Aged seeds

[smokeeater360]

I have a couple of gallon size storage bags that have garden seeds that have never been used. Some of these seeds are dated to sell by 12/2014. Are these seeds still viable or good enough to plant?

 

[YumYum]

It really depends on what they are and how you stored them but yes some seeds are good that long.

 

[Ostrodamus]

I encountered this very question just a few short months ago when starting my seeds. Curious myself, I planted a variety of seeds that were all stored the same (on an open shelf, in a brown paper bag, in sealed individual sandwich Ziploc bags, in their original packets) but represented a 4-year spread of expiration dates. I had around a 95% success rate with the seeds dated 2024, around 75% success with 2023 seeds, but only around a 30% success rate with seeds dated 2022 and before. I even had 2 separate packets of herb seeds (dated 2022) that had a staggering 0% success rate. Those were chives and cilantro FYI.

That being said, I definitely saw a significant decrease in germination rate as the seeds got older. I also noticed that the older the seeds were, the more likely they were to become stunted. I had a lot of the 2+ year old seeds that just never progressed through the seedling stage into a starter. Even potting them up did very little to encourage growth. Perhaps if my storage techniques were better there could have been different results. Or maybe it truly is just the age. Who knows.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

I save bean seeds and there are always a few over. They had accumulated in the bottom of my seed box and this year I made a point of planting the lot. As saved seed they were not in packets neatly labelled with the year so I am not sure how old they were, but germination was erratic, however I definitely got some coming up that were two or more years old. The answer seems to be try it and see, but start early enough that you can replace them if they don't germinate.

There are a lot of claims and counter claims regarding 'The oldest seeds germinated', but it seems pretty certain that at least some germinate after thousands of years, best documented, a date from Herod's tomb, and lotus seeds from a dried out lake. Makes it worth a try, but not something to rely on.

 

[PipOfSuffolk]

I tried something similar last year and this moving in with partner and going through a box of her seeds. I found things around a year after their sow-by date were fine, but anything older even had a low or no germination rate. Thank you for the reminder - I need to weed through the box and get rid of the very old packets.
We have limited space for growing so I'm reluctant to give too much over to seeds that are unlikely to germinate. I tried some American golden gooseberries from 2018 and sadly got nothing, a shame as they looked very interesting.

 

[Ostrodamus]

I save bean seeds and there are always a few over. They had accumulated in the bottom of my seed box and this year I made a point of planting the lot. As saved seed they were not in packets neatly labelled with the year so I am not sure how old they were, but germination was erratic, however I definitely got some coming up that were two or more years old. The answer seems to be try it and see, but start early enough that you can replace them if they don't germinate.

There are a lot of claims and counter claims regarding 'The oldest seeds germinated', but it seems pretty certain that at least some germinate after thousands of years, best documented, a date from Herod's tomb, and lotus seeds from a dried out lake. Makes it worth a try, but not something to rely on.

I think the key takeaway is starting early enough to cover your losses should the seeds not germinate.

 

[big rockpile]

Seeds are funny. I usually put mine in the Freezer.

I found out they take water to sprout. Know a guy that actually cuts his seeds to help get water in them.

I use to put seeds in Burlap Bag water them and see if they sprouted but these were grain that was going to be planted in a field.

big rockpile

 

[big rockpile]

I save bean seeds and there are always a few over. They had accumulated in the bottom of my seed box and this year I made a point of planting the lot. As saved seed they were not in packets neatly labelled with the year so I am not sure how old they were, but germination was erratic, however I definitely got some coming up that were two or more years old. The answer seems to be try it and see, but start early enough that you can replace them if they don't germinate.

There are a lot of claims and counter claims regarding 'The oldest seeds germinated', but it seems pretty certain that at least some germinate after thousands of years, best documented, a date from Herod's tomb, and lotus seeds from a dried out lake. Makes it worth a try, but not something to rely on.

Beans split so bad. Some ways one of the easier to save but some ways the hardest.

big rockpile

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Know a guy that actually cuts his seeds to help get water in them.

Rubbing hard seeds between sheets of sandpaper to scratch the surface is common.

 

[PGB1]

I think you're safe to save seeds. For fun, check these out:
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesal...-seed-vault-is-fort-knox-for-the-worlds-seeds

Svalbard Global Seed Vault - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Gene bank - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

For what it's worth (amateur gardener here):
I let seeds dry every year and store them in envelopes in the freezer. The next spring, I plant from the selection.
This year, I planted some dill, pole beans, Anaheim peppers & Coure d'Italia tomatoes that ranged from 2 to 14 years old. Other than the beans, the rest are growing very well. Only about half of the beans sprouted.

Happy Gardening!
Paul