Viability of Purchased Tomato Seeds

If I buy heirloom tomato seeds this season.....will they germinate next season, or must I buy seeds in the season that they are to be planted ?

I recently concluded a marathon tomato seed starting event. Had nearly 100 seedlings for a while - sold most for $2.50 each and gave away a lot. I germinated old seeds (2 years) from friends stash, new seeds from a good source (Seeds of Change and TomatoFest) and all did well. I decided to no longer place two seeds in the plug because I was getting too many double seedlings and had to clip one out so it was a waste.

My biggest disappointment has been two varieties of brand new seed that had only 25% germination: Glacier and Polar Baby. As the names suggest, these were developed to grow in cooler weather conditions. I'm hoping for a mild winter here in Phoenix and that I will have fresh tomatoes until the spring crop goes in. A third cool weather tom, Kimberly, had 100% germination. These three all are from Tomato Growers Supply and since Kimberly was 100%, I don't think it's the vendor's fault. But I'd like to know if it was something I did so I can not do it again and get these babies to grow.

HTH.

One issue is the viability of seeds as related to seed age and another is the varying results that folks get sowing seed. Having done many many seed offers over time I can tell you that when offering absolutely fresh seed the germination reports for ONE variety can range form 100% to zero, yes zero percent.

The seed age of different vendors can be highly variable since some produce their own seed, some subcontract out and some buy wholesale off the shelf and some do a combo of that.

There are two places where I know that seed no older than two years old is sold, which is remarkable, and that' Sandhill Preservation and Gleckler Seedmen, both excellent seed sources along with others I know.

If you see a packed by date on a seed pack that does not tell you the seed age it just tells you the date the seed was packed.

Not every place does germination of seeds before they sell them but I know that TGS and Gleckler's do.

Purchased seeds, if kept correctly, will be fine for up to maybe 5 years and older. With my own saved seeds I can get germination that's at least 50% with 10 yo seeds. And my record for waking up old seeds is doing so with 22 yo seed but the recrod is with 50 yo seeds.

What's more important to me, who doesn't purchase seeds but who sends the best of what I grow to places where I know the owners well and trust them, is whether the seeds are true seeds for the variety.

I know you said that Tomatofest and Seeds of Change are good places, but If it were me I'd leave it at good and not say excellent which I would say about many other sources.

So no, you don't have to buy new seeds each year and if saving your own seeds from open pollinated, not hybrid varieties, you'll never have to buy seeds for thos varieties again. ( smile)

Carolyn

Many thanks to you both, dear friends ! That's the sort of info. I am looking for..... and then some.

Dave's Garden Forums and generous members are indispenssable Thank you !!

Federal standards require 75% germination rate for commercially-produced seeds. Most gardeners expect 80-90%. You can improve your germination rate when you pre-sprout seeds.
http://www.tomatodirt.com/plant-seeds.html

Kathy, I've read that website before and it's really one person's opinion and honestly I don't agree with everything that's said. So another opinion here. LOL

Yes, there are Federal standards but few of the smaller seed places that most folks deal with do germination testing at all. Nor do they indicate the seed age of varieties they sell. I know of only two places that sell no tomato seed older than 2 yo and that's Sandhill Preservation and Gleckler's. Perhaps the Sample Seed Shop and a few more.

As for pre-sprouting seeds, I don't think it's necessary at all if one sows seeds correctly and they're also less than maybe 5 yo which is true for most folks.

When trading seeds, which I don't do, there's really no way to know the seed age.

When I make my annual seed offer I list varieties by the year they were produced and I also take time to tell folks how to increase germination of older seeds.

So there are alternative ideas and suggestions than what's written at specific seed sites. ( smile)

Carolyn