Silica gel desiccant is a porous form of silicon dioxide. It looks like tiny beads or crystals. What it does is absorb moisture from the air and from anything nearby — including aquablue silica gel. It is not a chemical treatment. It does not touch the seed or react with it. It simply pulls water molecules into its porous structure and holds them there.
For silica gel for aquablue, the process is straightforward. You place the aquablue in a paper bag paper is used because it lets moisture pass through — and then put that bag along with a measured amount of silica gel desiccant inside a sealed, airtight container. The container is closed tightly, and the silica gel drying process begins. Within about a week, the silica gel for drying seeds will have pulled moisture out of the seeds and into its own structure.
Research conducted on aquablue confirmed that silica gel for drying seeds can bring down the seed moisture content to remarkably low levels — . This is a very effective level for long-term storage. Seeds dried this carefully retained their viability much better than those left only to sun drying methods.
One thing people love about silica gel drying is how easy it is to track. Indicating silica gel beads change colour when they are full of moisture typically from orange to green, or from blue to pink. When you see that colour change, you know the beads are saturated and need to be replaced or recharged. This takes the guesswork completely out of the process.
