are my seeds still good?

[birdbrain5]

i bought a ton of seeds last year, and have them left over. they were sotred in my garage in thier packages thru the winter, dont know if that makes a difference or not. they do have experation dates on them but i feel that might not matter? i dont really want to waste time planting them if they definetly are going to sprout. should i plant them and find out, or are they definetly expired?

 

[Tinkspirit70]

I store mine in my barn and I have planted expired seeds many times, they have always sprouted. I say give it a try ;o) Good luck and Happy gardening !

 

[chicmom]

You know, once I planted old corn kernels, and they did not do well at all. They were two years old. Now, I planted some older Morning Glory flower seeds, and they did very well. I personally won't use old seeds for the garden anymore because my corn crop from last year was really crappy.

Just my humble opinion though......

 

[Rte.66_chicks]

I run germination tests on questionable seed. Dampen a paper towel, put ten or a multiple of ten seeds on it. and fold it over on top of the seeds. Slide it into a plastic bag, and set it on a plate or saucer in a warm spot, but not in direct sun. Leave the bag open, and make sure the paper towel stays damp. Check for germination every few days. Tens or multiples of ten allow for quick calculation of percent germination.

Different species have different longevities.

 

[MyKidLuvsGreenEgz]

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I plant a lot of expired seeds (actually going through all of my old ones today ... some from 2007!). The only ones that don't do well for me is old heritage corn. Something about germination rate.

 

[HHandbasket]

I think it depends on the seeds. Last week, I planted some "leftover" spinach seeds from last year, and they sprouted in FOUR DAYS. Today is day 10 since planting, and I'm growing 3 rows of beautiful, yummy spinach. Most stuff grows well in our soil, but last year we did plant some 2-year-old corn seeds that did very poorly, as others have reported. I've planted squash seeds as much as 3 years old and had a heavy-duty harvest in years past. Last year, I planted some bell pepper seeds that I had purchased in late 2008, and not a one came up, while the ones that were packed/purchased in 2010 grew and produced nice peppers.