How long will seeds last?

[TucsonMax]

How long will ordinary vegetable (non-hybrid) seeds I buy at Lowes or Home Depot nicely packaged by companies like Burpee last? I've read that storing them in a cool, dry place is the key and that others freeze them long term. Anyone freeze their seeds? Anyone tried using seeds over a decade old, what were your results?

[Trabitha]

If you protect them correctly they can last for a LONG time. I keep mine in a sealed glass container in the refrigerator and I'm told that if I keep them this way I can keep them indefinitely.
(I keep them in glass because then I can see what packs I have in there, and don't open the jar if I don't need to.)

Cool dry place...and your supply can last forever.

[Rick]

I've used seeds that were four and five years old. You begin to see germination problems around that time. Instead of planting 2 to a hole I up it to three seeds.

Like Trabitha, I store my in the fridge in my garage. I don't do anything special to them. Just toss them on a shelf. The air is cool and dry and the seeds will last quite a while in there.

[welderguy]

Does freezing help to extend shelf life of seeds or would that shorten it?

[Rick]

I've never frozen them. I don't know why it wouldn't work. Plants drop seeds on the ground every fall and they lay there, frozen, all during the winter months. Doesn't seem to hurt them.

[Trabitha]

I've never frozen my seeds...but if I understand it correctly you basically need to freeze them like you would a vegetable...but removing all the air from the pack. I don't know if it works any BETTER...but now you've got me curious.

[Rick]

http://www.victoryseeds.com/informat...ed_saving.html

From the site...

"Seeds should be stored in a cool, dry space. Nowadays, many gardeners simply put them in plastic bags, and freeze them. Not only is this safe, some seeds actually benefit from freezing. And many potential diseases carried by the seeds are destroyed by the freezing process.

It is crucial, however, when you defrost the seeds, to not open the containers until everything has reached room temperature. If you open them before that, condensation can form on the seeds, and effect germination rates."

[Trabitha]

Great! Thanks Rick!

[nell67]

Freezing them works, several years ago,I was given A LOT of seeds from a local garden center that went out of business a few years before,the seeds were kept in the shop,unheated until they decided they wanted the space for something else,I just happened to be there buying rabbits when the owner asked if I wanted any or all of the seeds,so I took them.


I sold all the hybrids and seeds for items I never use for cheap,and am still planting from the varieties I do use, I store them in the freezer for safe keeping. They are about 10 years old or better and still germinate very well.

[TucsonMax]

Nell: You are the BEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[chiggersngrits]

Seems like I remember hearing a story a few years back that some seeds were found in a pyramid in Egypt. I want to say they were some sort of tomato but can't remember for certain. But they did sprout and grow.

[LowKey]

I've been seeing these canned 'Survival Seed Banks' popping up around the various supply sites. I wonder if the companies that make them warranty germination. It would kinda suck to rely on canned seeds if vacuum storage and putting them on the shelf with the rest of your supplies actually killed them. Freezing or cold storage has always been my method of saving seed. The National-type seed banks (the big ones run by the governments) keep seeds frozen as well.

Vegetable seeds are one thing but many native plants, including some of the medicinals you might grow, require very special seed handling. Some of them have seeds with caruncles, exposed fleshy bits attached to the seed, that unless planted in soil immediately will dry out and die in a matter of days. Bloodroot (Sanguinaria sp) is one of them. Other aquatic plants such as the Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustrus) can't be allowed to dry out. Freezing in a moist sand may be required if you plan to store such things.

[Rick]

The two enemies of seed storage are moisture and air (bacteria, mold spores, etc.) so vacuum packing them SHOULD be okay. Of course, if you plant them 'cause the SHTF then it might be tough collecting on any guarantee if they don't grow for some reason.

I always chuckle when I read a product has a lifetime guarantee. You can only hope the company is still in business 15 years from now when the product craps out.

[crashdive123]

Something else to consider in these "Survival Seed Banks" is what's in them. Are they region specific? Do you normally eat the type of food that grows from them? Having a lot of seeds for something you don't like or can't grow is kind of similar to storing food that you don't like or can't eat.

[Winnie]

I was thinking that too Crash, The offers I've seen that initially look like good value generally include a lot of types of veg I don't like!

[chiggersngrits]

Seems like I remember hearing a story a few years back that some seeds were found in a pyramid in Egypt. I want to say they were some sort of tomato but can't remember for certain. But they did sprout and grow.

After further review I think it was wheat kernels not tomato seeds.

[canid]

not all seeds are created equal.

storage conditions play a huge role, but remember that some type of seeds just plain don't like to stay viable more than a year or two, and some last darned near forever, by human standpoints.

some desert plant seeds stay dormant naturally for decades before conditions allow them to germinate, and as i recall reading; some of the seeds found in one of Egypt's pyramids where still viable.

[crashdive123]

During the discussion of sprouted coconuts in another thread, I was reading that coconuts remain viable after floating in the ocean for up to two years.