storing seeds.
 

Well I went and did it. I bought a fews seeds on line from some people on this site. I've got plenty of plants to try this yr so I'm wanting to store these and try next yr or the following yr. My question is how long do seeds stay usable an how do I store them..I'm afraid I'm starting another addiction that could cost me:lol:

If you keep them dry and preferably somewhere that's not too hot, they'll keep for several years without being difficult to germinate. There should be other threads about this topic- recently someone inquired about very long storage.

I have had practically 100% germination from seeds I saved from 2007.
I stored them in coin envelopes in a box in the house.
I will say I seem to have better luck with seeds I collect and save than commercial seeds.
At this time I am trying to revive seeds from 2004 that Carolyn sent me.

I will keep you all posted on the results.
I soaked them over night in a weak solution of MG and sowed them yesterday.

Worth

[QUOTE=Worth1;250537]And I will keep you all posted on the results.
I soaked them over night in a weak solution of MG and sowed them yesterday.

Worth[/QUOTE]

Worth, I think you may be referring to the seeds that I sent you quite a while ago and didn't get to you until you had to go back to Alaska. I know Wes was one, that was I think from 2004 and I can't remember the others now.

[QUOTE=carolyn137;250538]Worth, I think you may be referring to the seeds that I sent you quite a while ago and didn't get to you until you had to go back to Alaska. I know Wes was one, that was I think from 2004 and I can't remember the others now.[/QUOTE]

Yes it was the Wes seeds that were from 2004, the others were---

Fish Lake Oxheart 2011
Granny's Heart 2011,
linnie's Oxheart 2008,

Even with the late start I dont think I will have a problem setting fruit this year.
Again thanks for the seeds.

Worth

augiedog55,

Of the varieties I sent you, Stupice and Berkeley Tie-Dye Heart should have ~90% germination after 3-4 years. The rest should be good for 5 years at least. (they are this season's seed) No special storage is necessary, just keep them dry and avoid extreme heat. (I store mine in the barn).

And thanks for the order:)

Steve

thank you all for the help

Don't want to brag or anything, but I think I have found a GREAT way to
save collected seeds. I read a post (somewhere) last night where a gal had
found a clear plastic compartmented tray at Harbor Freight, so I went there
and they have two sizes. The small has probably20 compartments and the
large had probably 40. She did not explain how she stored her seeds within
each of those compartments.

Now, here is the kicker. If you know anyone that is a testing diabetic, they
get those little testing strips in little plastic snap shut tight cannisters about
the size of the old kodak film. Those little cannisters fit almost exactly into
each compartment. I would estimate that the cannisters can hold 800 seeds.
So, now the seeds are secure, can be seen without opening the case and
the cases are stackable for those of you that have hundreds of varieties
saved. I already had been using the cannisters, but just had them sitting in
old ice-cube trays which the cat dumped out once already. I can't believe how
great this worked out and I can't find the thread so I can thank the poster.

I've always kept mine in the freezer in small envelopes. Envelopes go in a ziploc bag, which goes in a manilla envelope.

Only thing with putting them in the freezer is they sweat or condense moisture onto them when you take them out unless you let them sit until they're totally room temp. I keep mine in the paper envelopes in a metal box, has the advantage of being bug/rodent proof too.

Here is a pic of my seed storage idea. I put them in those canister strips from craft stores that are used for paint. I label them with the the little round stickers usually used for pricing yard sale items. They fit on the top of each canister perfectly. Then I put the strips in a metal file box. They stack neatly and take up little space. I can keep different types of seed together (a strip of dwarf seeds, a strip of cherry tomato seeds) or same-variety but different years or seed sources.

It works for me.

I have some old tomato seeds that I did not store carefully- they've moved with me several times- and have lived in basements, and on shelves in closets. I have recently test germinated 3 packets and got 90% germination in less than 1 week using the paper towel method, here are the varieties, sources and age:

Reif Red Heart 1997 Johnny's
Kotlas 1997 Johnny's
Grandma Mary's Paste 1997 Fedco (still one seed in the paper towel- not giving up yet since 3 germinated this morning)

Tomato seeds seem to be pretty hardy! This has not been the case for other types of veggies. I had 0% germination on broccoli, lettuce, cucumbers and winter squash from the same sources and ages. Other veggies which have germinated well are peas (100%), beans (90%), radish (90%). It's been an interesting experiment so far!

These types of experiments are really useful because they teach us all something! In my big time old seed testing last year, the cut off point for me was between 1993/1994 and 1995. So - in 2011 - that meant 16 year old seed was still managing fairly well, but 17 or 18 year old seed was really having a hard time of it. And that is no special storage (first my garage - which had temp extremes - later my office - in screw tap glass vials).

Am repeating a similar experiment with peppers this year, but expect far less good results.