seed viability

Just curious if anyone can help me out here...

I just noticed this year that the veggie seed packets I have are stamped with a "packed for such and such year" on them. Well, figuring that was not a problem, I planted some peas that I apparently bought back ~2000 and others that were bought the following year (2001). I don't think a single pea from the 2000 packet sprouted. A few have sprouted from 2001.

This leads to my question: how long are seeds viable? Do you have to plant them in the year they are packed (I assume you would have the best results then in terms of germination rates, but...)? Should I soak them for a few days to get them to sprout before I try to replant the areas that didn't germinate anything?

Some seeds keep fairly well for 2 or 3 years, some even longer, while some, like onions, are good for one year. The conditions of storage effect the seed life so try to use most of the seeds the first year. If you store them in a glass jar in a cool, dry, dark place most of them will stay fairly happy. Fertility declines with age. Soaking helps some things sprout faster but think in hours instead of days which would produce a gooey, stinky dead seed mess. Beans and peas will split open and ruin the seed if you soak more than a few hours, but it does help with faster germination if you soak for 3 or 4 hours. Then if you have to hold them over for a day or two, put then between wet paper towels in a plastic bag. Handle them very carefully if you see little root sprouts.

The dates on the packages are a little misleading.They say 'packed for 2000' or what ever...they don't tell you when the seeds were grown.Many companies hold seeds in storage for several seasons and only pack a percentage of them each year.

Depending on the variety,just as MaryE says,will determine how long you can hold them.English Peas(as opposed to Southern cowpeas) are finickey.About any excess moisture or heat will cause them to die.Cowpeas and beans,on the other hand will stay viable under quite different conditions.

Sounds like I need to change my seed storage. I keep them in the garage in the FL heat. It never dawned on me that the heat would hurt them...

All seeds benefit from being kept cool and dry. The ultimate storage method is freezing, which can extend viability out to 40 years or more.

Mary is right about viability declining with age. But one year, for most seed types, is woefully short. For instance, depending on variety, tomato seed is viable for from 4 to ten years.

Even onion seed, which is generally considered good for only one year, can remain viable for a long time. A friend of mine planted ten-year old onion seed a couple of years back. The seed had not been stored in any particular manner; merely kept in a desk drawer. And it had gone through two household moves. Yet she got a bumper crop.

Understand that "viable," as used about seed storage, has a precise meaning. If a reference says that XYZ remains viable (when stored properly) for 4 years, it means that at the end of four years only 50% of the seed will be viable. Viability declines, at an accelerated rate, after that.

This is important info for commercial growers, but less so for home gardeners. Let's say you have some XYZ that's five years old. Less than 50% will germinate. If you want ten plants, and plant, say, 25 of those seeds, chances are you'll get the number you want to germinate.

People are always asking why seed savers such as myself, Melody, and others on this list save so many seeds. One of the reasons is that we can conduct meaningful germination tests on older seed. That 5-year old XYZ, for instance, would require a minimum of 100 seeds to give us a meaningful germination rate.

I've wondered about what the definition of viable is reguarding seeds. Thanks for that information, Brook.

I'd like to ask a question, just to clarify. Is it best to store my seeds in the freezer, or just in a cool spot?
Thanks,
Ep

I prefer a cool spot.Some may differ,but home freezers have too much moisture in them and you can do more harm than good with your seeds in one.

Unless I have a specific seed that needs refrigerated,I just keep them in a cool closet in my house.I make sure the seeds are very dry and that temps are held at a constant.

I do both. Some seeds go in the fridge, some in a closet. However, I've stored some in my deep freeze! (I was happily surprised this yr when I pulled out some corn seed dated 1997, and had excellent germination!)

Coolness, and, as Mel said, dryness are key factors. I keep my seeds in envelopes or baggies, and then in canning jars. This way, whether in the closet, fridge, or freezer, the moisture content is easily taken care of.

Wow! I had no idea. So glad I asked this. Course my DH is gonna look at me funny when I start putting seed packets in the fridge and freezer...

Hehehe...yep! Just keep the garlic water and bug juice WELL marked. You'll be safe!

Wow!! I learned something again! This was great.
Thank you

Something else...although 'off topic'...when you have a container of soil and seeds in the fridge stratifying....mark it in _big_letters....'These are NOT Brownies! Do Not Eat!"

lol, what is stratifying? I just saw that term used somewhere else.

Some seeds need cold treatment in order to germinate. The process is called stratification.

Keeping them in the fridge, in soil, is one way of doing it.

LOL, Shoe! It's just my DH and I, and Halloween is coming up here. Time for tricks! Maybe I need to figure out how to make seeds being stratified look like brownies >;~} He, he, he!!! (I can blame it on my "evil" twin since I'm a Gemini!)