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I have some seed packets from Aug 2007, and I'm wondering if they will still be good to use this fall. They are all different kinds of veggies...beets, broccoli, peppers, lettuce, leeks, spinach...
passiflora07 - I have some old seeds, too. Recently I sowed some broccoli seeds from last year and got an 80% germination rate. The brussels sprouts gave less than a 1% germination rate.
I have an area where I recently pulled my onions/garlic. I plan to scatter my leftover seeds, cover with a light weight row cover, keep them moist and see what happens! I too, have some old beet seeds.
Seeds vary in terms of viability over time. If you have enough seeds you can test by placing a few seeds on a damp paper towel, fold the towel over the seeds and place in a plastic bag (I use quart size zip lock bags). Store the bag without sealing it in a warm place. Make sure it stays just moist. Check once a week to see if the seeds are germinating.
You can also check the plant files section here and often it will say how long the seeds are viable on average. Many on line vendors also may indicate this.
You might also want to post your question in the seed saving forum here. Those folks probably have the answer firmly planted in their brains. Pun intended.
It rather depends on how the seeds were stored. If they were kept in a cool, dark environment, they probably are still viable. Seeds kept in a jar on a windowsill, not so much!
If you want to see if they are viable, take several (say, 10 or 12) and put them on a damp paper towel, fold the towel over the seeds and put in an unsealed plastic bag and place the bag in a 65-70 degree spot out of direct sunlight. See how many sprout, and you know your viability rate.
There are exceptions, but when stored in a cool, dark, dry place, seeds last a very long time. I usually reckon on about a 5% loss in fertility per year as a rule of thumb.
Almost all my seeds are old, so 2007 would be relatively new seeds for me. With tomato seeds from 2004 on, I had to plant 35 seeds to get 25 healthy seedlings. (Although some of the seed was my own saved seed from last year.) The type of tomato seemed to make more difference than the age of the seed. Ferry Morse Early Girl pelletized was the worst, but it was the worst when it was brand new too.
Wulfsden - I don't like to "knock" a seed company, but the tomatoes I'm having so much blossom end rot with - the seeds were Ferry Morse - so were the sweet peppers where not one single pepper even sprouted!
I always put my seed in the freezer. They will keep forever like that. Just take out what you need and put the rest right back in. If you let the whole lot set out for a few hours then re-freeze you will probably ruin the germination. The germination test that was mentioned is a good way to find out how good your seed are but one thing was left out. You need to see how many of those seed will live for five days before you get a true test. Sometimes nearly all the see will germinate but won't live long. We germ tested cotton seed like this when I was a kid.
It seems like somewhere I read about different seeds having different "lifespans", maybe how many years you have til you're below say 60% germination? Has anyone seen anything along those lines that would give you some idea of which seeds are good keepers and which aren't?
Onions aren't good keepers. I discovered that this year when I didn't order new seeds because I had so many left over from last year. That didn't sprout.
