Quote:
Originally Posted by KarenO
It’s unlikely 40 year old seed will germinate but there is nothing to lose in trying. If you have plenty of seed try a couple of different methods.
Watch for marsha’s annual and generous seed offer in late winter. I am sending plenty zena’s gift seed to include in her offer.
KarenO
|
Yeah, I'm aware.. it's an extreme long shot, I'll agree, but I think it's a fun challenge, and I also think it would be amazing if I could wake even one of these seeds up.
For reference, there was a man named Bill who posted on here 6 years ago that he had seed of a variety called 'Walter', which he had obtained from the breeder's grandchildren, and was very interested in growing them out. Others in the thread pointed out that Walter is available elsewhere, but he stated he wanted to grow these due to the personal connection.
Original Walter thread is here
I responded to Bill, and he sent me a bunch of the seed he had.. this was back in 2011, and the seeds are even older now. I figured that since I'm finally getting back to proper gardening, I'd use this as an opportunity to give these seeds a go.
.. as it stands, about 80% of my current seed collection is over 10-years-old anyways, and I'll be starting quite a few of them alongside the Walter seeds. Heck, only one of the 9 varieties I've currently got slated to start this week for my fall/winter grow is less than 10 years old.