|
Post by Jolly on Mar 31, 2015 4:50:10 GMT
Doing some planting today, got some corn, butter beans and snap beans in the ground. Will try to get to everything else this week.
But I have a problem...When going through my seed, I have new stuff for this year, but I have seeds of various kinds, going back to 2009. Some are in pretty decent quantities, like 3/4 pound of Kentucky Blue pole bean seed from 2014.
So a question...At what point does seed need to just be thrown away? How long in cool storage does most of it still germinate at least 50%?
|
|
|
Post by solargeek on Mar 31, 2015 4:54:50 GMT
I put in seeds (tomato, bean and herbs) last year including 104 tomato seeds from mostly 2009, 2011 and 2012 just to use them up. For tomato seeds I had 100% germination! Could not believe it. About 85% germination rate for basil and other herbs - ok with me! Peppers, only about 30% and none of them really thrived when put in the garden - but I did put them out and then we had a really cold spell in June- 50s at night- and even my store bought plants really struggled.
All in all, I was so surprised. Got TONS of tomatoes from the seedlings I started. Never thought I would get 104 tomato plants of 1 kind haha!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2015 12:42:53 GMT
It depends on the seed- they have different shelf lives. Onion types and carrots are short lived. You may be ok with beans/corn, and I think nightshades (tomatoes, peppers) are somewhere in between.
Do you know how to do a germination test? Keep a certain number of seeds moist (e.g. between moist paper towels), count how many germinate, calcultae percentage? That'll give you your answer.
|
|
|
Post by 1shotwade on Mar 31, 2015 12:46:28 GMT
Last year I found some watermelon seed from 1982. They all germinated,,,,,,then the hail storm killed them all!
Wade
|
|
|
Post by bearcreekfarm on Apr 1, 2015 23:48:10 GMT
I planted some tomato and basil seeds from 2008 and got pretty good germination- around 80% by rough calculation. I won't throw any seeds away until I have tested them, and even if the germ rate is low, I will still plant them indoors and just transplant out whatever I get from them.
|
|
|
Post by hobbitlady on Apr 2, 2015 20:43:24 GMT
Yeah,What forest said,just put some between wet TP or paper towels or something kept wet for a week and see if they sprout. If not I throw mine in my chicken feed.....
|
|
|
Post by mikeinohio on Apr 4, 2015 14:16:10 GMT
For doing a germination test put 10 seeds between wet paper towels. The number of seeds that sprout tells you the germination rate. For example,if 5 of them sprout then the germination rate is 50%. If you find you have a lower germination rate then you can start 2-3 seeds close together and then thin if more than one sprouts.
|
|
|
Post by Bear Foot Farm on Apr 4, 2015 18:06:05 GMT
They've sucessfully germinated Wheat found in 4000 year old pyramids, so I'm guessing it's better to never assume it's too old
|
|