With climate change and environmental conditions worsening, botanists have been looking into the preservation of seeds from all over the world. There has been a rise in seed banks, with farmers starting their conservation practices. Regardless of the scale of your farm, it is advisable to start preservation strategies to secure future production.
The benefits of seed storage are numerous, including being able to conserve the genetic integrity of certain strains. By preserving your marijuana ovules, you have a steady supply of the crops for a prolonged time. Also, with this conservation strategy, you are sure your propagation materials have the right adaptation to the local climate.
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How to Choose Cannabis Seeds
With marijuana ovules readily available in dispensaries and online stores, some farmers have become complacent with their preservation strategies. The fact that sites like https://askgrowers.com/seeds have a variety of them at any time may create the belief that it will always be the case. The benefits of seed preservation surpass availability, especially if you are fond of a particular variant.
Botanists agree that seeds are the future of agriculture and human existence. On their own, seeds contain several nutritional benefits. Even cannabis ones have significant minerals and vitamins that can promote human health.
These professionals urge people to set up their seed banks regardless of how simple they are and how little inventory they have. Dr Janice Swab, who has extensive knowledge of seed depositories, argues that seeds are the most precious of human resources. There is a need to ensure a steady supply for future generations.
Before you embark on your conservancy journey, one of the things you need to consider is how to choose high-quality cannabis ovules. High-quality seeds translate to high-quality crops and, thus, higher yields. With some basic tips, you can decipher which are likely higher quality and which are not.
A reliable technique that you can use is the float test. In determining the quality of their weed ovules, farmers are known to drop them in water. The float test works because any seeds that float are of low quality, and those that sink are of higher quality. With preservation soaking your entire batch would ruin the process. Testing a few of them and using this as a reflection for the rest is advisable.
Besides the float test, there are other strategies you can use to determine the appropriateness of your weed seeds. The appearance of the cannabis ovules speaks to how strong they are and are likely to survive for long. Healthy ones are a soft brown colour and have specks of dark brown colour or black. Seeds that have tiger stripes are most likely the best. Those that are green or white are of low quality and have a low probability of propagating into healthy plants.
Another tactic you can apply is feeling the ovules between your index and thumb fingers. Healthy ones that have undergone the right treatment are hard to the touch. Treatment options for propagation materials involve drying them in the sun. When properly treated, they can last longer, but poor treatment results in reduced quality over time. Applying any pressure on the properly treated ones will not dent them. Non-healthy ones are soft to the touch, and any pressure can result in their splitting.
These three techniques will leave you with the best seeds you can treat and conserve for future use. Though they are not 100% guaranteed, the look of the seeds and how they feel will get you closer to knowing how high quality your marijuana ovules are for preserving.
Tips for Storing Weed Seeds
When most people hear of seed conservation, the first thing that comes to mind is huge seed banks with high-tech gear. This thinking is false because even with no facilities, you can keep your cannabis ovules and use them later. The most basic storing strategies do not require anything you do not have at home.
Here is a step-by-step process on how to prepare your propagation materials.
Wipe Away any Debris with a Damp Cloth
During harvesting, it is highly likely that your seeds will come out with some dirt and other debris. Whether you intend to keep them for a short or long period, this first step is essential. The damp cloth will pick up any debris or dirt on the propagation materials, leaving you with a clean batch.
Dry the Seeds with a Cotton Cloth
This next step is another one that seeks to clean and leave your weed ovules in top condition. Also, it is important to completely dry them of any water to prevent mould development during storage. A cotton cloth will capture all moisture on the outside of the seeds, leaving them clean and highly viable for the future.
Store in an Airtight Container
Proper storage of the propagation materials requires an airtight container or bag. If you do not have a vacuum container you can use a Ziploc bag or any other that ensures no air is left in the bag. Using a vacuum sealer at this stage could be increasingly helpful. The goal is to ensure that little or no air is left in circulation with the seeds.
Place the Container in an Opaque Box
The role of the opaque box is to promote the conditions necessary for preservation. For one, the box will not allow light to penetrate the seeds. Also, it will maintain the preservation conditions created with the initial stages.
Store in a Refrigerator
Lastly, the opaque box gets stored in a refrigerator, providing the optimum conditions for proper conservation. With these steps, you can store your cannabis ovules for as long as you want. They will still be viable for planting or eating months and years after storage.
Conditions Necessary for Storage
For proper conservation of your cannabis ovules, specific conditions are important to maintain. As alluded to, temperature is one of the conditions needed for appropriate conservation. The other conditions include humidity and maintaining all the conditions for a long.
Regarding temperature, there is a recommended range within which marijuana seeds thrive in storage. The optimum temperatures needed are 4-16°C, achievable in a refrigerator. Too high or too low temperatures hold a severe risk for the preserved materials. For long-term conservation, a freezer should keep temperatures between -15 and -20°C. It would help if you were extremely careful with freezers because haphazardly moving the containers can cause the frozen embryos to break, making them useless.
On matters of humidity, a certain range also assures you of properly preserving your cannabis seeds. Agronomists recommend a range of 35-55% best suited for optimum conservation. Ventilation is also important to ensure that the humidity levels remain the same.
The last condition is to ensure that the humidity and temperature levels are constant throughout the conservation period. Fluctuating the humidity and temperature levels results in a reduction of seed quality. A few fluctuations every so often are not bad, but you should ensure that everything remains constant for the most part.
Risks of Not Properly Conserving Cannabis Seeds
Now that you know the benefits of storing cannabis ovules properly, you must also know the risks of storing them improperly. Improper storage here means exposing them to too much light, too high or too low temperatures and humidity levels.
Improper storage can, for one, result in diminished genetic integrity of your marijuana seeds. This aspect is about reduced quality which could mean lower concentrations, low yields, and so much more. With reduced genetic integrity, you will have to consider buying your propagation materials from stores even in the future.
When these materials get exposed to too much light and temperature, they only remain viable for about two weeks. Too much humidity causes the development of mould. Too low humidity causes the seeds to dry up, which may kill the embryos. As mentioned, storing them in freezers risks breaking and becoming unviable if improperly handled. It is important to ensure all the conditions are as recommended.
Conclusion
In a world where most things are becoming extinct, it is helpful to have a couple of techniques that allow you to preserve your favourite cannabis seeds. With preservation strategies, you have the assurance of having propagation materials for the future. When done right, you can enjoy your favourite strains in the future with the genetic integrity intact. This factor means the same cannabinoid concentrations, terpenes, and flavonoids. Considering that you can store your propagation materials for years with a refrigerator and a few readily available products, there is no reason not to try.
This article is the work of Lana Braslavska, whose contribution to AskGrowers has led to some insightful and enticing pieces. Braslavska has demonstrated an awareness of the cannabis world and is always ready to learn something new. With every piece she writes, she makes a point to offer relevant and new information that many people can benefit from reading.