Seed packets you purchase often contain more seeds than you can plant in one season, and over time you may havemany partial packets of seeds without knowing just how old they really are. You might rightlywonder if they will germinate (sprout) again if you plant them. Do seeds go bad with time, or can you plant them no matter how old they are?
The answer is, yes, seeds will eventually go bad and no longer germinate, but it can take quite a long time. There is a good chance that those old seed packets will have a high percentage of seeds that will germinate just fine. Most seeds, though not all, will keep for at least three years while maintaining a decent percentage of germination. And even a group of very old seeds may have 10 or 20 percent that still sprouts.
Proper Storage
Your old seeds will stand the best chance of germinating if they have been stored correctly. All seeds will store most effectively in cool and dry conditions, so you should be wary of any seeds that are stored in opposite conditions—warm and moist. When you examine seeds, discard the entire packet if they show signs of mold or another fungus.
Many commercial seed packets may have a "use by" date printed on them. Don't take this date too seriously—the seed manufacturers use this date to ensure that customers experience a large percentage of germination, and many seeds may remain viable for many years after the date printed on the packet. But the printed date will give you a sense of how old the seed packet is. If you are only a year or two beyond this date, there's a good chance most of the seeds will still germinate when planted. But if the seed pack is six years old or more, expect to have a much lower percentage of germination.
Going forward, proper storage procedure is to date the seed packet when you buy it, to ensure that you'll know exactly how old it is when you reach for it in the future. If possible, store the seeds in a sealed plastic bag containing a desiccant packet (those small packets that often come in over-the-counter medicine products), which will keep the seeds dry. If you don't have desiccant, packets of dry rice or powdered milk will also absorb air moisture. The sealed seeds can be stored in the refrigerator or another cool place, but don't freeze them.
Here are some estimated shelf life figures from Oregon State Cooperative Extension, based on research. Be aware, though, that even in seed packets much older than this, some of the seeds may still sprout.
Bush and pole beans: two years
Beets: two years
Broccoli:
Brussels sprouts: three to five years
Cabbage: three to five years
Cauliflower: three to five years
Carrots: three years
Collard: three to five years
Kale: three to five years
Kohlrabi: three to five years
Corn: one year
Cucumbers: three years
Leeks, onions: two to three years
Lettuce: three years
Melons: three years
Oriental greens: three years
Parsley: two years
Parsnips: one year
Peas: two years
Peppers: two years
Radishes: four years
Rutabagas: three years
Spinach: one season
Squashes: three to four years
Swiss chard: two years
Tomatoes: three years
Turnips: four years
Annual flowers: one to three years
Perennial flowers: up to four years
Is There a Way to Test Seeds for Viability?
Seeds gradually lose viability as they age, so a packet that begins with a 90 percentviability rating on the packet may, after three or four years, have a much lower viability rate. A simpleseed viability test, done by placing a small group of seeds on a damp paper towel to see how many sprouts, can tell you roughly how many of the seeds in the packet will be viable when planted.
If you have a group of seeds you're not sure about, you can still plant them, but space them with greater density than you would for fresh seeds. Even if only 30 or 40 percent of the seeds germinate, you can still have a successful planting.
Saving and starting your own herb, vegetable, and flower seeds is a great way to garden for just pennies each year. Be aware, though, that seeds collected from hybrid plants may not "come true" from the seeds produced. You can still save the seeds, and those seeds will still sprout into seedlings, but it is likely that the mature plants will demonstrate different characteristics than the plants from which you took the seeds. This is because hybrid plants are created by cross-pollinating different parent varieties, and their seeds do not carry the full genetic information. This isn't always a bad thing. You may actually find that tomatoes from saved seeds, for example, are tastier than the hybrids, although they may not look as perfect. Flowers seeds saved from hybrid plants may produce some unusual and interesting offspring.
If you save seeds from vegetables and fruit you grow yourself, store them in the same way that you save seed packets—in dry and cool conditions.
Store your seeds in a cool, dry location away from direct sunlight. Exposure to temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit will greatly decrease the viability of your seed for future planting seasons. Seeds can be stored in sealed containers, plastic bags, and wax or paper envelopes.
Store seeds in tightly sealed glass containers. You can store different kinds of seeds in individual paper packets in one large container. Keep seeds dry and cool. A temperature between 32° and 41°F is ideal, so your refrigerator can be a good place to store seeds.
Most vegetable seeds remain good for about two to three years, but some, such as onions, deteriorate within a year. Lettuce, on the other hand, can successfully sprout after five years.
Spread the seeds on newspapers, in a cardboard box, or in an old telephone directory, and allow them to dry between one and three weeks. Often seeds need to be separated from the chaff (the seed casings and debris).
A 10-year storage life can be achieved by drying seed to less than 8 percent moisture. To do so, dry seed at 100 degrees F for six hours. Obtain this temperature by spreading the seed out in direct sunlight. However, because sunlight is harsh and easily can exceed this temperature, drying in the shade is better.
Place the seeds in an airtight, watertight container such as a jar with a rubber seal (like a baby food jar or canning jar) or a zip lock bag inside a jar. To keep the seeds cool (ideally, below 50 degrees), some people store them in a jar in their refrigerator or freezer.
The truth is seeds don't expire. They lose viability if stored improperly. While most seed companies will tell you to replace seeds every 2-3 years, those seeds will keep for decades and will germinate when planted if kept in a cool, dark, and dry place.
Almost all seeds can be pre-soaked, but it is large seeds, seeds with thick coats and wrinkled seeds that will benefit most. Small seeds benefit less and are difficult to handle when wet. Examples of seeds that benefit from soaking include peas, beets, cucumber, corn, squash, pumpkin and beans.
Store your seeds in a cool, dry location away from direct sunlight. Exposure to temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit will greatly decrease the viability of your seed for future planting seasons. Seeds can be stored in sealed containers, plastic bags, and wax or paper envelopes.
Left-over moisture on the seeds is sure to lead to mold growth and rot, making them unviable. If you had rain before harvesting the seeds, rather wait a few days for the seeds to dry on the plant. Dry your seeds on a tray, wax paper, or towel paper in a sunny room, non-humid greenhouse, or in the direct sun outside.
It can help to break down the thick coats of seeds such as nasturtium and beetroot, or the tough shells of carob or luffa. In general, if a seed is large, tough, and maybe wrinkled or knobbly, then soaking can be a useful option. Avoid soaking small seeds such as lettuce, radish, and so on.
However, pepper seed usually only keeps for 2-5 years. There are several easy ways that you can determine whether your seed will still grow if planted: 1. Floater test: Place seeds in a jar of water and remove any that float.
Freeze seeds for 48 hours before germinating to stratify them. This is not necessary for all seeds, but we have used this technique for over 30 years with great success. When finished, seal and leave any extra seed in your freezer – they will keep better.
We found that freezing temperatures and durations affected the germination. The rapid freezing with water at -20°C in the program freezer for 24 h followed by rapid thawing gave a low rate of impermeable seeds with a high rate of the normal seedlings.
Introduction: My name is Eusebia Nader, I am a encouraging, brainy, lively, nice, famous, healthy, clever person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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