Are Old Seeds Still Viable?
Perhaps you have some old packets of seed and are wondering if you may use them this year in your garden. Well, that depends. Seeds are best stored in a cool, dry location. If yours were stored in a humid area, they will likely be unusable. And each type of seed has a different shelf life. It is recommended that seeds like parsnip or onion be replaced each year. Other seeds, like tomato may be viable for up to 5 years.
There are charts available that make recommendations on how long to keep seed, but each chart differs and that can be quite confusing to even an experienced gardener.
A Simple Process Will Determine If Your Seeds Are Viable
Your best bet is to to test your seed for viability; the process is simple.
First, find a spot in your home with a suitable temperature. If you are testing seeds like lettuce or spinach, which prefer a cooler temperature, find a spot with temperatures in the range of 50 – 70 degrees.
For seeds like tomato or eggplant, which prefer a warmer temperature, the recommended temperature is 70 – 85 degrees. Most seeds prefer the temperature to drop about 10 degrees at night.
Moisten a paper towel. It should not be soaking wet, but damp, so that you are not promoting fungal growth. Use at least 5 seeds – 10 would be better. Space the seeds in a straight line about an inch apart on the damp paper towel and very carefully roll it up.
Place the paper towel into a plastic bag. Since seeds respirate, do not push the air out of the bag before sealing. If you are testing more than one type of seed, use separate bags and be sure to clearly mark the type of seed on each bag.
Place the bag in the area you have chosen with optimal temperature for the specific seed you are testing. Check the moisture level daily and remove any seed which has formed mold.
After 5 – 10 days (this will vary depending on the type of seed), count how many seeds have germinated.
Determine the Germination Rate
To determine the germination rate, divide the number of seeds which germinated by the number of seeds originally placed in the bag. Let’s say that you placed 8 pepper seeds into your bag, and 6 of them germinated. 6 divided by 8 = .75 so 75% of your seeds germinated, which is a good rate.
If only 4 of the 8 seeds had germinated, the rate would be 50%. If you choose to use these seeds, sow thickly, since this is a less than optimal germination rate.
Have you had success using old seed?
To learn how to build a garden that builds healthy soil, be sure to check out my eBook The Art of Gardening: Building Your Soil. You really can become a better gardener, and you really can grow healthy, nourishing produce. It’s all about the soil! Click here to buy now.
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daisy says
Wow! What a revelation! I’m gonna test my seeds this week. My carrots haven’t been coming up, so this will help me know if I need new seed. Thanks for sharing!
This Woman Writes -- Carolyn Henderson says
Good article. I found you on VGN’s weekly links and passed you on. We always have bags and bags of seeds left over, and this looks like a better method than our standard, “Let’s just dump them all here and see what comes up.”
Thank you for sharing!
Lisa Lynn says
Great post! I hope you’ll share this on The HomeAcre Hop today!
http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/03/the-homeacre-hop-12-and-giveaway-winner.html
Audra @ Renewed Projects says
Great post! There are some old seed packets in my junk drawer…time to see if they are worth saving.
Loriel @ Healthy Roots, Happy Soul says
Great information! Thank you for sharing this on Tuned-in Tuesday Blog Hop! Looking forward to seeing what you have to share tomorrow! http://www.healthyrootshappysoul.com/2013/03/tuned-in-tuesday-blog-hop-3.html
Lisa Lynn says
Hi Susan!
I’ve been too lazy to do this in recent years. 😉 Time to get my seeds started is right around the corner, so I really need to do this! Thanks for sharing this on Wildcrafting Wednesday! Hope to see you again today!
http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/04/wildcrafting-wednesday-14.html
Jenny says
I learned this trick from an extension agent when I went for my Master Gardener certification. It works! We tried it a few weeks ago with some beans we want to grow. Thank you for sharing with the HomeAcre Hop. Look forward to seeing you again tomorrow: http://blackfoxhomestead.com/the-homeacre-hop
Kathy Shea Mormino, The Chicken Chick says
Fantastic information! Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week!
Cheers,
Kathy Shea Mormino
The Chicken Chick
http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com
Vonnie says
This is a constant problem for me since moving to the tropics. Most seed is from the local DIY/Home depot and stored in warehouses which can get incredibly hot and humid. I will certainly test the seeds I have, as I’ve had very little success so far this year. Thanks for sharing.
elaine says
great information. I have dozens of seed packets form various seed places, and really would like to know if they are good. If so, yeaaaaaa ! I will do this test on them all, soon. Then I’ll let you know what worked.
thanks much!
Liz Balise says
Dang! Susan, when I first saw this photo quickly on your facebook page, I thought, “What’s with these dead, embryonic mice?! But then– O yeah, Susan must be raw-feeding her new cat….
On closer observation, I had a laugh, but great idea for testing seed a couple years old. Thanks.
Susan says
You’re too funny! But, no new cat yet. Talk to me about you are feeding your cats.
Vanessa says
Thank you so much for this post! I was wondering if my seeds were any good… we keep them in a can in the freezer. They are 7 years old and they ended up being viable! But how smart to test them out first… Love your blog.
Sandra Blume says
I live in an apartment in a medium size town in Mexico. The only soil I have is a ten foot long, 7″ wide and about 6″ deep planter along an east facing balcony – but you would be surprised what I can grow. So far I have grown flowers but this year I have planted tomatoes. I have no source of planting soil so compost all my vegetable scraps, banana peels and any old veggies that are starting to shrivel up. I have beautiful black compost and have planted two varieties of tomatoes. I planted quite a few seeds as I felt sure they wouldn’t all come up – so of course they are all up. In fact I think I have more than I planted so I wonder if there were some seeds in my compost. Fun!
Susan Vinskofski says
How wonderful and encouraging, Sandra!