MichaelSanders
Active Member
Would these be considered heirloom? I found them while searching through my backpack. I been hanging on to them for awhile but never realized how old they were.
2003 Tomato seeds
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Would these be considered heirloom? I found them while searching through my backpack. I been hanging on to them for awhile but never realized how old they were.
Tomato seed has about a 4 year life expectancy.
Bob
Life expectancy of vegetable seeds:
https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/1999/4-2-1999/veggielife.html
Bob
Life expectancy of vegetable seeds:
https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/1999/4-2-1999/veggielife.html
greenmonster714
Well-Known Member
They look like those $1.49 seeds you find in a rack at the local dollar store. Hell, they may pop for ya. Ya never know.
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
Oh, I'm bookmarking that one. Thanks Bob.
Interesting, don't tell the seed that.. The oldest Tomato seed I have been growing was 8 years old. The growing % was low but out of 20seeds I got 3 or 4 plants, so give them a chance..
ProfessorPangloss
Amateur Kentuckian
I've gotten 15 year old seeds to germinate before, for what it's worth. That said, I'm going to start saving my own heirlooms and buying new seeds every year for my market gardening because the low germination rate makes the savings of using last year's seeds unjustifiable. I'm suffering from low germination rates right now for some of my varieties.
ChinaVoodoo
Moderator
I don't think anyone answered the first question. I don't think they are heirloom. "Large Red Cherry Tomato" seems like a generic name.
Last year, I purchased a fresh packet of Feher Ozon Paprika (a pepper). They germinated well, but the rabbits ate them to the ground. No paprika. I stored the seed in a cool, dry place (like all my veggie seeds).
Glue on the thermometer makes it look like 100ºF. It's actually 75º.
A month ago, I started the same seed again indoors. Nothing germinated. Nada. I took more of the seed, and placed them on a wet paper towel, inside a closed Ziplock bag that was then placed on a seedling heat mat--steady 75ºF. I marked the bag with the start date, as well as the germination date predicted by the text on the seed packet. Fewer than 1/6 of them germinated. At the same time, I started a similarly 1 year old pepper variety (Dulce de Espagñe) in a second Ziplock. This different variety germinated well. The latter germinated seeds were then individually transplanted into small pots of seedling mix. Since their tiny roots had penetrated into the paper towel material, I just snipped out a piece of paper towel surrounding each germinated seed, and placed the germinated seeds, accompanied by their little world of paper into the soil mix.
One sickly Feher Ozon Paprika.
If you have old seed, you can test its germination this way, and still used those same seeds to produce plants--if they germinate.
Tobacco seed can be done the same way, but I consider it to be a lot of fuss if they have been stored properly, and are less than, say 8 years old.
Bob
Glue on the thermometer makes it look like 100ºF. It's actually 75º.
A month ago, I started the same seed again indoors. Nothing germinated. Nada. I took more of the seed, and placed them on a wet paper towel, inside a closed Ziplock bag that was then placed on a seedling heat mat--steady 75ºF. I marked the bag with the start date, as well as the germination date predicted by the text on the seed packet. Fewer than 1/6 of them germinated. At the same time, I started a similarly 1 year old pepper variety (Dulce de Espagñe) in a second Ziplock. This different variety germinated well. The latter germinated seeds were then individually transplanted into small pots of seedling mix. Since their tiny roots had penetrated into the paper towel material, I just snipped out a piece of paper towel surrounding each germinated seed, and placed the germinated seeds, accompanied by their little world of paper into the soil mix.
One sickly Feher Ozon Paprika.
If you have old seed, you can test its germination this way, and still used those same seeds to produce plants--if they germinate.
Tobacco seed can be done the same way, but I consider it to be a lot of fuss if they have been stored properly, and are less than, say 8 years old.
Bob
ArizonaDave
Well-Known Member
I keep my seeds in the refrigerator in their own ziplock, and inside a clear plastic pint food storage container. So far, I've never not had seeds germinate. Then again, I've never grown seed over 6-7 years to my knowledge.
I think that the most you can understand from the tables of seed lifespan is the trending. Corn, for example, isn't worth a hoot after several years. Peas and beans last longer. Cucumber seed lasts a long time. A decade is too long for most plants. Unfortunately, most leftover seed is stored in a kitchen drawer or a box in the corner.
To avoid disappointment from a timely planting of seed into the garden, either use fresh seed or run a germination test. In 2016, I planted seed for Guatemala Blue squash--a truly huge banana squash from which I had harvested seed 5 years earlier. After waiting two weeks into the season, I realized that it was not going to germinate at all. The 5 year storage was within the average viable period, but it was dead seed.
(As a consolation, this year I am planting fresh seed of North Georgia Candy Roaster squash.)
Bob
To avoid disappointment from a timely planting of seed into the garden, either use fresh seed or run a germination test. In 2016, I planted seed for Guatemala Blue squash--a truly huge banana squash from which I had harvested seed 5 years earlier. After waiting two weeks into the season, I realized that it was not going to germinate at all. The 5 year storage was within the average viable period, but it was dead seed.
(As a consolation, this year I am planting fresh seed of North Georgia Candy Roaster squash.)
Bob
Gavroche
Well-Known Member
Please, is it good haircut leaf tomato as tobacco ?
Interesting question. I don't know the answer.
Bob
Bob
My vegetable seeds were always stored in baggies in a tupperware, germination after a couple years usually was less than stellar. Unfortunately I saved seed from tobacco with the same results.
Then I read about storing tobacco seed in airtight containers with desiccant in a stable temp such as the basement and out of the light. Apparently this is supposed to extend germination for many years as well as not reducing vigor as seen in long storage tests.
I'll eventually migrate all my stored seed over to this and I haven't personally waited the 19 years they observed to verify it works but it's how I'm storing them from now on anyway.
Then I read about storing tobacco seed in airtight containers with desiccant in a stable temp such as the basement and out of the light. Apparently this is supposed to extend germination for many years as well as not reducing vigor as seen in long storage tests.
I'll eventually migrate all my stored seed over to this and I haven't personally waited the 19 years they observed to verify it works but it's how I'm storing them from now on anyway.
A fast answer on that is yes you can.It's also good to good to keep the level of leaf down on a tomato plant, it's not the leaf you want on it (like on the tobacco plant). So I don't say "take away all leaf's" but don't save all leaf on it. It's no reason to let the plant put to much energy on the leaf.. Let the plant be little afraid and put more flowers (so you get more fruit)..
Gavroche
Well-Known Member
Merci Hasse... avez vous commencé vos plantations ?
Thank you Hasse ... began you your plantations?
Thank you Hasse ... began you your plantations?
MichaelSanders
Active Member
I'd suspect that the seed expiration date is probably why Dollar stores have seeds sales. Correct me if I'm wrong but my local store has them 10/$1.00.
Gavroche
Well-Known Member
Eat organic tomatoes no F1, recover the seeds ... no dollar!
Manger des tomates, récupérer les graines... pas de dollar !
Manger des tomates, récupérer les graines... pas de dollar !
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