Hello, my name is Leslie and I’m a seed-aholic.
I love buying seed packets. I love the pictures on the front, whether they are photographed or painted works of art. I love the possibilities that seeds promise. I love the idea of saving money by buying seeds…
(cue the ugly sound of a record player needle being dragged across a record).
Okay, this is where things go wrong. I can’t help myself. I buy too many seeds. My love of seeds is bigger than my yard. Then the guilt sets in because I’ve got all these seed packets sitting around. I’m thinking, “How long have I had this packet? Should I try to plant some of these old packets? Are they any good?”
Well, good news and bad news. It depends on how you’ve stored your seeds and it depends on what seeds you’ve saved.
First, your seeds should be stored airtight, in a cold, dark location. That means, ideally, in the refrigerator at 40 degrees in a tight container, preferably with some dessicant to absorb moisture. If you put a teaspoon of dry powdered milk in with the seeds, that would do the trick.
Here’s a rough guide I found to determine whether you should save ‘em or pitch ‘em.
One year: onions, parsley and parsnips
Two years: sweet corn, leeks, okra, peppers
Three years: beans, broccoli, carrots, celeriac, celery, Chinese cabbage, kohlrabi, peas, and spinach
Four years: beets, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, Swiss chard, chicory, eggplant, fennel, kale, mustard, pumpkin, rutabaga, sorrel, squash, tomatoes, turnips, watermelon
Five years: cardoon, collard greens, corn salad (mache), garden cress, cucumber, endive, muskmelon, radishes
Six years: lettuces
Again, this is a rough guide. Storage conditions, planting conditions, seed conditions will all factor into your success rate. You can test the viability of seeds by placing 10-15 seeds on a damp paper towel, keeping them moist and watching for sprout times called for on the seed packet. If half of them sprout, you have a pretty good idea whether or not they are worth the effort. I plant most of my seedlings in little six-pack planters so if things don’t sprout, I haven’t really lost anything. It never hurts to try.
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