Methods To Properly Store Cannabis Seeds

Cannabis seeds, with their tough outer shell, appear pretty hardy. And while nature has certainly designed them to withstand various variety of conditions, cannabis seeds aren't indestructible. Rapid changes in temperature and elevated humidity, for example, can quickly ruin a batch of seeds. Luckily, caring for your seeds is simple. Keep reading to find out how.

Your Seeds Are Alive

Many people forget this, but it's worth remembering: your cannabis seeds are active organisms. Before they germinate, however, they are in dormant rest, similar to some animals when they sleep. And like all living things, seeds can die. When storing your seeds, you'll want to give them the optimal conditions to make sure they last until you're ready to plant and plant them.

Ideal Conditions for Cannabis Seeds

Cannabis seeds have four primary enemies:

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

Preferably, you want to keep your seeds in cold, dark, and arid place. Whenever possible, keep your seeds in their factory packaging. At Royal Queen Seeds, we've carefully designed our packaging to protect our seeds until you're ready to plant them.

If your seeds get subjected to light or sudden changes in temperature, these conditions will cause them to consume their food reserves before they ever see soil, meaning they won't have the nutrition they need to grow. Elevated humidity, on the contrary, can encourage fungi to develop on your seeds.

Effects of Humidity on Cannabis Seeds

Humidity is easily one of the greatest threats to your seeds. Here is how various levels of humidity (% relative humidity) affect your cannabis seeds:

Need advice on handling humidity for your plants? The Grow Guide offers key tips for maintaining healthy growing environments.

Where and How to Store Your Cannabis Seeds

For short-term storage, a dark cupboard or drawer with stable temperatures is usually fine. Try to keep your seeds away from areas of your house that are susceptible to the typical temperature changes of your area environment.

If, for example, you reside in an area with very hot daytime temperatures and low nights, try to shield your seeds from these changes and don't place them outside in sheds or garage.

For extended storage, it's ideal to keep your seeds with a desiccant, such as silica gel, in a sealed container inside the fridge. Remember that using the door of your refrigerator can actually produce some pretty significant temperature shifts. If you happen to have a second fridge that gets opened less often than the one in your kitchen, pick that one to store your seeds.

Again, whenever possible, keep your seeds in their factory packaging. If you do unseal a pack of seeds and have remaining seeds, transfer the remaining seeds directly into an airtight container.

Ziplock bags, for example, are perfect because you can remove all the air from them to make nearly vacuum-sealed container for your seeds. Once sealed, put your bag inside a dark plastic bag or dark container to protect your seeds from your refrigerator light.

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

Can You Preserve Seeds in the Freezer?

Yes, cannabis seeds can be preserved in the freezer. The more extreme the temperature, the less quickly they decline. However, it's usually not required to freeze your seeds. Meet the conditions we outlined above, and you should be able to keep your seeds for up to five years and still get a high germination rate.

Determining Which Seeds to Germinate and Which to Store

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

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

Techniques for Germinating Older Cannabis Seeds

We've all located stray seed somewhere at the back of old drawer or cupboard. Here are some tips on how to sprout weed seeds:

Pre-soaking with fortified carbonated water

Before germinating your old seeds, try immersing them in carbonated water enhanced with fulvic acid, boosters, hydrogen peroxide, or gibberellic acid. For best results, use lukewarm water and soak your seeds for twelve hours in dim place.

Score your seeds

Aged seeds often have very tough outer shell. Gently scratching this shell with light sandpaper can help humidity and warmth enter your seed at the time of germination. Try lightly scarring your old cannabis seeds just before immersing to help them grow.

Eliminate the seed's ridge

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

Cut open your seed

In desperate attempt to grow your seeds, creating a small cut in the seed's shell may help. However, this is no miracle cure, and you'll need to be gentle to avoid harming the inside of your seed. If you harm the embryo, the seed will never grow.

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