# Shelf Life of Garden Seeds



## TFirewalker (Feb 24, 2012)

I noticed that on the backs of seeds that I see at stores, there is an expiration date for a year out. Has anyone ever grown seeds that are expired and had success? I know that you can get them cheaper that way.


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## acidlittle (Jan 24, 2012)

I'm sure they have a longer shelf life then the stores, they do that so that they don't have to deal with customers coming back and saying the seeds were brittle or didn't yield anything. More of a way to cover their own asses rather then anything else. I'm not going to say what kind of seed it was, but when I was in high school i found a seed of some medicinal plant and had it for over a 3 years, before I planted it, and it grew. I ended up giving it away as a "gift" to a different friend. I do not partake in that kind of stuff anymore.


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## swt9779 (Aug 9, 2012)

In order for seeds to remain viable over long periods of time certain variables must be controlled. Temperature, humidity, exposure to UV light and oxygen all play a crucial part in determining whether or not your survival garden will be a success or failure. I have been selling survival seed banks for about a year now. Our seed banks are hermetically sealed in a tough Mylar pouch. This pouch is impermeable to UV light, oxygen, and moisture. Our seed banks our held in a temperature controlled environment prior to packing and shipping. The seeds in our survival seed bank will remain viable for 7+ years if properly stored in a cool dark place until ready to use. A refrigerator or freezer is best and can extend the life to 10+ years. But you must understand that the longer you store the seeds before planting the less they will sprout. That is where seed saving from year to year comes in handy with open pollinated seeds. But honestly there really is no definable limit, as was recently proven in Israel with the successful germination in 2005 of a 2,000 year old seed of the extinct Judean Date Palm that came from an archeological dig at King Herod's palace near the Dead Sea. In 1978, a 12,000 year old Lotus seed discovered in a dry lake bed in China was also successfully germinated, which prior to the Date Palm was the world's oldest successfully germinated seed. More recently, the Millennium Seed Bank successfully germinated three species of plants from 200 year old seeds. Recently (February 2012) Russian scientist announced they had regenerated a narrow leaf campion (Silene stenophylla) from a 32,000 year old seed. The seed was found in a burrow 124 feet under Siberian permafrost along with 800,000 other seeds. Seed tissue was grown in test tubes until it could be transplanted to soil. This shows how long DNA can be viable in the proper conditions.

You can get more info from our website, myseedcellar.com or the link below.
http://www.http://myseedcellar.com/seed-faqs/


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## NerdyChic (Aug 4, 2012)

acidlittle said:


> I'm sure they have a longer shelf life then the stores, they do that so that they don't have to deal with customers coming back and saying the seeds were brittle or didn't yield anything. More of a way to cover their own asses rather then anything else. I'm not going to say what kind of seed it was, but when I was in high school i found a seed of some medicinal plant and had it for over a 3 years, before I planted it, and it grew. I ended up giving it away as a "gift" to a different friend. I do not partake in that kind of stuff anymore.


Well when SHTF, there will be a party at your house WOOHOO!!!! lol just kidding


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