Old Seeds

I have a whole bunch of seeds here that were my Parents from when they were trying to have a market garden. Some of them date back to '94. I really hate to just chuck them, but I have no use for most of them. The flower seeds I will just mix and use to cover a few bare spots, but the pounds of corn and bean seeds I am at a loss over. I will probably not grow much corn at all, as two of the three adults in the house are on a low-carb diet, and it would be torture to grow sweet corn when my Dad can't have it. I am not planning on a large garden, and I have limited time, so I really don't know what to do. Shall I throw them out, save them, give them away (and to whom?)...

Any suggestions?

Cedar

If they are that old you can test them to see how well they'll germinate by using the Deno method(damp paper towel,ziploc bag) then if they don't germinate you won't feel bad about tossing them

Seeds can fool you. I tossed out some old spices that were years old and now I have a patch of tall mustard plants.

You can always use those old seeds in craft projects. A seed topiary, decorate a picture frame, glue them on flower pots and spray paint em, etc.

I'd do a germination test for sure. Then if they seem to be worth growing, maybe donate them to some organization like Plant a Row For The Hungry. Your Extension Office should be able to point you in the right direction.

If the corn is a hybrid, chances are, it's not any good. For some reason, I've seen hybrid corns loose their viability quickly. But give everything a chance and do a germination test. Use 20 seeds and then you can figure your percentages easily...if you have enough, use 100 and you won't have to do any math at all.(my favorite situation)

If they aren't participating in such a cause, maybe the youth at your church would like to start a garden and share the harvest with the elderly or needy.

So many elderly folks don't eat properly and fresh veggies would enhance their diets.

Hope this inspires you with some ideas...and yes,if they don't germinate, use them in crafts like CoCo suggested.

Thanks Everybody. I will be doing some germination tests for sure, and Coco, thank you for the craft idea. I have some little girls here who would love to play with glue and seeds (ok, so would I :) ). I did plant some of the tomato seeds just because, and got good germination on Bloody Butcher and Brandywine. I guess they survived as heirlooms for a reason.

I'll let you know how things come out on the rest of this stuff. I don't know that there are many hybrids - Mom is a big proponent of saving seeds and growing heirlooms.

Yay for Mom! Glad to see that you are trying to salvage these seeds. Can you list what you have? I'd be very curious as to the varieties.