Last year's seeds

[Colene]

I have a bunch of seeds, vegetable, herb, and flowers from last year, and I was wondering if they are only good for one season, or if there is hope that they will grow this year? I really overstocked last year and trying to plant as much as I can, but I just hope that they will grow. Any advice?

 

[Chuck]

I have a bunch of seeds, vegetable, herb, and flowers from last year, and I was wondering if they are only good for one season, or if there is hope that they will grow this year? I really overstocked last year and trying to plant as much as I can, but I just hope that they will grow. Any advice?

If you have kept them dry and in low humidity they should be OK. After all, they found seeds in the pyramids in Guatamala over 1000 years old and they germinated

 

[gata montes]

I have a bunch of seeds, vegetable, herb, and flowers from last year, and I was wondering if they are only good for one season, or if there is hope that they will grow this year? I really overstocked last year and trying to plant as much as I can, but I just hope that they will grow. Any advice?

I too would agree - that so long as the seeds were stored correctly they should be fine - although saying that it does sometimes depend on the original quality of the seeds as whether they will germinate - to be honest I thinks its always worth sowing any left over seeds rather than let them go to waste - as more often that not you will be rewarded with plants for your efforts

 

[Kansas Terri]

Some seeds last longer than others. For instance, bell pepper seeds usually die after two years, but they have successfully grow wheat seeds that were found in the pyramids of Egypt.

I usually use a seed chart to figure out if my seeds are still viable: Here is a good chart! http://www.highmowingseeds.com/blog/seed-viability-chart/

 

[Gardener]

I had onion seeds and I kept mine in a very dry place. It has been about 3 years and I totally forgot about them, but did some spring cleaning this past spring. I ended up planting them with hopes that they wouldn't grow, but to my surprise, they did! I had about 50ish seeds, and so far about 2 of them were enough to put in the garden. The other 20 are still pretty small, and some of them even died. Give it a shot, they should germinate.

 

[IcyBC]

I also collect seeds at the end of the season and plant them in the spring. Some grow to be stronger than the year before, but some didn't take. For these reason, I try to play safe, and put more seeds down when I plant them.

 

[claudine]

I often plant very old seeds My aunt used to buy lots and lots of them. I find them in her wardrobes and cabinets. It's always a nice surprise

 

[ChanellG]

If you have kept them dry and in low humidity they should be OK. After all, they found seeds in the pyramids in Guatamala over 1000 years old and they germinated

No way! What kind of seeds?

I have a bunch of seeds, vegetable, herb, and flowers from last year, and I was wondering if they are only good for one season, or if there is hope that they will grow this year? I really overstocked last year and trying to plant as much as I can, but I just hope that they will grow. Any advice?

Your seed packets should tell you what the shelf life is of each type of seed. Some last better than others, but most last longer than a year. You can always test them out by placing them in damp paper toweling inside a zip bag. Some people use a float test to check viability.

 

[Chuck]

No way! What kind of seeds?



Your seed packets should tell you what the shelf life is of each type of seed. Some last better than others, but most last longer than a year. You can always test them out by placing them in damp paper toweling inside a zip bag. Some people use a float test to check viability.

I don't remember where I read that but google oldest viable seed. See what wikipedia says about the oldest seed to germinate and actually grow.

 

[ChanellG]

I don't remember where I read that but google oldest viable seed. See what wikipedia says about the oldest seed to germinate and actually grow.

I'll take your word for it, lol. Spend way too much time using Google and Pinterest looking up stuff as it is! The last thing I need is to have one more thing to start looking into. It's like watching You Tube, lol. One thing leads to another, and then another, and then...

 

[Chuck]

I'll take your word for it, lol. Spend way too much time using Google and Pinterest looking up stuff as it is! The last thing I need is to have one more thing to start looking into. It's like watching You Tube, lol. One thing leads to another, and then another, and then...

It is pretty interesting reading. They also found viable seeds 30000 yep thousand year old seed deep in the permafrost in Siberia. I don't know why my okra seeds were dead after only 3 years in my freezer

 

[ChanellG]

It is pretty interesting reading. They also found viable seeds 30000 yep thousand year old seed deep in the permafrost in Siberia. I don't know why my okra seeds were dead after only 3 years in my freezer

ROFLOL! Maybe the seed they unearthed was in some kind of special container that held it in suspended animation? Or maybe the scientists used something more than ordinary measures known to us regular folk in order to get the seed to germinate. We know some seed lasts longer than other seed, but thousands of years? That's pretty amazing.