A short while ago, i was given loads of seeds from a gent that could no linger garden, the only hing is, some of the packing dates go back 10 or more years!! Do i bin them or keep them and see what happens? :-\
Andy,
assuming these are Veggie seeds ?
try doing a germination test on a few seeds of each variety. Just place some kitchen roll in a Yoghurt pot (or whatever) soak the tissue then place the seeds on the surface.
Cover with cling film and an elastic band. Keep indoors, kitchen or somewhere reasonably warm ... not hot.
Depending on variety you should see 'baby' roots appearing within a few days, if no sign of life after a couple of weeks assume the seed is no longer viable.
As a guide, Tomatoes usually germinate within 5 to 10 days.
Alternatively just sow 'em and see what happens
Good luck
Doing a germination test as Mikey suggested is the easiest way to work out if the seed is still viable. Most people only buy fresh parsnip seeds anually everything else is usually fine even if it is a few years out of date as long as it hasn't been left somewhere damp where the seeds can go mouldy.
This is a very generalised rule but all seeds have a food source - if starch based (tomatoes, chillies, peas, beans..) they are viable for years. If oil based (carrots, parsnips, onions, basil..) they go off much faster. But there are always exceptions like sweetcorn, starch based but don't keep well. Some people intentionally use old seed for things like melons as they believe older seed produces more female flowers therefore more fruit although I am a bit sceptical about that.
Didn't Kew manage to germinate some "seed" samples from an 18th C ledger this last year?
:-\
It doesn't hurt to give them a try - what have you got to lose other than a bit of time.
Hiya guys, the general theme seems to be , " give em a go " so thats what i'll do. Some warmth in the green house should do nicely. Merry Xmas to everyone on A4 All, and a Happy New Growing Year too. ;D ;D ;D
Im tight ;D
I even pre germinate parsnip seeds at home and then sow them in drills, good way to know they will flipping germinate !!
Quote from: andyc741 on December 24, 2007, 16:30:12
A short while ago, i was given loads of seeds from a gent that could no linger garden, the only hing is, some of the packing dates go back 10 or more years!! Do i bin them or keep them and see what happens? :-\
Keep them and try.
There is a theory out there that for plants such as melons and pumpkins, the older the seed, the more female flowers are set.
Also, I recall reading an article several years ago where the author found a tin of sweetpea seeds in her attic that were nearly 100 years old - she still got about 50% germination out of them, so 10 years or a bit more might not have done too much damage to the seed, provided they were stored properly.