seeds Seeds last longer than I thought

kentishman

kentishman

I started my seeds two days ago. For most of the 12 varieties, the seeds were saved from last years plants. Seeds for one variety, a large Jalapeño, dated way back to 2009, eight years ago. I wasnt expecting much from them. I checked all seeds today, after 48 hours, and one variety has germinated. You guessed it, they are the eight year old seeds. Two out of seven seeds have popped.
 
kentishman said:
I started my seeds two days ago. For most of the 12 varieties, the seeds were saved from last years plants. Seeds for one variety, a large Jalapeño, dated way back to 2009, eight years ago. I wasnt expecting much from them. I checked all seeds today, after 48 hours, and one variety has germinated. You guessed it, they are the eight year old seeds. Two out of seven seeds have popped.
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Good to hear that , I have started skipping certain varieties this year and will have to skip some for 2 or three years due to lack of space , or severe seed hoarding.
 
Seeds normally last thousands of years, many archaeologists have found some and they have sprouted, 5 years is nothing , its just the quality nowadays is not that great.
 
Do most of you choose to store them in an air tight environment? I'm always paranoid about locking in moisture etc.
 
I've been folding them into coffee filters and labeling them like that. Not enclosed but kept away from moisture.... I'd imagine that would be more than enough considering how long they are meant to last in nature.
 
I've been throwing some rice in with my seeds. But I may just be following an urban myth.

Does anybody else mix rice in with their seeds to act as a desiccant?
 
I had some 4 year old seeds sprout this year. I keep mine in the original plastic zip locks they arrived in. :)
 
 
I save my own seeds. First I put them in a paper envelope for a couple of weeks, which allows moisture to escape. Then I put them in a zip-lock plastic bag. Ive never had a problem with seeds getting moldy.
 
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