5 Ways to Wake Up Old Seeds: Even Expired Seeds Will Sprout

21.02.2023 14:28
Updated: 14.04.2023 05:26

Everything has a shelf life, and the longer the seeds wait for their fate in the box, the less likely they are to germinate and produce a friendly shoot.

But there are known ways when seeds germinate even after 10 years. This does not apply to all cultivated plants and is rather an exception than a rule.

Marigolds, members of the pumpkin family, beets, as well as dill and lettuce, do not particularly react to the shelf life.

You can try to wake up the rest of the seeds, and it is not at all difficult to do, and not expensive either.

Method #1: in the freezer

Collect stale seeds with an expired date and place them in the freezer for 2 weeks. Delphiniums and strawberries respond to freezing better than others.

Seeds
Photo: © Belnovosti

Method #2: Contrast shower

Place the seeds in gauze bags and dip them in hot water (about 80 degrees) and then in cold water one by one, keeping them in each vessel for 5 seconds. The procedure is repeated several times, then the seeds are dried and prepared for sowing.

Method #3: Aloe juice

You need to chop up a few branches of aloe, squeeze out the juice and drip it onto the seeds laid out in one layer. After 20-60 minutes, the seeds are removed from the juice and prepared for sowing.

Method #4: Boiling water

Scald expired seeds with boiling water.

Method #5: Stimulants

In addition to aloe juice, you can use the preparations "Buton", "Energen", "Epin" or "Zircon".

After preparation, the seeds are laid out on damp cotton pads, placed in containers with a lid and left in a warm place. Anything that does not show signs of life within a week can be thrown away.

Author: Igor Zur Internet resource editor

Content
  1. Method #1: in the freezer
  2. Method #2: Contrast shower
  3. Method #3: Aloe juice
  4. Method #4: Boiling water
  5. Method #5: Stimulants