How many times have you opened a seed mail boat you saved from the previous twelvemonth ( or two … or three … ) and wondered if you could plant them this twelvemonth ? Well , youcanplant anything – the question is , will the seed shoot and grow ?
The reply is “ possibly ” . Some vegetable and herb seeds can be saved for up to 6 age under the right conditions . Othergarden seedswill only last 1 - 2 year . But that phrase “ proper status ” is cardinal . If you leave your garden seed packets on a windowsill all twelvemonth the ejaculate will not stay viable . If you store them properly as outlined below , there ’s a good chance of using the same seed stock for multiple seasons .
How do I know if my garden seeds are still good to use?
Viability refers to a ejaculate ’s power to produce a vigorous seedling . This means a seedling that will rise to full maturity and bear its think yield ( in the botanical sense – the fruit , vegetable , flower , herb , etc ) . come viability declines before the sprouting charge per unit does , so if the come gunstock is honest-to-goodness or if it ’s not stored by rights , the seeds may bourgeon but produce weak seedlings that give out after Clarence Shepard Day Jr. or weeks .
Sometimes you may see powerful away that a come is past its prime quantity . For example , if the cum is ordinarily orotund in physique , but now has indentations or divots , it ’s probably not viable . See our post about how to screen garden seed for viability .
What is the proper way to store garden seeds?
Tosave garden seedsand keep them viable , you take to remember two words : cool and dark . If the germ are exposed to moisture ( water supply or humidity ) and warmth , they wo n’t remain viable and their germination pace will plummet .
Seeds should be stored in their original packets or in a glassine gasbag . That packet or envelope should then be placed in an airtight container in a cold room or in your refrigerator , but never let them block . To be specific , the perfect repositing temperature for most variety is 45 degrees Fahrenheit at 40 % humidity . The normal of thumb is that the heart of the temperature and humidness should be less than 100 .
My personal method acting , while a bit loosey - gooselike , has served me well . Every packet of garden source is stored in its original gasbag inside an airtight mason jar . To keep humidity very low inside the jar , I add a packet or two of standard - issue desiccant like silica gel – the fiddling packets send out in shipments of solid food , gymnastic shoes , and other products . I have many James Mason jar of garden seed and they all get stored in a formative storage ABA transit number in a cool service department with no motorcar ( exhaust fumes fumes can obliterate seeds ) . The bin remain in the garage descend through late spring and are go to the cool elbow room of the house in summer . I would stash away them in the icebox ( this is the proper way ) , but I have too many jars of seeds … and a wife . Overall , this method has served me very well and I ’ve keep seminal fluid on mean a year longer than the year shown in the seed viability table below .
How long do garden seeds last?
Garden seed can be stored for yr under the right conditions . Even thoughcelerytypically stays viable up to 5 years , I ’ve been using the same seed for 7 twelvemonth – the sprouting percentage has decrease , but that ’s a pretty good run . The literal computer memory life always calculate on the viability of the miscellanea , the seed stock itself , the wet mental object of the seed when it ’s ab initio placed in reposition , and the condition under which it ’s lay in .
How to test your garden seeds for viability
It ’s even easier to test the viability of peas – just rate them in a bowl of weewee . If they float they ’re uninspired ; if they sink they ’re feasible . The ones that float no longer contain an embryo and so are light than those that do .
