do seeds have a shelf life?

[mommyTay]

my family is excited about getting to plant a garden this year. We found the leftover seed packs from our last garden, but the dates are older than I was expecting. Does anyone know how long the seeds are likely to still sprout after sitting in storage? did that make sense? I am typing quickly, as my kids are sorting through the seed packs on the porch.

I hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine, I need to get this garden in order. Last year, I didn't even try to start a garden for lots of overwelming reasons. The year before the weather was horrible, replanted 3 times and still didn't get anything out of the garden. So here we are, hoping to get some return from the project. Wish us luck! :tu

[Shawn]

I believe they do. Generally, seed companies and garden center employees will tell you they are good only for a year. If you don't plant them all, or at all, put them in the freezer. I have had seeds that were several years old sprout, though. Give it a try, you may be pleasantly surprised :)

I haven't really had a successful garden yet--except for those plants that thrive on neglect ;) Hope your garden grows well :smile

[Mamaka]

I believe they do. Generally, seed companies and garden center employees will tell you they are good only for a year. If you don't plant them all, or at all, put them in the freezer. I have had seeds that were several years old sprout, though. Give it a try, you may be pleasantly surprised :)


Ditto everything pp said. :) Though wanted to share that we had seeds that were several years old (one packet was at least 5) sprout. It would probably be worth a try if it won't be too disappointing if nothing comes up. Maybe start them in the house first to see if they'll work.

[Iarwain]

A tip I heard for using old seed was to take some (10 or so) of them and wet them down and wait a few days for them to germinate (like leave them in a damp paper towel or something) and then count how many started to sprout and how many didn't. Then use that to decide if you need to plant extras. Like if half germinate then you know that you need to plant double the usual amount to get the same number of plants. If seven of ten do then you need 30% more, etc... If less than half it's probably not worth the trouble.

Sometimes they still sprout, sometimes they don't. It depends on the type of seed and how they were stored.

If you've got plenty of seed and are direct seeding things like lettuce or carrots you could just plant the seed a lot more thickly than usual as insurance against ones that don't sprout and just thin out the extras if any.