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Testing old seeds for viability🌱

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Posts

  • josusa47josusa47 Posts: 3,530
    The general rule is the larger the seed, the shorter the viability.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    So I might have more luck with the 'dust' ones. I find cosmos seeds keep well so I will put them in compost straight away
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • AstroAstro Posts: 433
    Fairygirl said:
     Warmth and light for me every time, as it replicates it's natural environment.

    Oh @f@Fairygirl please don't suggest my black sock is redundant 😆. I gathered the heat was important and I'd put it on a radiator and then at a west facing window for the heat.

    Prior I'd  had  been suggested they didn't want bright light, this was on GW too. Anyway if you are having success I'll try again without the black sock and see if I can some germination 😉.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Excavated one of the 9 years old dwarf beans ( borlotto) I sowed in pots  about a week ago. It's plumping up nicely
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    8 year old beetroot  seeds 
    Are they supposed  to look like this?

    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Why not try both @Astro? Wee experiments are always a good idea. 
    Then you can find another use for the socks if you find them  unnecessary. 
    Tea  cosy maybe ?  :D

    Sometimes, it just comes down to timing. A lot of stuff on Gardener's World isn't relevant for me up here, and I don't often watch it.
    My windows at the back face roughly south east, and I just turn the seedlings to keep them 'upright'  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • josusa47josusa47 Posts: 3,530
    B3 said:
    8 year old beetroot  seeds 
    Are they supposed  to look like this?

    That's what new ones look like.
  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,318
    and according to my seed diary viable for 5years+ @B3 !
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Great. I'll give them a try. Thanks @josusa47
    In London. Keen but lazy.
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