Scientist dig up seeds stashed beneath a college campus 142 years ago

dottile46

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/21/science/beal-seeds-experiment.html?block=1&campaign_id=142&emc=edit_fory_20210421&instance_id=29527&nl=for-you&nlid=160851717&rank=1&regi_id=160851717&segment_id=56054&user_id=120d67c2e81b125576b5e803723d2866

kbmbillups1

Wow! I can't read the article without paying. Do they plant them to see if they grow and if so what kind of plant it is?

flowerpower *

@dottile46 @kbmbillups1 Yes, inquiring minds want to know! Also, why under the cover of darkness?

Torey

Fascinating article! Somewhat surprised that a Verbascum species is one of the survivors. But as there were only 21 original species of seeds buried, that isn't much of a tell.

Darkness to prevent the seeds being affected by any sunlight.

I didn't have an issue reading the whole article. There was a pop-up that wanted me to subscribe but I could read the article without subscribing.

water2world

WOW---Just think of all of the possibilities! (I also ignored the pop-up screen and could read the article). Thanks @dottile46 for posting this.

karenjanicki

That's cool!

dipat2005

I was quite amazed. Imagine you and I can keep seeds longer than we keep them now! Thank you for sharing.

Annie Kate

Wow, I am excited when seeds stay viable for 5 years, but this is a whole lot more. It is good to know. I wonder if we bury some of our best seeds in sealed canning jar with dessicant how long they would stay good?

Tave

Yes, a very cool article. Thanks for sharing. I also ignored the pop-up.

Cornelius

This is awesome! I want to repeat that experiment now with more varieties and see what happens a 100 years from now. Thank you for sharing!

stephanie447

These finds may just save us from all the GMO seeds being created by Monsanto et al.

JennyT Upstate South Carolina

I saw this article and read it as well. It was fascinating that this project has been going on for this long. I agree with one of the researchers, to bad Dr. Beal didn't bury any more bottles with seeds and more variety of seeds.😊