6th Annual Canadian Autumn Seed Exchange

[Home Grown Poultry]

@Nickyn that sounds like a great swap! congrats on the success!

How do you store seeds long term? freezer? I have a bit of a seed bank going on here and some of my older seeds dont seem to wanna germinate. I keep them in air tight ziplocks, no moisture, inside more ziplocks and then in a rubbermaid. but not in a freezer.

see, I really wanted to participate but most of these seeds are not mine and I couldnt guarantee germination or if they were true. next year I really want to join the group and will hopefully have some popcorn and mini heirloom water melons, those I can guarantee to be true.

we grew a whack load of zucchini and almost have a freezer full but since they easily cross pollinate they wouldnt be true. maybe thats why there were so little seeds sent in. we grew 4 different kinds including the white scallop, they are delicious!

with all the snow on the ground now I sure miss weeding the garden.

[windwalkingwolf]

I'm going to start a thread on seed saving

[Nickyn]

I am lucky. We have a family business - only 3 of us here and a full sized fridge. So I put my seeds in plastic bags and then in a tin with desiccant & a list of everything inside. I haven't put them in the freezer - as my own freezer, my extra large stand up freezer, the freezer at work and my parents cube freezer are always full! We get a half cow and a half lamb and that fills a lot of space - then I freeze a TON of garden produce. So, I figure that the fridge is a decent compromise.

The only thing that goes in the freezer are the beans for a couple of weeks after they dry (to kill insects) - then they are moved to the fridge.

My tomato seeds I leave out in a cool room in plastic bags in binders. My oldest tomato seed is 2006. I seeded 6 this spring and they all came up. I think that a lot of the viability charts are low estimates. As long as your seeds are dry and cool, they should do well. Just check the types of seed - carrots & parsnips are only viable for a year (or 2). Corn has a short shelf live - but peppers and tomatoes can last years and years.

[Home Grown Poultry]

thanks for the info Nicky!