Old seeds - to throw or not to throw

[TheDante]

I am currently going through my cupboard of vegetable and flower seeds. Wondering if I should throw most of the old (4 years and older) seeds out. Excluding tomato seeds. I am conflicted.

Does anyone have this problem too? What do you do with yours and do you hoard and keep them too for rainy days?

[patihum]

3-4 years is generally the life expectancy of most seeds. Cucumber, muskmelon and collards come in at 5 years. BUT I've kept beans that still germinated at 6 years though germination rate was reduced. Some of it too depends on the conditions the seeds have been stored in.

[kath]

Hi, Karen~
Cooler, dryer conditions can extend seed life. Without doing a germination test, there's no way to know how many are still viable. I've kept seeds in good condition for lots longer than some of the charts you find online suggest. At the end of each season or the beginning of the new, I do try to give away or trade the ones I don't think I'll use again so that others can enjoy them.
kath

[TheDante]

Thanks for the input… I have decided to give them away. I posted in the German tomato forum just now. I will be kidding myself if I think I will be growing them as I will be focusing on my tomatoes in the years ahead.

And Kath, you are right, hopefully others can enjoy growing them. My seeds are generally less than 5 years old.

Would have loved to give to some of you here, but I am so afraid that it would encounter some customs problems due to the bulk of my seeds that I will be giving away.

[kath]

You made lots of people very happy! Spread the seeds, lol!

[bower]

I used to have a hoard of aging seeds (ha! the hoard is always re-growing...) then I finally tried a mass sowing of old brassica and lettuce seeds to see if I would get any microgreens... NOT. They were really old...
Now because I grow most of my own seeds, I'm always anxious when they get a few years old, to try and plan a grow of them for seeds before they get to that state. Even so, if they are OP's and something you wanted but couldn't buy, it is great to get the old seeds going. Lettuce just takes longer to sprout as they get older, until they come no more. Brassicas will sprout after 4 years but then quickly turn yellow because there's not enough nutrition in the seed to get them going. A little diluted fert will turn those cotyledons green and up she comes, hopefully. Peppers can be really surprising. They may take a lot longer and then whoa, all ninety seeds you planted hoping to get one are coming up! Or you may get just the one. There's no way of telling until you try.... Tomato seeds are great to hoard because they last so long.

[TheDante]

You made lots of people very happy! Spread the seeds, lol!

cheers kath that is if anyone even takes the bait... not sure how the community will react to this ´generosity´... my only fear is no one wants them or is too shy to ask.

[Shule]

[mention]TheDante[/mention]

Don't throw them away!

Tomato seeds can last a really long time, even though people will tell you just a few years (I imagine for liability reasons, since maybe they don't all last a long time). If you're worried, just overseed when you plant them, or pre-start them in a plastic bag with a paper towel and water (you can also do that to test germination if you have plenty of seeds to spare).

Yes, I hoard seeds for the future. Well, I prefer the word 'collect'.

[TheDante]

@TheDante

Don't throw them away!

Tomato seeds can last a really long time, even though people will tell you just a few years (I imagine for liability reasons, since maybe they don't all last a long time). If you're worried, just overseed when you plant them, or pre-start them in a plastic bag with a paper towel and water (you can also do that to test germination if you have plenty of seeds to spare).

Yes, I hoard seeds for the future. Well, I prefer the word 'collect'.

Nooooooooooooooooo.. haha! Not my tomato seeds.. gawd no! Am trying to clean and reduce my seed cupboard as I have hoarded too many other types of vegetable and flower seeds over the years. Plus I think it would help provide come clarity and that I won´t feel soooo overwhelmed.

[TheDante]

I used to have a hoard of aging seeds (ha! the hoard is always re-growing...) then I finally tried a mass sowing of old brassica and lettuce seeds to see if I would get any microgreens... NOT. They were really old...
Now because I grow most of my own seeds, I'm always anxious when they get a few years old, to try and plan a grow of them for seeds before they get to that state. Even so, if they are OP's and something you wanted but couldn't buy, it is great to get the old seeds going. Lettuce just takes longer to sprout as they get older, until they come no more. Brassicas will sprout after 4 years but then quickly turn yellow because there's not enough nutrition in the seed to get them going. A little diluted fert will turn those cotyledons green and up she comes, hopefully. Peppers can be really surprising. They may take a lot longer and then whoa, all ninety seeds you planted hoping to get one are coming up! Or you may get just the one. There's no way of telling until you try.... Tomato seeds are great to hoard because they last so long.

I have and share the same experience as you have with the other seeds you mentioned.

I intend to freeze my tomato seeds that I am unable to grow next year - have been told they last a whole lot longer too - I guess that´s why seed banks are stored in the Artic/Antartic pole too

[Paulf]

I have read that if seeds are not completely dry ice crystals will form in the embryo, shattering and essentially killing the growing parts. Kept cool and dry tomato seeds can last a long time. I have germinated tomato seeds more than 15 years old. Other vegetable seeds don't do well after a much shorter time frame. Seven or eight years for tomatoes and two or three for most everything else is my personal limit.

[Paquebot]

IF properly dried and IF properly stored, 10 years is no problem. Freezing is ideal but few bother to do that. I use 1½-ounce glass jars. This year, grew some Wisconsin 55 Gold from 2004 to make certain that I had pure seeds. No problem. Many SSE members uses plastic pill bottles and seeds last just as long. I do worry about some varieties with tiny seeds but the same life expectancy applies equally to them.

Martin

[asmx92]

@ The Dante
please write me in the German Tomato-Forum a PM and I'll tell what you have to do to get the seeds to the USA
asmx

[TheDante]

@ The Dante
please write me in the German Tomato-Forum a PM and I'll tell what you have to do to get the seeds to the USA
asmx

Ok danke dir, mach ich and will see what happens

and for everyone else´s experiences with their old seeds and how they go about storing them too

[MissS]

I do not consider 10 year old tomato seeds to be non-viable. For seed 10 years and older, I too soak them in a mild solution of Miracle Grow prior to sowing. I also will sow them a little more thickly. Have patience, keep them warm and
they will take a little longer to germinate, but you will still get some.
I store all of my seeds in ziplock plastic bags. I am under the impression that they still do need oxygen, so I do open the bags on occasion to allow fresh air in.

[Nan6b]

Just found this thread. When I find old flower seeds, I scatter them somewhere that it would be great if they came up, but no harm done if they don't. They don't get prime land or prime conditions or any care. In fact I'll be doing that this spring with old flower seeds. Or if I have a bed that I'm planting with a flower seed mix, I'll add the old seed in. Old vegetable seeds I tend to throw out. I rarely have old tomato seeds. Either I plan to grow them, or I give them to the MMMM swap at Tomatoville. It keeps my tomato seed collection from overtaking the world.

[FarmerShawn]

Onions and parsley seeds I buy new every year, as they just don't seem to keep. Most other things I keep at least as long as the online charts suggest (High Mowing has a good one.) and usually longer. But I do have some almost geriatric tomato seeds!

[TheDante]

Just found this thread. When I find old flower seeds, I scatter them somewhere that it would be great if they came up, but no harm done if they don't. They don't get prime land or prime conditions or any care. In fact I'll be doing that this spring with old flower seeds. Or if I have a bed that I'm planting with a flower seed mix, I'll add the old seed in. Old vegetable seeds I tend to throw out. I rarely have old tomato seeds. Either I plan to grow them, or I give them to the MMMM swap at Tomatoville. It keeps my tomato seed collection from overtaking the world.

I used to do that too… only problem is I need to find as much available space for the toms for the new growing season.

All my tom seeds are now stored in a dark store room with a constant temperature of 20°C (68°F) and 45% humidity. Will freeze some after my 2020 list has been decided.

[hdrider]

I have seeds that were my mothers, she passed in 2003. They are flower seeds and she kept them in the freezer so I have to. Being that I am not into growing flowers I have never tried to do anything with them but I think this year might be time to change that.

[asmx92]

@ TheDante,
I soaked pepper seeds from 2011 in: 250ml water(about 1 and a half cup) did 1 teaspoon guano in it. Let the seeds 24 hours in it and than (01.01.2020)I did the seeds in the germination bag...today they germinate!
Than storage life from:
eggplant - 4 years
broccoli - 4 years
beans - 3 years
peas - 3 years
cucumber - 4 years
carrot - 2 years
pimpkin - 4 years
corn - 2 years
chard - 4 years
melon - 4 years
pepper - 3 years
tomatoes - 4 years
onions - 2 years