Long Term Seed Viability

[mosquitomountainman]

Early in the winter we were sent a sealed can of "survival seeds" from a company that packaged them as such in 1979. They were purchased on Ebay and the owner sent them to us and asked us to distribute them to experienced gardeners to see if they were still viable. We called it "the seed project." They were divided up and sent to various parts of the US where others planted them. While this is not a "scientific" study with controlled conditions it raised some interesting questions. It's important to note that everyone who received the seeds had lots of gardening experience. About 90 percent have responded with their results and not a single seed of any plant species germinated. Those who have not responded live in colder climates and are just now planting gardens. We'll have more specifics at a later date but if you're relying on professionally package "survival garden seeds" as sold by various companies you might want to open a can and see if they'll even grow. We've been saving our own seed for several years now but we do have a can of "survival seeds" in storage. We plan on opening them next year just to see if they'll still grow.

Anyone else plant seeds stored like this?

[crashdive123]

I haven't planted anything that old. Some of the older seeds that I've planted (5 years or less) didn't do so great. Some germinated, but the results were disappointing.

[nell67]

Cant just put them in a can and expect them to last,however freeze them,and they will germinate and grow,I have planted seed that was 10 years stored and had good luck with them.

It all depends on the storing conditions,gotta keep them from temp fluctuations,that kills them.

[crashdive123]

Yep - gotta agree with that.

[Trabitha]

Cant just put them in a can and expect them to last,however freeze them,and they will germinate and grow,I have planted seed that was 10 years stored and had good luck with them.

It all depends on the storing conditions,gotta keep them from temp fluctuations,that kills them.

I heard that freezing them will destroy the viability...

[nell67]

I heard that freezing them will destroy the viability...

A LOT of seed MUST freeze for a period of time before they are viable in the first place,I freeze all my saved seed,and do not have a problem with germination.

[Trabitha]

That's really good to know! With limited dry places in my home to store stuff like that...I now feel MUCH more about freezer space.

[nell67]

That's really good to know! With limited dry places in my home to store stuff like that...I now feel MUCH more about freezer space.

GIves new meaning to "cool beans",eh???!

[Trabitha]

LOL! Oh man...I used to say that ALL THE TIME! LOL!!

[LowKey]

Nell, by any chance do you keep them in a deep freezer, or the one over the fridge. If your refrigerator freezer is a self-defrosting model, the seeds usually don't keep as well.

[Alaskan Survivalist]

I recently tried poping some popcorn that is about three years old and it would not which got me thinking about a seed bank I put in a vacuum sealed bag in the freezer three years ago. They were planted yesterday. I'll let you know. I don't have a clue what I'm going to do with 50 pounds of bad popcorn. Will geese eat it?

[nell67]

Nell, by any chance do you keep them in a deep freezer, or the one over the fridge. If your refrigerator freezer is a self-defrosting model, the seeds usually don't keep as well.

In the deep freezer,LK,the one over the fridge is oened and closed to often to store them there.

[mosquitomountainman]

Supposedly popcorn dries out over time then it won't pop. If you can add just a little moisture to the mix it may pop again. I read about doing it years ago but never needed to try it. The same article said the difference between "gourmet" and regular popcorn was the expensive stuff had more precise moisture contents. Too much is bad. Too little is bad. It seemed like they recommended adding a few drops of water per pound of corn. Sorry I can't be more specific. It was a long time ago and I never needed to try doing it.