The best ways to store your cannabis seeds

Before the months of managing lighting and nutrients for your plant become a reality it all starts with those little seeds. Having the right seeds and seeds that will germinate is the difference between great weed and no weed at all. Storing your cannabis seeds properly should be a number one priority to ensure they retain their starting genes and well as giving you options if you decide to only grow a few plants. Nothing would be more frustrating than harvesting some of your favourite strains only to find that on the next grow your chosen seeds fail to provide the goods.

Best Ways To Store Cannabis Seeds

Regardless of 'where' you store your seeds, 'what' you store your seeds in is going to be the biggest determining factor in the success rate and longevity of your much-loved seeds. Ideally, the container should be completely air tight to prevent any unwanted moisture from entering the container whilst they are being stored. To help control the moisture inside the container, silica gel pouches or even rice can be used, keeping the moisture level ideally between 10-20%. You don't want to remove all the moisture as this can also damage the germination success of your seeds.

Refrigerator

Most seed farms will store their seeds in refrigerated chambers and there is no reason why you can't either. Storing in the fridge is a perfectly viable option as long as the temperatures are somewhere between 4-8C. Stored away from any direct light is also essential as this can also harm your seeds. Placing them in the salad draw at the bottom of a fridge is often considered the best place as it is often the coldest area of the fridge and protects the seeds from any lights inside the fridge.

In these conditions, you can expect seeds to remain usable for 5-8 years

Freezer

A hotly debated method of storage despite the temperature. Whilst some believe it is a realistic option it often requires using special equipment to bring the seeds down to a freezable temperature. This prevents the cells inside from rupturing but also brings with it the cost of acquiring the right equipment. Not recommended for the everyday grower as a means of storage.

Cupboard

Ideally somewhere cool away from any exposure to rapid changes in temperature. As well as keeping them cool your chosen storage area needs to be dark and away from strong sources of light, much like storing seeds in the fridge.

In these conditions, you can expect the seeds to remain usable for 1-3 years.