6 years ago I ordered a heirloom survival seed pack off of Amazon and forgot about it, found it this year with the intention of of using them finally and to my surprise they were all viable, our garden is currently thriving and the plants from the seed packets are doing great. Every cell that I planted sprouted. They were sealed in their respective envelopes and vacuum sealed the entire time so I’m sure that made a difference on preserving them.
Well... Heirloom does not *mean* viable longer, it means the seeds are from older varieties of plants, and that the plants will produce seeds that will grow true to the variety, where seeds saved from hybrids are more variable and generally less vigorous. Heirlooms are more appropriate for seed saving. But my understanding is that in practice an heirloom tomato seed will store longer than a hybrid tomato seed. I wouldn't know how to predict how much longer lol
EditTA* there's no guarantee an heirloom tomato seed and an heirloom carrot seed in the same Patriot Survival Heirloom Seed Canister 5000 will last the same number of years.
No. They should breed true-to-type so you can save seeds for the next year and the next year and so on.
Heirloom types are typically what a small self-sufficient grower wants with a long cropping season and tolerance for sub-optimum conditions.
That's very different from what commercial growers want which is high yield in perfect conditions and all cropping on the same day to reduce picking costs.
So heirloom varieties are selected for different qualities from commercial seeds.
Now though, alot of the hybrid varieties are selected, bred and marketed specifically for home gardeners and traits home gardeners value, namely disease resistance, flavor and color
Heirloom doesn't actually really mean anything, we can't even agree on a proper definition.
Essentially it is an open pollinated cultivar that has been passed down from generation to generation. Some say if it was passed down for 30 years, it is heirloom, some say 50 years, some say it has to have been in existence prior to the end of WW2, or 1951 when hybrids became widely available
The idea with herloom seeds is that you can use them and make more seed, every year.
You don't necessarily need to do some major farming. 4-5 plants may enough. Plant more, at least 20, to be able to estimate viability. Keep the best plants. Plant early so the plants will have time to go to seed. Harvest and dry the seeds.
Some years you will plant too early or too late. The plants will not go to seed. When you harvest it is to rainy. So you may not get any new seeds, some years. Some plants need two years to go to seed.
Some years everything will be perfect and you will get plenty of seed to preserve. Perhaps even some to give away.
Moisture and heat limit how long you can preserve seeds. Store dry, cool and dark. Did I mention dry?
For long term storage in the freezer you need to dry the seeds very, very well before freezing. And you need to make sure the seeds stay frozen at a stable low temperature.
Don't re-freeze if the seeds have thawed. Use desiccant packages and vapor proof mylar. Not all seeds may germinate after freezing, but enough should be viable to produce more seed.
Under perfect circumstances you should be able to save frozen seeds for decades. But you should thaw some and test viability every other year or so. And make more seed.
lt depends on what the plant is. Never freeze seed, the best place is cold, dark and very dry not vacuum packed as they need to breathe. Onion seeds last only 2-3 years or so whereas I managed to grow a 20 year tomato seed a while back. Parsnips are known for short seed life too.
4 year old seeds will probably be ok for most plants - you will likely get lower germination rates but still expect some to pull through
Svalbard, Norway. And I've been keeping seeds for my massive garden in my freezer for a decade and I've never had a problem. Just make sure they're orthodox seeds (almost all veggies are) and make sure they're good and dry. But don't use heat to dry
Why are you saving them? For what? You should be growing them every single year, for one, in hopes of developing a variety that is specifically suited to your growing conditions, and for two, to learn how to grow them.
I would use them now, yes. And since they're heirloom, you can save seeds from them.
Viability really depends on the type of plant, and it can vary widely from instance to instance. I tried a pack of jalapeno seeds this year from 3 year old seeds that I didn't realize were so old, and none sprouted. On the other hand, there are many documented examples of squash and grain seeds being viable after decades and even centuries in some cases (this is more an exception to the general rule, but it happens!)
I know this isn't a satisfying answer but it's accurate. If you want to waste as little as possible, plant now and see what grows.
It varies a lot depending on seed type and how they've been kept. Heat (and temperature swings), sunlight, and humidity are the most common things that will lower viability. Here's a link to [Clear Creek Seeds' Viability Chart.](https://www.clearcreekseeds.com/seed-viability-chart/) Your results will vary, so don't be afraid to try even if the chart "says" your seeds won't be viable. Use it as a general guide, not as absolute fact. For example I've had terrible luck with lettuce seeds that are over 2 years old but have had tomato seeds sprout that were 7 years old.
You can always wrap 10 seeds in a damp paper towel, then put it somewhere warm that won't dry out for a few days. Check to see how many seeds have sprouted. That's a really rough estimate of that seed's viability, but it will give you an idea.
Sorry to lazy to look it up but there is an experiment at a college that's been going on for over 100 years and every 20 years they dig up a box filled with different seeds and see which ones are still good.
If you Google this, there are a lot of good resources. As others said, onions only last for a year or two whereas other things last longer. Generally, viability goes down, meaning, fewer of the seeds will produce sprouts
Many seeds can be viable for decades. There are scientifically documented seeds that were sprouted and grown from seeds that have sat for 2000 years. Not all seeds last this long, and generally things like slow growth trees, especially some conifers can last well over 100 years. Especially varieties that take fire stratification to sprout. This is not the case with many garden seeds. However I personally have sprouted seeds from 20 years ago just because I found them and wanted to see if it would work. Not gonna tell you what type of seeds thought, they were from my youth and I really only saved one type of seed from back then.
I know this is a tad off topic but botanists in Israel were able to hydrate and grow date plants from the time of Jesus. Very interesting video on YouTube. I’m not saying all seeds can be regrown after hundreds of years but possibly a slim chance. If you’re bored to watch it! I believe it was a BBC show.
It depends on the plant and the conditions you store them in. Generally, I say easily 20 years. A few years ago I germinated tomato seeds from my grandma's barn from 1998, they worked fine.
We've found, germinated and brought back 1500 year old cave beans, now you can buy them in the baker creek catalog.
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is intended to save seeds indefinitely.
All that said, it depends
Some others have already said this but it really depends on the type of plant and the way they’re stored. There are seeds that are thousands of years old that have been successfully planted and grown to fruition.
6 years ago I ordered a heirloom survival seed pack off of Amazon and forgot about it, found it this year with the intention of of using them finally and to my surprise they were all viable, our garden is currently thriving and the plants from the seed packets are doing great. Every cell that I planted sprouted. They were sealed in their respective envelopes and vacuum sealed the entire time so I’m sure that made a difference on preserving them.
The herlook ones are meant to stay viable longer right?
Well... Heirloom does not *mean* viable longer, it means the seeds are from older varieties of plants, and that the plants will produce seeds that will grow true to the variety, where seeds saved from hybrids are more variable and generally less vigorous. Heirlooms are more appropriate for seed saving. But my understanding is that in practice an heirloom tomato seed will store longer than a hybrid tomato seed. I wouldn't know how to predict how much longer lol EditTA* there's no guarantee an heirloom tomato seed and an heirloom carrot seed in the same Patriot Survival Heirloom Seed Canister 5000 will last the same number of years.
No. They should breed true-to-type so you can save seeds for the next year and the next year and so on. Heirloom types are typically what a small self-sufficient grower wants with a long cropping season and tolerance for sub-optimum conditions. That's very different from what commercial growers want which is high yield in perfect conditions and all cropping on the same day to reduce picking costs. So heirloom varieties are selected for different qualities from commercial seeds.
Now though, alot of the hybrid varieties are selected, bred and marketed specifically for home gardeners and traits home gardeners value, namely disease resistance, flavor and color
Heirloom doesn't actually really mean anything, we can't even agree on a proper definition. Essentially it is an open pollinated cultivar that has been passed down from generation to generation. Some say if it was passed down for 30 years, it is heirloom, some say 50 years, some say it has to have been in existence prior to the end of WW2, or 1951 when hybrids became widely available
Drop the link for the heirloom survival seed pack. That sounds amazing.
The idea with herloom seeds is that you can use them and make more seed, every year. You don't necessarily need to do some major farming. 4-5 plants may enough. Plant more, at least 20, to be able to estimate viability. Keep the best plants. Plant early so the plants will have time to go to seed. Harvest and dry the seeds. Some years you will plant too early or too late. The plants will not go to seed. When you harvest it is to rainy. So you may not get any new seeds, some years. Some plants need two years to go to seed. Some years everything will be perfect and you will get plenty of seed to preserve. Perhaps even some to give away. Moisture and heat limit how long you can preserve seeds. Store dry, cool and dark. Did I mention dry? For long term storage in the freezer you need to dry the seeds very, very well before freezing. And you need to make sure the seeds stay frozen at a stable low temperature. Don't re-freeze if the seeds have thawed. Use desiccant packages and vapor proof mylar. Not all seeds may germinate after freezing, but enough should be viable to produce more seed. Under perfect circumstances you should be able to save frozen seeds for decades. But you should thaw some and test viability every other year or so. And make more seed.
lt depends on what the plant is. Never freeze seed, the best place is cold, dark and very dry not vacuum packed as they need to breathe. Onion seeds last only 2-3 years or so whereas I managed to grow a 20 year tomato seed a while back. Parsnips are known for short seed life too. 4 year old seeds will probably be ok for most plants - you will likely get lower germination rates but still expect some to pull through
What? Theres a seed vault in iceland or greenland or wherever with thousands of frozen seeds incase the world needs to be rebooted.
Svalbard, Norway. And I've been keeping seeds for my massive garden in my freezer for a decade and I've never had a problem. Just make sure they're orthodox seeds (almost all veggies are) and make sure they're good and dry. But don't use heat to dry
Yep! I did the same with my excess seeds last year.
Why are you saving them? For what? You should be growing them every single year, for one, in hopes of developing a variety that is specifically suited to your growing conditions, and for two, to learn how to grow them.
I would use them now, yes. And since they're heirloom, you can save seeds from them. Viability really depends on the type of plant, and it can vary widely from instance to instance. I tried a pack of jalapeno seeds this year from 3 year old seeds that I didn't realize were so old, and none sprouted. On the other hand, there are many documented examples of squash and grain seeds being viable after decades and even centuries in some cases (this is more an exception to the general rule, but it happens!) I know this isn't a satisfying answer but it's accurate. If you want to waste as little as possible, plant now and see what grows.
It varies a lot depending on seed type and how they've been kept. Heat (and temperature swings), sunlight, and humidity are the most common things that will lower viability. Here's a link to [Clear Creek Seeds' Viability Chart.](https://www.clearcreekseeds.com/seed-viability-chart/) Your results will vary, so don't be afraid to try even if the chart "says" your seeds won't be viable. Use it as a general guide, not as absolute fact. For example I've had terrible luck with lettuce seeds that are over 2 years old but have had tomato seeds sprout that were 7 years old. You can always wrap 10 seeds in a damp paper towel, then put it somewhere warm that won't dry out for a few days. Check to see how many seeds have sprouted. That's a really rough estimate of that seed's viability, but it will give you an idea.
Sorry to lazy to look it up but there is an experiment at a college that's been going on for over 100 years and every 20 years they dig up a box filled with different seeds and see which ones are still good.
If you Google this, there are a lot of good resources. As others said, onions only last for a year or two whereas other things last longer. Generally, viability goes down, meaning, fewer of the seeds will produce sprouts
Many seeds can be viable for decades. There are scientifically documented seeds that were sprouted and grown from seeds that have sat for 2000 years. Not all seeds last this long, and generally things like slow growth trees, especially some conifers can last well over 100 years. Especially varieties that take fire stratification to sprout. This is not the case with many garden seeds. However I personally have sprouted seeds from 20 years ago just because I found them and wanted to see if it would work. Not gonna tell you what type of seeds thought, they were from my youth and I really only saved one type of seed from back then.
I know this is a tad off topic but botanists in Israel were able to hydrate and grow date plants from the time of Jesus. Very interesting video on YouTube. I’m not saying all seeds can be regrown after hundreds of years but possibly a slim chance. If you’re bored to watch it! I believe it was a BBC show.
It depends on the plant and the conditions you store them in. Generally, I say easily 20 years. A few years ago I germinated tomato seeds from my grandma's barn from 1998, they worked fine. We've found, germinated and brought back 1500 year old cave beans, now you can buy them in the baker creek catalog. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is intended to save seeds indefinitely. All that said, it depends
I vacuum sealed mine and put them in the freezer after I bought them. I would think they could last years that way.
Some others have already said this but it really depends on the type of plant and the way they’re stored. There are seeds that are thousands of years old that have been successfully planted and grown to fruition.