seeds Has anyone sprouted seed from frozen pods?

[Sm1nts2escape]

Seeds from my frozen pods don't seem to be germinating.... FARK! Emergency order just placed through Pepperlover.com and a distress call sent out to Dshlogg. Mayday Mayday!

 

[JoeFish]

I have 17 seedlings right now. All of them came from frozen peppers out of my freezer. This is my first time to grow anything at all.

 

[Trippa]

Think about it ... Where is the seed bank in Norway situated ... In the permafrost ... Why ?? to preserve genetics of as many plant species as possible for the world.... Why because it cool, dark and constant temp (with a dry atmosphere). ... Some Seeds frozen in permafrost ... Germinate 1000 years plus later ... Its all about constant steady atmosphere ...
 
from wiki
 

The seedbank is 120 metres (390 ft) inside a sandstone mountain on Spitsbergen Island,[9] and employs robust security systems. Seeds are packaged in special four-ply packets and heat sealed to exclude moisture. The facility is managed by the Nordic Genetic Resource Center, though there are no permanent staff on-site.
Spitsbergen was considered ideal because it lacked tectonic activity and had permafrost, which aids preservation. Its being 130 metres (430 ft) above sea level will keep the site dry even if the ice capsmelt.[9] Locally mined coal provides power for refrigeration units that further cool the seeds to the internationally recommended standard of −18 °C (0 °F).[10] If the equipment fails, at least several weeks will elapse before the facility rises to the surrounding sandstone bedrock's temperature of −3 °C (27 °F).[4]
 

 

[Mallory]

I have a bunch of pods in my freezer from 2 years ago. I'm going to give this a try and report back. Everything I have read says it will not work, but it sounds like some of you have had success.

 

[geeme]

There are a lot of ridiculous speculations out there. For example, because water expands as it freezes, the speculation is that the inner embryo of the seed expands to the point it implodes on itself within the seed casing. Uh huh. Whatever. The fact remains that the condition of the seed prior to freezing is the single-most important factor. If it was fully viable and germ-free before freezing, it will be fine. Next most important factor is your grow conditions - how many of us have kept the soil too moist and seen our little babies fall over from damping off? Forgotten to water? Yeah - not the seed's fault.

 

[Sm1nts2escape]

I don't really think a lot of the speculations are ridiculous. I will say that my germ rates from frozen seed was 0 till yesterday when one of my red Congos finally sprouted. I planted 20 seeds from healthy looking ripe frozen pods and only one sprouted. Freezing seed definitely lowers germ rates from what I am seeing. You can look at the seeds that were frozen and they look normal at first but once they absorb some water they get wavy like a clam shell and you can see right through them. I planted about 25 different varieties (36 plants total) and so far everything has sprouted with about 80% germ rate minus the frozen ones.
 
 

There are a lot of ridiculous speculations out there. For example, because water expands as it freezes, the speculation is that the inner embryo of the seed expands to the point it implodes on itself within the seed casing. Uh huh. Whatever. The fact remains that the condition of the seed prior to freezing is the single-most important factor. If it was fully viable and germ-free before freezing, it will be fine. Next most important factor is your grow conditions - how many of us have kept the soil too moist and seen our little babies fall over from damping off? Forgotten to water? Yeah - not the seed's fault.