Nelson
R.I.P. Gone, but not forgotten.
Wow just looked at someones really moldy seeds. I felt bad for him but what can I say. He didn't know what he was doing and he didn't ask anyone for advice. I while ago I posted a thread about when to harvest your seeds and got a lot of responce and I learned a lot also. Maybe this thread will be the same case teach some - learn some.
There are bsically two ways to go with storing seeds either freeze them right away or dry them well and keep them in a cool dry place. I use a refrigerator and I dry them first.
After you have removed the seed from the seed mother they should be dried. I use a couple small household sieves so air can get at them from the bottom. A small bowl works also if you can't get a small sieve. Just room temperature drying works well. They have to dry for about a week to be totally safe. Best to move them around every day with a stirring motion so all seeds get exposed to the air. Do not put them non dryed into a sealed container like a baby food jar. If you do they will just mold and probably be ruined.
I have all those packs of silica gel I get out of the cartons that electronics are packed with or anything else that they don't want humidy present in. I hoard them all. You can take all the moisture back out of the silica gel packs by putting the gel packs into the oven on a tray and keeping the oven at 150 degrees F for twenty minutes. Leave the oven door slightly ajar to let the humidity escape.
I use any small jar to store the seeds with a tightly closing lid. I put the seeds in the jar put in a piece of paper or better yet a piece of plastic with info about the seeds wrote on it with a sharpie. Don't forget the date always important to see when you have forgotten a year later. I put a pkg. of silica gel dried in with the seeds and store them in the refrigerator on frozen but you can freeze them if you like. I know they will last at least five years in the fridge if properly dried and packed.
Good luck to you all with your seed storage. Of course others are invited to weigh in on this thread so I can learn also.
There are bsically two ways to go with storing seeds either freeze them right away or dry them well and keep them in a cool dry place. I use a refrigerator and I dry them first.
After you have removed the seed from the seed mother they should be dried. I use a couple small household sieves so air can get at them from the bottom. A small bowl works also if you can't get a small sieve. Just room temperature drying works well. They have to dry for about a week to be totally safe. Best to move them around every day with a stirring motion so all seeds get exposed to the air. Do not put them non dryed into a sealed container like a baby food jar. If you do they will just mold and probably be ruined.
I have all those packs of silica gel I get out of the cartons that electronics are packed with or anything else that they don't want humidy present in. I hoard them all. You can take all the moisture back out of the silica gel packs by putting the gel packs into the oven on a tray and keeping the oven at 150 degrees F for twenty minutes. Leave the oven door slightly ajar to let the humidity escape.
I use any small jar to store the seeds with a tightly closing lid. I put the seeds in the jar put in a piece of paper or better yet a piece of plastic with info about the seeds wrote on it with a sharpie. Don't forget the date always important to see when you have forgotten a year later. I put a pkg. of silica gel dried in with the seeds and store them in the refrigerator on frozen but you can freeze them if you like. I know they will last at least five years in the fridge if properly dried and packed.
Good luck to you all with your seed storage. Of course others are invited to weigh in on this thread so I can learn also.
