Do most people keep seeds from one year to the next? And if so, how many years would you keep them...? Just thinking about seed sowing for the first time... thinking of cosmos, nigella, sunflowers...
I've not got around to sorting my seeds yet - the tins have been in the utility room since the end of Nov waiting.... Suffice to say it's not a job I do regularly and I'm pretty sure there are a couple of packets in there which might be eligible to vote soon. Certainly a lot of 5+ year olds.🤭
If there is something I particularly want to grow and to do well I buy a new packet of seeds.
Many unopened packets will keep for a couple of seasons.
Somethings I know will be fine if they were opened last season (lettuce and most other veg & herb seeds). Cosmos and nigella also seem to be ok but possibly with a reduced germination rate
Somethings seem to last a goodly while (eg poppies and peas - although I sometimes soak really old peas)
If I come across an older packet & fancy giving it a go I usually sow more thickly than normal in the expectation that there will be a higher than normal failure rate.
I know there are some old packets of flax, cornflowers and poppies in there. I may take B3's approach this year and have a mini wildflower patch....
Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
Do most people keep seeds from one year to the next? And if so, how many years would you keep them...? Just thinking about seed sowing for the first time... thinking of cosmos, nigella, sunflowers...
One of my annual resolutions is to get all the seeds sown. it works OK for the first ones that need a cold start. It works for those that need sowing about March. But all those that I was going to direct sow are still sitting there from last year. Packet seeds usually have a sow by date. I'd add a couple of years at least to that for most seeds
Thanks for that, I'll check the 'sow by' dates on the packets. Because I'm usually a bit of a pessimistic gardener, I'm always loathe to spend time on stuff that may have a lower germination rate, but I guess then it makes sense to sow the seeds more densely. Nothing to lose, I guess...
Some years ago I was given some heirloom variety tomato seeds by a forum member and tomato expert ... IIRC some were from the early 2000s , possibly earlier ... I’m still getting almost 100% germination from them
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
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“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
Suffice to say it's not a job I do regularly and I'm pretty sure there are a couple of packets in there which might be eligible to vote soon. Certainly a lot of 5+ year olds.🤭
If there is something I particularly want to grow and to do well I buy a new packet of seeds.
Many unopened packets will keep for a couple of seasons.
Somethings I know will be fine if they were opened last season (lettuce and most other veg & herb seeds). Cosmos and nigella also seem to be ok but possibly with a reduced germination rate
Somethings seem to last a goodly while (eg poppies and peas - although I sometimes soak really old peas)
If I come across an older packet & fancy giving it a go I usually sow more thickly than normal in the expectation that there will be a higher than normal failure rate.
I know there are some old packets of flax, cornflowers and poppies in there. I may take B3's approach this year and have a mini wildflower patch....
Packet seeds usually have a sow by date. I'd add a couple of years at least to that for most seeds
In the sticks near Peterborough
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.