seed viability

[masterBK]

Just over a week ago sorting through the contents of a cupboard draw I discovered an opened packet of tomato seed (gardeners delight) I bought and used in 2014. Out of curiosity I sowed the two dozen of these 7 yr old seeds and today noticed that just over 70% of them have geminated.

 

[Erichalfbee]

And yet some seeds are dreadful. I have always had trouble with parsnips but @pargyle introduced me to a foolproof way last year.

I put half used seed in foil and put in freezer.

Gardeners delight not my favourite tomato.

 

[B+.]

And yet some seeds are dreadful. I have always had trouble with parsnips but @pargyle introduced me to a foolproof way last year.

I put half used seed in foil and put in freezer.

Gardeners delight not my favourite tomato.

Geoff Hamilton used to recommend sowing parsnip seeds into wallpaper paste inside a clear plastic bag - then snipping the corner and squirting the germinated seed down the row. I never had much luck with parsnips - it must be the soil around here.
Tomatoes are usually indestructible! I ignore the date on a packet of tomato seeds.
Lettuce are good the year they are opened, then not so reliable.
My wife bought me a subscription to "Grow Your Own" gardening magazine last year. The magazine is rubbish but it comes with ~ 10 packets of seeds each month. It was worth the subscription for that alone! I have a boxful of seeds now (all with reasonable "use by" dates on too)

 

[BugsInABox]

And yet some seeds are dreadful. I have always had trouble with parsnips but @pargyle introduced me to a foolproof way last year.

I put half used seed in foil and put in freezer.

Gardeners delight not my favourite tomato.

What is a half used seed?

 

[Erichalfbee]

What is a half used seed?

A packet of seeds with half, approximately, the original number remaining, the other half having been sown.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

And yet some seeds are dreadful. I have always had trouble with parsnips

the seeds 'go off' very quickly so there's no point in hoarding them, i used to plant them in groups of three seeds, then just chose the best one if they all came up

Gardeners delight not my favourite tomato.

just a bog standard 'mass produced' tomato, they reckon the tastiest tomato is black russian/cuban black, I must say it is very tasty, always been fond of Shirley and cherry tomatoes like black cherry or harlequin.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I grow lots of Sungold which are my favourite and usually try two or three other varieties. This year Marmande Gigantomo and Polish Linguisa.

 

[Pugmitch]

Sungold is the sweetest tomato by a long way. Only slightly larger than a cherry though for those who prefer ‘normal’ size tomatoes.
Also like the ‘boring’ Alisa Craig which, if you save the seed, will come true. Suits a cheapskate like me!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I grow lots of Sungold which are my favourite and usually try two or three other varieties. This year Marmande Gigantomo and Polish Linguisa.

sungold is another nice one

 

[amandaj57]

I always end up with a lot of tomato seedlings which are variety unknown. It is one of the joys of the wormery. When you feed them tomatoes the seed sits in the most gorgeous compost so as soon as you use it and it gets some light you can almost guarantee quite a few tomato seedlings to be weeded out.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Tomatoes are usually indestructible!

the forests of tomato plants around our local sewage works is testimony to that, you get amazingly plump, juicy and tasty fruits off them too.

 

[B+.]

the forests of tomato plants around our local sewage works is testimony to that, you get amazingly plump, juicy and tasty fruits off them too.

That was....just a little too much information, thank you.

 

[Fritillary]

PR sucker here just couldn't resist trying Honeybee and Purple Bumble Bee tomato seed this year - as well as previous favourite Costoluto Fiorentino.

 

[Erichalfbee]

PR sucker here just couldn't resist trying Honeybee and Purple Bumble Bee tomato seed this year - as well as previous favourite Costoluto Fiorentino.

How lovely.....do let us know how you get on
I tried Costoluto last year.....processed all those into pasta sauce which we are still eating

 

[Gilberdyke John]

That was....just a little too much information, thank you.

the forests of tomato plants around our local sewage works is testimony to that, you get amazingly plump, juicy and tasty fruits off them too.

My father was a commercial tomato grower. He bought all his seed from D T Brown of Poulton Le Fylde. The packets bore the legend "acid treated" which simulated passing through a stomach to strip off an outer layer from the seed to aid germination

 

[Goran]

The problem with the seed at my place occur as they the seed from last season repack and write new date.. Even once they were lazy and above old expiry date stamped new one.. Paprika/ peppers usually come with that, as soon as I see slow germination I know that they got me.........
I get other problem with beans from Italy - seed come infected as it seems to me. So I now avoid beans from Italy..

 

[Amari]

A few days ago I wrote to our parish council to suggest using our village Gilbert Scott red telephone box (recently purchased for £1) as a seed exchange. I've not heard back yet.

 

[E&MBees]

The community garden that I work for recently piloted a project- giving out seeds, compost and propagators to people who are lonely and vulnerable. We are going to run a plant swap later in the spring. It was so popular that the village council & the local town council have ordered another 500 sets for us to distribute. It may not seem much to some, but we are a very small enterprise. They are hoping to promote healthy eating and community cohesion. Each household will be encouraged to share plants, knowledge, etc (obviously in a covid safe way).

 

[madasafish]

I reseal my seed packets with sellotape and then seal them inside the outside decorated wrapping they come in.
Seeds last much longer. I have sown tomato seeds 5 years old which germinated.

Of course I was educated in Aberdeen and Aberdonians make Yorkshire folk look like spendthrifts.

My father in law's motto was "Tell me what you want and I'll show you how to do without it"

 

[charlievictorbravo]

I grew a new (to me) variety last year called Maskotka. It's a Polish bush variety. I had three plants in a large pot and it was producing masses of fruits from July to November. The seed was given away free with Gardeners' World magazine but have not seen that variety in the local garden centres.

A very sweet prolific cherry variety is Sweetie but it has an unfortunate habit of dropping fruits when they're ripe.

CVB