Seeds past their sell by date.Are they likely to not germinate?

[S3agr0v394686]

Would rather use up what I have but wondering if I’m setting myself up for disappointment.

If they are peas and beans my experience is they don't germinate but most other things enough seeds will germinate to feel worthwhile.

They definitely won't germinate in the cupboard so I would sow everything (peas and beans included) and see what happens. You should have plenty of time to buy new if they don't come up.

It depends how far past their use by date. As time goes on, less will germinate so plant more to compensate. But as the PP says peas are rubbish when out of date so I wouldn’t really bother bitter experience lol.

Carrot family tend not to be long lasting, so that’s carrot, parsley, parsnip, dill, fennel, coriander. But even they may give good germination in the second year. Other seeds can last much longer. Contrary to what PP says above, peas and beans I find are good for at least three years, beet family seem to go on for ever.

They don’t like fluctuating temperatures in storage. I keep mine in a (make that several) plastic boxes in the refrigerator, tucked right at the back in the places where otherwise food would get lost.

I've seen a tip where you put the seeds between two sheets of damp kitchen roll then inside a plastic sandwich bag or tupperware container. Re- dampen as necessary and check to see if there's any growth. You can do it with a sample to check the rate of germination. If it's poor or nonexistent, bin the seeds, otherwise crack on. I think you can pot up germinated seeds as normal.

They definitely won't germinate in the cupboard so I would sow everything (peas and beans included) and see what happens. that's so true!

I've got some out of date seeds too that I've been wondering about but that such a good tip. I'm going to just sow them and see what happens

As everyone else has said, depends what they are. I've had 10 year old tomato seeds germinate beautifully.

I found 5 year old chilli seeds from Wahaca in a cupboard and got good plants from them.

The oldest seed that has grown into a viable plant is a 4000 year old date palm. Next oldest a 1300 year old Lotus. Poppies are notoriously long lasting. One of the tenets of rewilding is that you allow to grow whatever is in the seed bank - seeds that have been sitting in the soil for years, maybe decades awaiting their chance