Garden Chick photos
  • Garden Chick Blog
  • My Story
  • Photo Album
  • Contact
  • Gardenchick Coaching »
    • You Buy, We’ll Plant Together
    • Garden Consultation
    • Garden Maintenance
    • Virtual Consult
    • Garden Workshop

Will Old Seeds Germinate?

February 18, 2009 By Karen Creel

Share Button

I was cleaning out my office storage cabinet this week, and found some flower seeds that I had purchased for a project. I thought I would till up an area around my shed and scatter the seeds this spring, but I didn’t want to waste the time and effort of planting the seeds if they wouldn’t germinate. And why buy more seeds if these were okay. So…. to test these seeds here is what I have done.
I have taken a few seeds from each pack and placed them on a dampened paper towel. Fold the towel over them. Placed them in a zip lock bag to keep the seeds and towel damp. I labeled the bag so I would know which seeds were germinating. I placed the bags in a warm place 70 to 75 degrees, but not in direct sun. I will need to check them daily to be sure the towel is still damp, and check for germination. Depending on the seed, they may sprout in a few days or several weeks. This will work with annuals or vegetable seeds, but may not with perennial seeds.

Filed Under: germination of old seeds, testing seed viability

« Website Redo
Beehive »

Comments

  1. Jan (Thanks For 2 Day) says

    February 19, 2009 at 3:55 am

    Thanks for the great info. I’m new to seeds…I just got the seed-fever by reading all these gardening blogs! But I’ve been wondering about this very question! Now I’ll know what to try next year and even after that–and I know not to throw seeds out unnecessarily!

  2. Karen Creel says

    February 22, 2009 at 2:07 am

    Jan, in my newest post I show that all of the seeds germinated.
    Karen


Instagram   Pinterest   contact me
Garden Chick Newsletter
We promise not to send weeds (or spam). Just thoughtful, helpful gardening-related content :)

Follow my Blog!

Enter your email address to follow my blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 60 other subscribers

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.

 

 

Recent Posts

  • Indoor Seed Starting Tips: Why Start Seeds Indoors February 22, 2021
  • Raised Bed Planting Plan for the Spring. January 18, 2021
  • Planting for the Season January 8, 2021
  • Tips for Overwintering Rosemary Plants Indoors December 18, 2020
  • Plan a Fall Garden September 29, 2020
  • Using Ollas in the Garden August 10, 2020
  • Printable Garden Planner March 23, 2020
  • How to Make a Butterfly Puddler March 15, 2020
  • Butterfly Printables February 20, 2020
  • Butterfly Gardens February 13, 2020

Archives

Categories

Garden Chick, copyright 2003 - current date. All Rights Reserved.
Wordpress website created by Cherie
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok