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Colorado

I was wondering what is the length of time that a giant seed is viable. I store mine in a sealed jar with desiccant bags in my refrigerator. Any info would be appreciated. Thanx

4/5/2022 9:13:29 PM

Grittyville, WA

I think about 5 years on the shelf then they go downhill. I have a box in the refrigerator also, hope it extends them by another 5-10 years... but I dont know exactly how much it will help.

4/5/2022 10:55:12 PM

Syracuse, NY

I stopped using desiccant in my jars (Hey, another JarHead!)
years ago because I felt that super-dry was TOO dry - simply removed it;
At the time I guess I was seeing reports that SOME moisture, no matter how slight, is necessary for a seed to remain viable; Have not thought about it in years and I was probably also seeing that seeds DO lose their virility no matter what. My OWN seeds never got the desiccant in their jars and a few of them (even a '05 Gerry 301.5) are still sprouting reliably. If I could go back, I'd have put ANY of my/others' seeds in Mason jars with NO desiccant, but just cellar-cool, not refrigerated or frozen. PS---I'm 'optimistic' if a seed is < 10 years old and 'hopeful' beyond that, lol---eric g

4/6/2022 5:21:07 AM

Lloydminster/AB

a couple of years I popped some out of the freezer from 20 years ago. They sprouted just as quickly as a 1 year old seed. Was I lucky? Probably but still…

4/6/2022 12:15:02 PM

Almeria Spain

hello everyone
there are too many concepts to take into account, if we look at how it is done professionally
in the seed banks of some countries or even universities differ from each other but there are
to clarify some basic things, the optimal humidity and the viability of each species is different.
For cucurbits such as pumpkin, the most recommended thing is to keep it with a degree of humidity between 10 and 14%, but be careful, let us understand this concept, a seed will normally be with the degree of humidity that we have at that moment where it is, so there is what
try with a hygrometer to know this and somehow make it drop to the percentage indicated above, then there are several ways to preserve it, the ideal is a vacuum container and not exposed to light, it does not matter if it has SILICA GEL TYPE DESICCANT bags inside or no and that is when we can store it in a cool and dry place or in a refrigerator at about 4ºc, ideally and professionally it is -18º centigrade.
To use it as simple as removing the seed, leave it for a while to rehydrate at room temperature and ready to sow or to soak for a few hours and germinate it, that already depends on the method of each grower.
If it is stored in the refrigerator without doing anything it will be subject to high humidity and fungi, if it is stored in a zip bag it will be at room temperature and humidity anything goes but it depends on this
seed longevity.
Another important thing is the quality and disinfection of the seed before and or after its conservation.

5/14/2022 5:35:47 AM

Syracuse, NY

What I'm seeing mostly is to use a vacuum container (Mason jar) which COULD be made to be a vacuum jar (as in canning but with NO water), but would have to be 're-vacuumed' (evacuated) every time one wants to get even ONE seed out and prior to that but after harvest, the seeds would hopefully become acclimated to the surrounding air once initially dried COMPLETELY (I use a food dehydrator at 100*F for 72 hours) to instill a degree of humidity of about 12% and then placed into said Mason jar, sealed under a vacuum somehow and stored in a cool, dry and dark place until they are needed again.

I guess I'm on the right track by removing the desiccant (seems to me it has SOMETHING to do with humidity in a jar, or else why does it exist?) and I'm kinda lazy about getting dried seeds into a jar immediately (could be 3-7 days, lol) so, there's my initial seed humidity for storage and I always press in on the lid when I seal a jar by default; For an even simpler way? A PLASTIC mayonnaise jar, squeezed out of SOME
of the air may have an adequate vacuum in it to help preserves a batch of seeds;
For example - for those that squeeze out a soda bottle before putting it back in the fridge? You're already on your weigh to great seed storage, lol!
Thank you, Andalusi55 for the helpful information. eg

5/14/2022 3:32:47 PM

Enumclaw, Washington

I took about a dozen squash seeds from 2005-2007 to try and germinate this past year. (15-17 years of cold storage) They had been stored in a refrigerator since I got them. I had 100% germination; which I did not expect. Unfortunately we had excessive rain in May and June and the plants were all underwater. Germination is only part of the battle. I did soak the seeds about 30 minutes and filed them a little.
Placed in large peat pots in germination chamber at about 80-85 degrees. All popped in 3-7 days.

10/4/2022 1:45:52 AM

Syracuse, NY

Good to go, and good for you! I have about 90-100 Mason jars of my own seeds from over 20 years of at least GROWING Atlantic Giants; A good project this winter perhaps may be to test germinate about a dozen selected seeds from a few of the jars and each winter as well to see whazzup with them and it'd be really cool to re-animate them just for old times' sake - Not to mention other growers' seeds from the past 2 decades! My belief is that if I'm too tired to PLANT seeds at night, then soaking them 8-12 hours is an option to get the ball rolling but as soon as you put a seed in a starting mix, you are essentially soaking the seed anyway. Also, I feel that the 'face' of a seed is entirely as important to scuff/sand/scratch for water absorption as the edges and the tips.
Sure is hard to do it all, isn't it?
Have a nice day! (HAND) - eg

10/5/2022 3:45:19 AM