need enough time to absorb enough water for them to sink. It is important to conduct this test if you’re planning to germinate the cannabis seeds afterward. The viable cannabis seeds that sunk to the bottom of the glass would have captivated the water, crossing the membrane of the seed and signaling that it is time to grow.
