I have a horrible habit of being cheap and saving my seeds for years and years… For some seeds this is fine, but for others not so much.

So what I can do is test the germination rates of the seeds and see approximately what percentage of them are still viable. Then I can plant (or buy new seeds) as needed. Ideally you want to do this a couple weeks before you need to plant them, so anywhere in Dec-Feb is a good time for testing most seeds.

The easiest way to do this is to dampen a paper towel or napkin, put the seeds on (in an order you can remember), place inside a ziplock bag, and set it somewhere warm. You don’t have to worry about light because we are only seeing if they sprout.

2024

Mar 18- I started the test Mar 13. See image below. Left to right is Paris Romain (2020) 2/8, Bibb (2021) 8/14, Jubilee Watermelon (2022) 2/2, Salad Bowl (2022) 14/14.

Mar 22- Started test on Mar 18. Left to right is Chantenay Red Cored Carrots (2022), Sparkler White Tip Radish (2020), Scarlet Nantes Carrot (2022), and Cherry Belle Radish (2018). 100% of true radish seed sprouted, 4/10 Chantenay, and 4/10 Scarlet sprouted. I’ll leave the carrots on a little longer to see what happens.

Mar 22- I also put Black Zucchini (2022), Armenian Cucumber (2024), and Marketmore Cucumber (2024) on to sprout and then I’ll put them in 4” pots like the watermelon seeds.

Mar 26- From the seeds started Mar 22; 2/2 Marketmore Cucumber, 3/4 Zucchini, and 2/4 Armenian cucumber sprouted. No additional carrots sprouted.