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The Test of Time: Are these seeds any good?

February 7, 2012 By Karen Creel

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The weather has been so warm this last week, my thoughts have naturally turned to gardening. February in the south is a battleground for opposing weather fronts. Last year was ice and snow, this year, warm weather, rain, and the threat of tornados.   On any given day in February, you may be tempted to uncover those bundled up peonies, but you know this brief reprieve will be followed by colder days. The high for today is 58, but by the end of the week, the nights will be below freezing.  So what is a gardener, anxious to play in the dirt,  to do?  Well, clean of course. I found seeds downstairs in my office that were anywhere from 2-5 years old. 

I found vegetable, flower, and herb seeds.  I discarded the lettuce and cilantro, since many vegetable seeds may have a short shelf life.  The only way to see if your seeds may still be viable, is to do a seed test.

1. On a damp paper towel which has been folded in half, place about ten seeds. fold in half again, and then again into a square. 

2. Place in a plastic bag.  If less than than half of the seeds sprout in a week at room temperature, you should consider them unusable.

Four O’clocks, Shasta Daisy, Wildflower mix, Moonflower (the oldest at 5 years old), and Evening Primrose.
I will see you back next week to see if any of my seeds can be used.
Karen

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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  1. Sprouting Seeds Don’t throw those old seeds away! – Garden Chick says:
    September 6, 2014 at 9:43 am

    […] About ten days ago, I placed some old seeds on moist paper towels to see which ones would sprout.  Out of all the […]


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A Quick Note…

Gardenchick is a place for gardeners, flea market fanatics, lovers of the farmhouse look, and purveyors of all things rusty!

I’m not sure when my fascination with junk began, but gardening was in my blood from an early age.  I remember my grandmother could throw a few seeds out and have the prettiest flowers.  Sweet peas were rampant beside the front porch.  I can see her now, bent over pulling weeds, and I find myself doing the same thing anytime I’m in the yard.  My dad was raised on a large farm, and even though he moved away, and we always lived in the city, he had a garden.  He had me help him  plant a garden in May before he died in August.  So you can see, gardening just comes naturally to me.

I can’t explain the love of rusty and all things chippy, but I have dug through more barns and sheds than I would like to admit to bring out a rusty wagon or old chicken feeder.

So, I hope you will follow along, and we can learn a few things together.  I’ll be sharing gardening ideas, my flea market finds, and thrifty ways to repurpose.

 

 

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