circa 1970's seeds

A few weeks ago my dad blessed me with a small fortune of seeds. The only problem is there from when he lived in London in the 70's. I had a few questions...

Are these seeds definitely not usable?
Could they be anything special, like some original afgani strain or something?
Is it worth trying to germ them all if I have to, to see what kind of strain it is?

Thanks -ITB

In.The.Basement said:

A few weeks ago my dad blessed me with a small fortune of seeds. The only problem is there from when he lived in London in the 70's. I had a few questions...

Are these seeds definitely not usable?
Could they be anything special, like some original afgani strain or something?
Is it worth trying to germ them all if I have to, to see what kind of strain it is?

Thanks -ITB

Click to expand...

yes, germ them. i have some put away as well. came out of a foot locker from Vietnam. i haven't tried them yet but am eager to.

i say go for it...what do you have to lose?

ya u could grow somethin crazy! no doubt! do it!!!

DUDE!!!!!!Thats almost like the holy grail! This could be the mystery seed that is the most potent in the world originally grown by aliens or something! I say grow, it clone it, than mass produce it, and make billions!

i've heard some stoners from the 60's and 70's talk about strains thats are stronger than anything grown today. Wouldn't it be sweet if it was one of those strains long gone.

hi
seeds from the1970s may include the long lost black african indica try them all label carefully and clone the best good luck

but the again those old stoners have smoked so much no amount of MJ could give them the high they were getting in the old days

He's losing the opportunity cost of growing whatever he really wants to grow, presuming you're growing indoor and have limited ressources.

Just weight the pros and cons, and be sure to keep us updated and post pics

Smot is right. These seeds could be a gold mine. Then again, they could be shitty brick seeds the old man kept around to give to the birds. Start with the bigest, ripest, darkest ones you can find. Plant at least 10X what you think you'll need and hope for a 10% germination. Depending on how they were stored, they could all be dead and dried out or a small % may still be viable. Also, plan on them taking alot longer to germinate- maybe up two 2 weeks. Light roughing up on the outside of the seeds (maybe by lightly using a piece of very fine sandpaper) will help them absorb water easier and break the shell faster. Make sure you put a drop of clorox in your sprouting water to kill off any off the nasties that may be on the seeds too.

Also, as a 30 years smoker, I DO believe the high end back in the late 70's was better then the high end now. Actually, I don't believe, I know it. But, there's just more variety out there now......

I just received a package of beans from the Netherlands. While germing them, I also decided to see if there was any potential in an OLD stash of primo bag-beans. They have been kept in a film container, in a dark drawer, for well over 10 years. I figured "what the hell." I dropped them in a dixie of distilled water and waited three days. NADA. The water started to turn a little cloudy so I pitched them in the garden.

My advise: It is worth a try, but hedge your bets and get some "known quality" beans to grow side-by-side for comparison.

You could have something special.

Nice, thanks everyone for all the feedback. I am going to germ like 5 or 6 at a time untill i see roots. Its going to be a little side project. I'm real excited to see what its like but at the same time expecting the worst, so I don't get my hopes up. In the meantime I'm going to ask my dad if he has any recollection of what they may be, hes told me he smoked a lot of nugs from afghanistan, and i know he went there so who knows. He probably doesn't...haha..thanks again -ITB

I've tried to germinate some 10 year old seeds without any success so far. They seem to get covered with mildew. I'm wondering if adding some No Damp or similar product to the water when you soak them would help. I haven't tried it yet though.

neat !!!!!!

DontKnowBeans said:

I've tried to germinate some 10 year old seeds without any success so far. They seem to get covered with mildew. I'm wondering if adding some No Damp or similar product to the water when you soak them would help. I haven't tried it yet though.

Click to expand...

I've never soaked a seed to germinate, always used the paper towel method. That's what their in now. If none of these germ maybe I'll try soaking them, maybe you should try the paper towel method on yours.

DontKnowBeans said:

I've tried to germinate some 10 year old seeds without any success so far. They seem to get covered with mildew. I'm wondering if adding some No Damp or similar product to the water when you soak them would help. I haven't tried it yet though.

Click to expand...

physan-20 would be appropriate for the seed soak as per their instructions. It kills and prevents more baddies while damaging the seed less than chlorine. It is available at most well stocked growshops. This a be something I would not do without on old seeds. Good luck and may you find a energetic happy sativa that keeps you high for ten hours off secondhand smoke and finishes in 3 days. Godspeed to you.

Cup germination works well for me. Half an inch of distilled water in a warm-dark spot and they're cracked in 6-36 hours. gu-rowin! . . . or moldy cuz I didn't use that physan-20 :{