Usable Lifetime of Common Seeds -- Don't Plant Old Seeds Please!!!

[SSanguine]

Usable Lifetime of Common Seeds

I am guilty of this as most people are. You buy a couple packs of seeds thinking you will use all of them, and then you end up not. So, what do you do with the seeds, put them in a plastic baggy and come next year put them in your garden or you forget about them and buy new ones and find the other seeds 3 years later. Not a good thing!

First off, if you are buying your commercial seeds from a farm supply store or wherever, even if there are dates stamped on the package... Who really knows if they are telling the truth????? Don't buy your seeds in abundance unless you are going to be using them all, but if you have some left be sure to put them in an airtight container, DATED, and in a cool and dry area for storage. .... . .... . .... .

Now for your own personal convenience
A Guide

VEGETABLE -YEAR(S)

Beans--------3
Beets--------3
Cabbage-----4
Carrots------1
Cauliflower---4
Corn, Sweet--2
Cucumbers---5
Eggplant-----4
Kale----------3
Lettuce------4
Melons-------4
Onions-------1
Peas---------1
Peppers------2
Pumpkin------4
Radishes-----3
Spinach------3
Squash-------4
Swiss Chard---4
Tomatoes-----3
Turnips-------5


This guide shows how long each vegetable seed can be used before it becomes .... dun dun dun "A Bad Seed" ... and needs to be tossed out.

Happy Harvesting

[Sean Martin]

Freeze drying can be done cheaply and easily, this will prolong the life of your seeds. Another method is to put them in an airtight ziplock and then if you have several bags wrap them in a towl (the bags) put them in another baggie and freeze them. This will also prolong your seeds.

This is the best way to keep and store your home seeds from year to year. If you have store bought seeds they could either be hybrids or have preservatives in them to extend the shelf life.

If you have extra seeds just plant them in an extra corner of your garden and see what happens. Since I have plenty of room I sometimes do this with extras, old seeds or seeds I just forgot to label. If it grows great, if not so be it.

The Egyptians had wheat seeds discovered over 2,000 years later in tombs that had not even germinated yet. They had a method of preserving seeds for a long period of time.

For the home seed preserver the key to keeping seeds from year to year is to remember that oxygen is the enemy. Carbon Dioxide is the friend since it will displace the oxygen. The less oxygen and moisture the longer your seeds will last.

BTW I have saved several thousand seeds this year and it is unlikely I will plant all of those next year. Right now it is canning season.

[SSanguine]

I invested in a vaccum sealer. The whole thing cost about $100, but it has saved me money way beyond that. It is good for vaccum sealing seeds, storing dehydrated fruits, veggies, and meats, and also I find it easier and faster to package up any raw meat for freezing. My vaccum sealer is worth its weight in gold really.

As for lifetime of seeds, living on a farm, time can be hard to come by especially when planting season comes around. I don't have any time to be planting, watering, and tending bad seeds. Instead, before it comes time to plant the garden I'll take an older packet and put a pinchful of seeds in a small flower pot, set it in the window sill and see what grows.

[JoeSixPack]

The Egyptians had wheat seeds discovered over 2,000 years later in tombs that had not even germinated yet. They had a method of preserving seeds for a long period of time.
Rumor has it, the Egyptians also had hemp seed, which when discovered in the Pyramids after 2-4k+ years, germinated perfectly. Not sure if that is true.

Anyway, my wife seems to think that you have to freeze seeds year-to-year. We are new gardeners, but I've found that most seeds last at least 2-3 years at 75-90% viability (based on old seeds we dug out of her parent's junk), 5 or more years, don't know.