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I store my tomato seeds in the fridge but I don't know if I should store any of my other seeds there year round. I have watermelon, squash, okra, cantaloupe, and cucumber seeds that I am inquiring about. If I stored these seeds in the fridge or freezer, would it improve the seed's life before germination? I currently do not keep these seeds in air-tight containers and I do not use silica packs. I however, keep them in the containers that contain diabetic test strips away from heat/cold and sunlight.
I store my bean, corn, and peas in air-tight glass jars with silica packs underneath the cabinet away from heat/cold and sunlight. These will last several years by doing this method.
The more tropical fruits are not likely going to do well in the freezer, though the fridge is probably OK. I would try vacuum packing them, actually. Oxygen ages them.
What I do:
No special storage.
Plant twice as many the second year, then throw away any with a poor sprouting average.
I have been storing all the seeds you mentioned in the freezer for years. A lot of them I freeze in the original package in a zip lock bag. Since my diabetic supplies started coming in those nifty snap top bottles, I put my small seeds in them. Handy to carry to the garden. The seeds I save like green beans, okra, and butter beans, I put in jars like you. Every thing goes in the freezer. I planted a new type of okra this year a friend gave me and they had been in the freezer for five years. I got a perfect stand the first time. He planted seed from the year before and like to never have got a stand. My theory is that if the seed germination is good going into the freezer it will be good coming out. Just a red neck comment he has learned from long experience.
