Reviving old seed (Beans)/Starting Seeds

[hmoosek]

I sure hope I’m putting this in the right spot. This is a post on another forum by our friend Annette. This was a few years ago. Normally, I don’t like sending someone to another forum for information, but since it’s reliable information I hope y’all won’t mind.

Annette gives information about nicking the seed coat on beans. If you continue reading Russ (Bluejay77) follows up with some important information.

www.theeasygarden.com/threads/2016-little-easy-bean-network-gardeners-keeping-heirloom-beans-from-extinction.18995/page-8#post-258794


There is also a good how to here.
www.seedsavers.org/site/pdf/HardSeedGuide.Final.pdf





I was scurrying around the forum last night and found this information that macmex posted. For those of us that for one reason or another don’t want to nick the seed coat, George had success with soaking his seeds with a variety of things. Here is his post. 

Macmex wrote.

April 6, I took store bought peroxide and mixed it one part to twenty of water. I placed the seeds in that solution and let them soak for about 5 hours. The purpose of this was to kill mold and bacteria which would be harbored in the seed coats. Then I soaked the seed in a nutrient solution which consisted of one cup of luke warm water, two teaspoons of sugar and a drop of Superthrive, which is a B1 plant vitamin supplement. I let it soak in there for 9 hours.

At that point I drained and rinsed the seed and placed it on a damp paper towel, inside a plastic bag, with one end left slightly open. Instead of using just water, I used a very dilute solution of Miracle Grow and a drop of Superthrive to dampen the towels. My reasoning was that the seed, if alive at all, was going to be weak and struggle to get going if it didn't get some nutrition immediately.

[heavyhitterokra]

like George said, "I don't think you can have too many threads." Thanks, for posting that. I don't think it would ever have occurred to me to use a straight pin to score the seed coat of a water-softened bean and lift the flap for it to open up.

That reminds me of watching a chick hatch. It sure is hard not to lift the pieces of shell to let them out.

[hmoosek]

Hey everyone, I edited my first post to include some good links with how to nick the seed coat on tough seeds such as beans and okra. If anyone has any other ideas or does things differently, please chime in. I will be using these guides in the coming days. I also found a post by macmex with a couple of soaking solutions that I want to try.

[woodeye]

Thanks for info. I've never done the bean methods, but I've done the okra scarification. That is until I got spoiled by the Heavy Hitter Okra seeds. They didn't require any nicking, but I did soak them for 24 hours in water with a few drops of hydrogen peroxide added, and they almost jumped out of the seed coat...

[hmoosek]

I thought I would document my beans. My beans are labeled 2008 and came from friend and seedsaver whose name was Remy. She’s no longer with us, but she and I traded back and forth over the years. Even after she opened her seed site and I became a customer, we would still trade. She was a wealth of knowledge and I truly miss her. She always hand wrote her labels on pretty paper and would give you any info she had on them. Mine simply says the original seed came from a garden-web trade. My two varieties are:

Blue Greasy Grit Pole Bean
Striped Hull Greasy Cutshort Pole Bean


Although I have several packages of seed of that time period, I chose to start with these. I’m using George’s method. Right now they are in their first soak which is 20 parts water to 1 part hydrogen peroxide.







I’m hoping I can get several to sprout, but realize I’m starting with very old seed. These guys have not been stored in the freezer. They have been stored in a pill bottle, inside the house. I did not nick the seed coat, but once this initial soak is done, I may do half of each variety. I am working with 10 each of the best looking seeds.






macmex If you happen to see this in time, what do you consider a diluted miracle grow. I mean mean if I had a half cup water, how much powered plant food would be enough?

[hmoosek]

After 2 and a half hours I have noticed 7 beans are floating. Oops! Let’s make that 10. That’s 8 white and 2 black.


At the 3 hour mark, I went ahead and placed them in the sugar/thrive solution.



EDIT:
I guess the seeds are finally getting hydrated because they are starting to drop back to the bottom. A good sign, I hope. I truly don’t know.

[hmoosek]

I was getting sleepy, so I went ahead and put them in a damp paper towel moistened with the sugar/thrive water they have been soaking in. Hopefully!!!!!!

EDIT:
I roughly kept track of time. I let them soak in the first solution for 3 hours. Then in the sugar/thrive water for 4 hours. I did not pierce the seed coat. I only soaked them till they looked good and hydrated. 

You will notice that I didn’t follow directions. I’m worlds worse about skipping/forgetting to do things. I didn’t rinse off the sugar/thrive solution and I hope that doesn’t bite me. I did have a reason, we’ll sort of anyway. Since I used the same solution to wet the paper towel, I figured there wasn’t a need to rinse them. I also cut both soaking times short.


The WAITING is the hardest part!


Please feel free to chime in everyone. I’m in uncharted waters, so any advice will be appreciated!

[woodeye]

I don't have any advice, moose. This is something I've never done with bean seeds, but it appears to me that you are doing all that can be done. I'm sure the waiting is stressful, but I don't see anything else you could do at this point...  

[hmoosek]

Not much to report at the 24 hour mark, but I still nabbed a picture. I have been rinsing them twice a day. I don’t know if it helps or hurts, but that’s been my procedure.

[hmoosek]

Since I have a number of very old beans, thought I might as well keep on doing experiments. My wife is much better at delicate procedures, so I explained what I wanted her to do and she did a marvelous job. She nicked the seed coat on 6 beans. I can’t even pronounce what these are, but I think some call them Tongue of fire. The actual name is Borlotto Lingua di Fuoco and these are from 2009 and have been stored in exactly the same way as the others were. We only used 6 beans for this experiment. They are soaking in a water/hydrogen peroxide solution.







Here you can see where she just nicked the seed coat.

[hmoosek]

Next bean up is a mystery. Package says mystery bean. 15 nicked and 15 not nicked. Doing these a tad different. These are soaking in water with a couple drops of Thrive.

[woodeye]

Looks great! That oughta produce some bean sprouting action...

[hmoosek]

Well, the first two varieties are getting sticky and stinky in spite of being rinsed twice a day. I’ll continue to watch them though just in case.

If there is a lesson to be learned, it’s to store extra seed in the freezer. Back when I first started trading, I didn’t know to do this. Freezing seed comes with its own issues in that it really needs to be air tight such as in a glass jar with a lid. When your ready to use it, remove from freezer, but don’t take the lid off until your sure the contents have returned to room temperature.

Frozen seed in theory should last indefinitely.

I guess that was a little off topic, but I felt it important because you don’t know, what you don’t know.

Also, another point I want to make is I’m a rank greenhorn starting seed like this. I’m pretty fair at starting seeds in dirt and other mediums, but I have a lot to learn with this method. I’ve had success in the past with moist paper towels and using fresh seed, but this is just a bit different.

It has given me a project to keep busy though and I think I’m starting to feel comfortable. 


This project reminds me of incubating eggs. You have to have hands on experience to get optimum results. 

[woodeye]

hmoosek, how is the expectant gardener & his clutch doing this morning? Any fledgling beans yet?

[hmoosek]

woodeye

Nary a one. The blue greasy grit have a white film developing. I’m thinking compost hole. I’m getting ready to try some fresher seed. I’m afraid I’ve had some a tad too long without proper storage. I actually need to buy one of those small freezers just for my seed…So says the Queen of the household. Hahahaaaa