Re: RE:HYB: Freezing Seeds
- Subject: Re: RE:HYB: Freezing Seeds
- From: p*@whidbey.net
- Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 04:24:02 -0000
Exactly what I'm planning to do, Melanie.
The seeds from my first-ripened pods, when fully dried, went into the
freezer, in their nested plastic cups wrapped in aluminum foil. I
didn't have enough seeds of each to divide, so they all went in
together, in the door to the freezer.
The second batch, fully dried, went into the fridge today, in the
vegetable bin.
My big pods are still green and don't yet feel dry, so I'm waiting
till they're ready. It's been a very cool summer, so I think they
will be longer than normal getting ripe. Those I expect to hold
enough seeds to divide, so I'll try both freezer and fridge, then pot
them and grow in the cold frame until -- she hopes! -- they germinate
and can be transplanted to the seedling bed.
Them's my PLANS, but we all know it won't be that easy. I just hope
some actually germinate and grow to blooming size. This is my first
year hybridizing, so I'll try enough methods so that hopefully one
will work. Will post news.
Patricia Brooks
Whidbey Island, WA, zone 8-9?
--- In iris-talk@y..., melanie-tornberg@i... wrote:
> For long term storage, I'm pretty sure that "seed" from animals are
> stored at -80 Celsius. That's true also of most of the (animal)
> proteins that are used in the lab I work in - things like
antibodies
> or serum samples. For shorter term, we use -20 Celsius freezers.
> Different molecules have different stability when frozen. We have
to
> consider other things, too, like whether a freezer is frost-free or
> back-up systems for power outages (dry ice for the -80 storage).
>
> So, anyway, I think that iris seeds are kind of "built" for at
least
> some freezing, aren't they? I bet individual home freezers have
> different patterns of temperature cycles (frost-free vs the old ice-
> cave) and so what works for one person might not work for another.
> Probably the best way for a person to know if it works with his/her
> equipment is to do a "controlled" study, splitting the harvested
> seeds into two groups that are as similar as possible and putting
> some in the fridge and some in freezer, and keeping track of the
> ultimate yield of viable seedlings. Sure, the answer will take a
> while, but it sounds like you hybridizers out there are a very
> patient sort. I've never tried...so perhaps my suggestion should
be
> taken with a grain of salt!
>
> Melanie Tornberg
> Zone 4/5 South Berwick, ME
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