I have been collecting 100g soil samples in the field, with the intention of bringing them back to the lab to catalog their seed banks. So far I only have an experimental round of collections that were made to test our protocol. But I am worried that the seeds in these samples will lose their integrity before they can be properly processed.

Conditions during our collections were very wet. We used paper bags at first, but they were beginning to tear, so we switched to more durable plastic sandwich bags.

I fear that storing the soils in these moist conditions could degrade the more short-lasting seeds, promote fungal growth, or result in the germination of some seeds.

We will have many samples that could take months to process. I will have a workspace in the evenings if any prep work is needed post-field day. What can I do after collection to ensure the samples remain viable for what will likely be many months??

Any information would be useful. What I should bag them in, how they should be prepped, and stored short term, as well as long term storage. Thank you!