Posted: 4/5/2013 11:26:54 AM EDT
| I picked up a "seed vault" to add to the preps, and have two questions about storage. It says on the container that they'll last five years at room temp and longer in the refrigerator, on the description of another seed vault I was looking at it mentioned the freezer. Would it be best to store in the freezer over the refrigerator or am I really not gaining anything. Also will it hurt the seeds if they are cooled down and brought back to room temperature multiple times? |
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Well, I buy seeds from Southernexposureseedexchange.com. They told me the best way to store them long term is sealed in a mason jar or mylar in the freezer. That way, they can be kept indefinitely. Warm slowly to room temp before planting. Don't know about cycling from frozen/room/frozen/room. Can't be good. IMHO, the best "seed vault" is to have an heirloom garden going. Gardening is a skill, and you need practice. I do have about 8 years of heirloom seeds tucked away, though  What would you do after a total first year crop failure. What did you do wrong? If you need to plant your survival seeds, odds are you can't afford failure and a learning curve.
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I have some giant cantaloupe seeds that I have kept from my grandfathers stash that are old........like 15 yrs old. The germination rate is poor, like maybe 20%, but so far I just plant 10-12 per hill and 2 or 3 come up. I keep them frozen and don't freeze/thaw. I would think you would lower the germination rate with every cycle. I am just doing this to see how long they are good. I have always saved seed from a large fruit (tomato, watermelon, cantaloupe, etc) and put up new every year. I do save my old seed for 3 or 4 yrs in case I don't get a good one for seed from the most recent year. I have never noticed a significant difference in 2-4 yr old seed germination. However, this is in no way scientific. Just seat of my pants memory. I know that is dangerous. I have just last year started keeping a garden journal.
Now all my experience is with seeds I dry myself and freeze. I am a bit of a novice with store bought long term storage seeds. Doc |
| Thanks for the input, I wouldn't plan to cycle the temp but was thinking of the possibility of power outages through the years and if it really hurt them to be cooled them warmed back up that maybe it would be better to just keep room temp. I also 100% agree with planting now, and admit that I've did very little gardening in my life (use to help my parents plant a small garden as a kid). I'm not disillusioned into thinking that if something happened tomorrow that I could just throw these seeds into the ground and expect them to produce. With that being said I'd rather have something on hand and a slim chance to learn quickly, than no chance at all because I have no seeds available. My current living situation doesn't allow for much of a garden at all but hopefully by the time the shelf life of these seeds are reached I'll have them planted and on my way to learning some basic gardening. |
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Quoted: Thanks for the input, I wouldn't plan to cycle the temp but was thinking of the possibility of power outages through the years and if it really hurt them to be cooled them warmed back up that maybe it would be better to just keep room temp. I also 100% agree with planting now, and admit that I've did very little gardening in my life (use to help my parents plant a small garden as a kid). I'm not disillusioned into thinking that if something happened tomorrow that I could just throw these seeds into the ground and expect them to produce. With that being said I'd rather have something on hand and a slim chance to learn quickly, than no chance at all because I have no seeds available. My current living situation doesn't allow for much of a garden at all but hopefully by the time the shelf life of these seeds are reached I'll have them planted and on my way to learning some basic gardening. Honestly, I would put them in the fridge or freezer and risk power outages (you have a generator to keep your fridge going?) than leaving them at room temp. According to where I buy seeds, they won't be very viable much longer than a couple years if just stored room temp. Mylar packing w/moisture pack (don't know about O2) may change things, though. OR Do both, Split your seeds and not put all your eggs in one basket. OR Get them packed in mylar and bury below the frost line (if you own any kind of dirt)
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Sat in a conference with another professional grower. He claimed every heat/cool cycle lowered germination rates, even just an hour, like if you pulled the packet out for a few hours, seeded 1/3, rechilled, seeded 1/3, rechilled.
We order bulk, comes in either Mylar or plastic sealed envelopes. We keep it in tupperware in a standard refrigerator. We've had decent germ on seeds several years old, but it depends on a lot of factors. Some years you can have perfect everything and it still flops. |
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I spoke with a rep at a major heirloom seed company about this in length about a month ago and this is the info they gave me.... Make sure there is NO moisture in the seed package, put it in an air tight container such as a vacuum sealed bag (zip-lock is ok), then put them in a second air tight container, such as a vacuum sealed Mason jar or a secondary vacuum sealed bag. They advised on then storing them in the freezer and expect good germination rates for at least 3-5 years and most seeds should still be good up to 7 years. They advised that when the seeds are taken out of the freezer for use, they should be allowed to sit at out at room temperature for 24 hours (seems like over kill) before opening either of the packages to prevent condensation. |