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Dates on seed packets

debs64debs64 Posts: 5,184
edited March 2019 in Plants
Hi all, just been tidying up my seed boxes as it’s such a wet and windy evening here and I realised I have about a dozen packets with use by date of 2018! Mostly freebies and not a major issue but it got me wondering how strict these dates are and what would happen if I sowed the seeds? Anyone tried this? Almost tempted to sow a few just to check what happens 
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  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    If they're in sealed packs they should be fine.  If they're loose in a paper packet they may not be.  The only way to find out is to sow them.

    Seeds have been taken from the pyramids in Egypt and found to be still viable - tho not often.   Some seeds can lie dormant for years just waiting for the right conditions to germinate.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    It's when they say Use by 1985 you should start to worry......
  • Green MagpieGreen Magpie Posts: 806
    If you don't want to waste time and space on dead seeds, you could try germinating a few on damp tissue now, indoors, as a test. Most seeds will last longer than they say - the seed companies just want you to buy fresh seeds each year. 
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Not long finished a packet of Roma tomato seeds dated 1995,  just took a few out each year.  
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    I ignore them completely, much as I do with sell by/ best before on food. 
    A marketing con by manufacturers to make gullible people throw away perfectly good stuff and buy more.
    How did the human race survive before the 1970s when such things were introduced?
    Devon.
  • SkandiSkandi Posts: 1,723
    It's only to make sure that the 75 or 80% germination rate they have to guarantee will occur, most seeds will be fine for 10 years at least if they are kept cool and dry. There are some exceptions onions and the like do not last as long, but even they last longer than the 1 year you will hear people say.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    The only seeds I bought fresh every year were parsnips, then someone on here said they lasted, so that’s that myth dispelled. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    The don't turn into Triffids so no harm in trying them. Germination rate might be lower than with fresher seed but there's nothing to lose.
  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,774
    Lyn said:
    The only seeds I bought fresh every year were parsnips, then someone on here said they lasted, so that’s that myth dispelled. 
    That's interesting @Lyn as parsnips are still the one seed I still buy fresh every time maybe I don't need to.  When we covered this on the RHS course it was interesting that seed viability seems unrelated to their size. Runner Bean seed lasts for many  years French Bean seed only 2-3 max, Poppy seed is well known to lie dormant as @Obelixx says, yet they are tiny. I did find a list online but can't remember where now if I do uncover it again I may post a link.
    AB Still learning

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I have to own up to buying a new packet of parsnip seeds, just in case 😀
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

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