seeds Seeds from frozen pods

[beerbreath81]

Maybe a dumb question, but have never tried this before. I messed up and froze some peppers I want to try and grow next year. I was wondering if anyone has ever used seeds from frozen pods and had success. Also do I want to harvest just before planting or can I thaw, harvest seeds, and store with my others until ready to plant?

 

[juanitos]

i think it's possible you just have reduced germination rate.

 

[muskymojo]

I've heard seeds need to be absolutely dry before freezing, but I get volunteer plants of all sorts popping up every year. I'm almost positive they weren't totally dry before freezing, and most likely frozen and thawed several times before sprouting in the spring.
I say give em a shot.

 

[Zoli]

I think it'll be just fine.

 

[geeme]

I know they'll be fine, as long as the pods were ripe before freezing. There were several people on this site a couple years ago claiming the embryonic plant would effectively explode within the seed casing if frozen. That did not make sense to me, as seeds freeze in nature all the time (though some also claimed that seeds never really freeze in nature, too.) I had pods that I had simply stuck into ziplocs and tossed in the freezer six months before, so I pulled some out, took seeds, cleaned them (mix 1 part hydrogen peroxide to 10 parts water and let soak for a while, up to overnight), then attempted to germinate them. Result? 100% germination. I had 48 plants that year, as I wasn't quite expecting 100%, so I had way more pods than I needed by the end of the season. I had annuums, chinense, and even pubescens in the freezer, so this type doesn't matter.

 

[Dave2000]

Reduced germination rate.  I've had pods end up in an area where I grew, that fell off, rotted, froze for weeks on the ground over winter, then when spring came some sprouts appeared.  Put as many seeds as you can spare (within reason) per pot so odds increase that each ends up with a viable sprout.  I wouldn't use small sprouting cells for this as you ideally want a little space in the soil between each seed so if more than one sprout they have a little room to compete for your favor before you cull the weak.

 

[geeme]

Reduced germination rate. 

  What's reduced about 100%? Others on this site can attest to the same.
 
 
I sprout seeds between 2 damp coffee filters placed in a sealed plastic tub (tupperware, or something similar) then placed in a warm spot in the house (top of my fridge works, some people use the top of a stereo speaker, etc.) As soon as the root peeks out of the seed casing, move to starter soil in a little cup or pot - guesswork eliminated.