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[Clansgian AT wmconnect.com]

> >How old is too old and for what seed? 

I'm not sure to whom you are addressing this, if to anyone in particular.  
But I guess it won't hurt to throw my two beans worth in there.

You won't get close agreement on this even from 'experts'.

Peppers and eggplants last the least, scarcely one year.  Four of five year 
old seed is generally unviable.  I grew a large planting of one particular 
pepper (Tequila Sunrise) and saved a pint of the seeds.  The next year I 
didn't 
grow any.  The second year I planted 100 seeds with 1% germination.  So I 
planted an ounce of seed and got six plants.  I've found this to be the case 
with 
peppers and eggplants.  Count on one year, if that.

Tomatoes are not much better.  After the second year they are fading.  

Cucumbers a year longer perhaps.

For coles, I get good germination for three or four years and they begin to 
go bad by the fifth year.  Same with mustard and radishes.  I planted some 
ten 
year old radishes with 0% germination.  But I planted several stands of 3 
year 
old seed with near 100%.

Beans will last ten years or longer.  I once planted 35 year old bean seed my 
grandmother had put away in a jar and forgotten about (Selma beans) and the 
germination rate was more than 50%.  

Experts say corn will last up to 20 years but it is much longer than that.

Experts say the outside longevity for wheat, rye, and barley is 30 years but 
it is much longer than that.

In general the larger the seed the longer it lasts, but that is frought with 
exceptions.  For example, carrots last at least five years with high 
germination rates.  I think it has more to do with the original habitat of 
plants.  
Peppers are perennials in the American tropics and seeds can germinate 
immediately.  But wheat had to endure ghastly winters and droughts of Iraq to 
survive.


The three enemies of stored seeds are heat, moisture, and bugs.  I have not 
found that freezing seeds helps much except to freeze them for  a few days to 
destroy bugs and bug eggs.  Heat does them in quickly.

Most of my seeds go into amber glass jars and are stored in the coolest part 
of the kitchen cabinets.

Did anyone have the same experience I had this spring ... very early, by the 
last week of May, the seedsmen were out of seeds of almost all types.  I've 
already been saving a lot of seed, but I am redoubling the effort this season.

James   </HTML>