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seeds Can seeds freeze?

G

Gallon

I am about to order seeds for this season, but am not sure if I should have them sent to my house where they would be exposed to some 20F something temps for the afternoon, or should I figure out a way to keep them from dropping below room temperature?

Any thoughts or past experiences would be greatly appreciated.
 
Freezing won't hurt them at all. I know people who put them in the freezer for a few weeks because they feel it more closely models the natural freeze they get during the winter months in the wild.
 
The only time freezing kills seeds is if they aren't dry.
Fresh seeds have water in them and if they freeze the water expands causing tissue damages.
Some seed banks store seeds in liquid nitrogen for use after a nuclear winter so survivors can grow them to re propagate the earth with plants.
 
Yes, as long as the seeds were dried first freezing won't hurt them, I receive almost all my seeds during the harsh winter and sometimes I don't make it to the mailbox for weeks
 
I read in a book by Dave Dewitt that seeds kept in the freezer will keep for years.Shelf life not frozen is 1-2 years!
 
Likely freezing then thawing repeatedly would be bad but I've never encountered problems.
I don't know about the 1-2 year thing. I have pepper and tomato seeds that are well over 10 yrs old and stored quite poorly and they still germinate.
 
I have a bunch of Alpine Strawberry seeds in the freezer and they don't get released for another couple weeks. But they are warmer there than if they were outside!

Mike
 
This is how I store all my seeds. Doesn't everyone?

smokemaster said:
Some seed banks store seeds in liquid nitrogen for use after a nuclear winter so survivors can grow them to re propagate the earth with plants.
Click to expand...
 
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