29 year old seeds sprouted!

Boutique Tomatoes · March 16, 2012

I got a very nice surprise this morning, after only 6 days the magnitlo tente tomato seeds have sprouted! The variety was collected in Trinidad back in 1976, were last regenerated in 1982 and then put in "medium term storage"; some were retrieved for a tomato genetics study done in 1998 but there is no information available about the actual tomato, so what I get is going to be a complete surprise.

Only 2 out of the 22 Caribbean varieties I collected last year that have not germinated yet, and I'm not going to start worrying for at least two more weeks...

Doing Caribbean sauce trials this fall should be a lot of fun...

cornbreadlouie · March 16, 2012

Sounds awesome, definitely keep us updated with pictures and descriptions.

Mandy97 · March 16, 2012

Very nice! Hopefully the tomato ends up being a good surprise this summer.

rsg2001 · March 16, 2012

Amazing. What did you do to wake them up?

dustdevil · March 16, 2012

29 years old...I think we'd all be interested in knowing how they were stored...might come in handy when my pyramid is finished

Boutique Tomatoes · March 17, 2012

Definately will be sharing observations and pictures, I'm hoping to share info about the varieties with the seed sources.

I believe medium term storage is -18C and seeds are stored in hermetically sealed packs after drying to less than 5% moisture.

Boutique Tomatoes · March 17, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsg2001

Amazing. What did you do to wake them up?

Just opened the foil packet they were in, left them exposed to the air for two days to let them absorb moisture gradually and then planted them normally.

Makes me think a bit more about drying some seeds to very low moisture with dessicant packs in with them and then storing them in a freezer to see how long they might be viable.

Zana · March 17, 2012

Congrats on getting them to germinate. Looking forward to seeing the results.

Zana

**carolyn137** · March 17, 2012

Congrats from me as well. My own record is waking up seed of September Dawn that were 22 yo, Frogs Leap woke up some seeds I sent him last year that were from 1993 but the DOCUMENTED record to date is waking up seeds that were 50 yo.

That happened when the Cheyenne, WY station was shut down, it was a precursor to what we know as the current USDA stations, and all materials were sent to Ames, IA to the new USDA station. There they opened the seed envelopes which had been stored just in a file cabinet and were able to wake up quite a few, the oldest being 50 yo.

It does make a huge difference in terms of how seeds are stored and none of us can do what the Fort Collins, CO USDA station does in terms of long term storage at I think minus 80 F, or maybe C, I should have checked.

But then why would I even want to store seeds that long when I'll be 73 in June.

I've saved all seeds that I've saved since about 1990, nothing special, many in vials, some just in envelopes, all at ambient temps,and it really is amazing that some remain viable for so long.

Many years ago Craig LeHoullier ( nctomatoman) and I tried many different ways of waking up old seeds b'c back then the seeds that the USDA was sending out were not good at all. We tried different conentrations of giberellic acid along with adding different conentrations of Saltpetre, Microwave, teas, you name it.

But eventually I settled on the method I posted on the first page of my recent seed offer here b'c it's known that nitrate ion is important in seed germination and it seems that's very true. So if you want what I have done to wake up seeds go look at that method. Also, two other important things. Seeds for heart varieties do not last as long as non-hearts, as many of us have found and when you try a new method it really is important to use CONTROLS as well.

bluebonnets · March 17, 2012

Congrats! That's awesome

Boutique Tomatoes · March 17, 2012

I have hooks showing from one of the other Caribbean varieties today, so we're off to a great start. If I was having the same luck with all the varieties I have started I'd be amazed, but there are some slowpokes in there. I'm going to wait a week before posting my results on the varieties I got from your offer Carolyn.

Storage definately makes all the difference in having viable seeds, but the growing conditions play a major part as well. This year I amused myself over the winter by trialing all the different methods I've seen mentioned for germinating superhot pepper seeds. With my own 2011 saved seed from fully mature peppers I can have from 0 to nearly 100% germination depending on conditions and technique.

The #1 biggest contributor to success with the pepper seeds was a heating mat with a thermostat whose sensor was in the top half of a cell in the center of the tray, set to 85F. Germination percentages dropped 5 degrees either way on the temperature, which I found educational.

The Future · April 21, 2012

Do keep us posted on progress with this.

Fusion_power · April 21, 2012

This highlights that proper seed storage is critical for long term viability.

I planted some 17 year old watermelon seed this year and have at least 2 viable plants out of 700 seed. I expect a few more to germinate over the next several days. While that may not seem like a good percentage, considering the seed age, I'm happy as can be.

DarJones

Tracydr · April 21, 2012

Carolyn, if you end up storing your head in cryo-storage, like some of the actors do, you may want some of your seeds stored in -80 degrees. You never know when your head will get woken-up. Who knows, you may wake up in 3012 and have the only viable tomato seeds on the planet,lol!

March 16, 2012	#2
cornbreadlouie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: SF bay area... north bay Posts: 242	Sounds awesome, definitely keep us updated with pictures and descriptions. __________________ Do You Like Worms?

March 17, 2012	#9
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	Congrats from me as well. My own record is waking up seed of September Dawn that were 22 yo, Frogs Leap woke up some seeds I sent him last year that were from 1993 but the DOCUMENTED record to date is waking up seeds that were 50 yo. That happened when the Cheyenne, WY station was shut down, it was a precursor to what we know as the current USDA stations, and all materials were sent to Ames, IA to the new USDA station. There they opened the seed envelopes which had been stored just in a file cabinet and were able to wake up quite a few, the oldest being 50 yo. It does make a huge difference in terms of how seeds are stored and none of us can do what the Fort Collins, CO USDA station does in terms of long term storage at I think minus 80 F, or maybe C, I should have checked. But then why would I even want to store seeds that long when I'll be 73 in June. I've saved all seeds that I've saved since about 1990, nothing special, many in vials, some just in envelopes, all at ambient temps,and it really is amazing that some remain viable for so long. Many years ago Craig LeHoullier ( nctomatoman) and I tried many different ways of waking up old seeds b'c back then the seeds that the USDA was sending out were not good at all. We tried different conentrations of giberellic acid along with adding different conentrations of Saltpetre, Microwave, teas, you name it. But eventually I settled on the method I posted on the first page of my recent seed offer here b'c it's known that nitrate ion is important in seed germination and it seems that's very true. So if you want what I have done to wake up seeds go look at that method. Also, two other important things. Seeds for heart varieties do not last as long as non-hearts, as many of us have found and when you try a new method it really is important to use CONTROLS as well. __________________ Carolyn

April 21, 2012	#12
The Future Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Bermuda Posts: 364	Do keep us posted on progress with this. __________________ Wise selfishness is taking care of everyone else so that they don't bring harm to you.

March 16, 2012	#1
Boutique Tomatoes Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Northeast Wisconsin, Zone 5a Posts: 1,109	29 year old seeds sprouted! I got a very nice surprise this morning, after only 6 days the magnitlo tente tomato seeds have sprouted! The variety was collected in Trinidad back in 1976, were last regenerated in 1982 and then put in "medium term storage"; some were retrieved for a tomato genetics study done in 1998 but there is no information available about the actual tomato, so what I get is going to be a complete surprise. Only 2 out of the 22 Caribbean varieties I collected last year that have not germinated yet, and I'm not going to start worrying for at least two more weeks... Doing Caribbean sauce trials this fall should be a lot of fun...

March 16, 2012	#3
Mandy97 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Paw Paw MI Posts: 89	Very nice! Hopefully the tomato ends up being a good surprise this summer.

March 16, 2012	#4
rsg2001 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: New York Zone 6 Posts: 479	Amazing. What did you do to wake them up?

March 16, 2012	#5
dustdevil Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: WI, USA Zone4 Posts: 1,887	29 years old...I think we'd all be interested in knowing how they were stored...might come in handy when my pyramid is finished

March 17, 2012	#8
Zana Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Southwestern Ontario, Canada Posts: 4,521	Congrats on getting them to germinate. Looking forward to seeing the results. Zana

March 17, 2012	#10
bluebonnets Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: TX Posts: 178	Congrats! That's awesome

April 21, 2012	#13
Fusion_power Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Alabama Posts: 2,250	This highlights that proper seed storage is critical for long term viability. I planted some 17 year old watermelon seed this year and have at least 2 viable plants out of 700 seed. I expect a few more to germinate over the next several days. While that may not seem like a good percentage, considering the seed age, I'm happy as can be. DarJones

April 21, 2012	#14
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	Carolyn, if you end up storing your head in cryo-storage, like some of the actors do, you may want some of your seeds stored in -80 degrees. You never know when your head will get woken-up. Who knows, you may wake up in 3012 and have the only viable tomato seeds on the planet,lol!