OK I'm gonna take bets

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Kya D

Kya D

Active Member
I was just given 3 gallon cans full of seeds. BUT the seeds were sold as survival seeds in 1982 so I am gonna open 1 can and see if I can get them to germinate.
Any guesses if they will grow. I would love to hear your thoughts.
I will keep you posted.
 
They are all veggies.
Beets
corn
onions
beans
cabbage
carrots
peas
radish
summer squash
spinach
and tomato
I am pretty sure they are all old heirloom seeds.
I hope I will be surprised and lots will germinate.
 
Should be interesting. Typically I doubt they would last that long, but maybe they put them in Nitrogen or something?
 
Well the 1st thing I noticed a minute ago when I opened the can is that the seed packets are huge I mean the quantity of each pkt of seeds. there is none of this finding 12 seeds in the corner of the pkt. The cabbage and the carrots have 1/2 oz. in each
I will start some of them as soon as I find a place in this house that stays warm.
 
Some seeds have a very long lifespan and can remain viable and survive for decades to even hundreds of years! It all depends on what temperature they were stored at!
Refrigerating and even freezing will prolong their viability!
Dawn, it will be fun to find out which ones are still viable!
 
If they have been dry, and kept in cool conditions and you see no bug evidence I say about 50% will grow. I had seeds given to me in about 2000 and I found a pkg last spring ,( and not well kept either just in a plastic jar) about 50% germinated and produced;)
 
I think they will be fine.My Dad use to keep seed forever.Just depends on how they were stored.And if they may have had any bugs in them.:)
 
What a gift!

Wow Dawn! What a gift! Someone really knows how to get your attention! LOL!! Seeing as they were sealed in a can, as long as they weren't cooked or something, you should get amazing germination on these, even as old as 1982. Keep us updated!

I wouldn't mind some of the beans, tomatoes, beets & summer squash if you end up with extras to give away. ;) We might just have to finally arrange a get together this spring or summer too! LOL!
 
You got em Dizzy. A get together what a great idea.
There really are tons of seeds.
I hope they do well.
I do think that they are all heirloom
The tomato seeds are "Pearson"
The squash are yellow crook neck
the beets are Dark red detroit
beans are Kent wonder ( I think these are Kentucky wonder)
I'm sure I have plenty.
The pkgs are so full that there should be plenty to share.
 
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That sounds great! It'll be fun to see what what sort of germination rate you get, nearly 30 years is a long time and as Ron said some seeds stay viable for many years. Have fun with them and keep us informed of how they're going.
 
Whoohoo..what luck! I bet you get at least a 95% germination. Being in a sealed container is the key. Can't wait to hear the progress.
 
I read an article somewhere about an archaeologist who found some urns full of grain seed. I think he found them in Mexico or Peru!
The urns were a good 1000 years old. He tested the seed and they germinated!
I believe he is selling the seed online! I went back looking for the site but couldn't find it!
So, there you go!
 
I know here we have cockle burr and those seeds can sit in the ground for 100 years then germinate when they get water.
 
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