Posted: 8/15/2010 7:36:45 PM EDT
| Whats the best way to store seeds longterm? I was thinking vacuum sealed in the freezer since I know thats how "herb" growers do it but not sure. How long will most vegetable seeds last stored this way? Is there a better way? |
| I don't have a hard scientific answer for you, but I read something in an article in Mother Earth News once that might help. The guy writing the article is a pretty major seedsman (not very commercial, more of a seed historian). He said that he found a bunch of seeds in the bottom of his deceased grandfather's deep freezer. He said they were just put in baby food jars and frozen, and that they had probably been there for decades. He got enough of them to germinate that he was able to bring back a large number of varieties, mainly flowers but some vegetables if I recall. I'll try to find a link to the article. Regardless, if you vac-seal and freeze a few hundred of each kind of seed I imagine you'll have enough germinate to carry on. I don't know how much of a garden plot you're looking to have when you pop the top on your collection, though. I'd think about sealing them up in mylar bags with O2 absorbers and dessicant, then put them in a freezer or root cellar. |
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Edited for a double-tap, but here's the link to that article:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Organic-Gardening/2008-08-01/Gardening-Heirloom-Varieties.aspx The author is a guy named William Woys Weaver. Turns out the collection had been in the freezer for at least 15 years. Some things survived, some didn't, but he blames some of that on his own mishandling. I'm sure he has ideas about how to do it better now. Check out the article. The author also has a book that Mother Earth News plugs at the end of the article, here's the paragraph: "HIGHLY RECOMMENDED by the Mother Earth News editors: Heirloom Vegetable Gardening: A Master Gardener’s Guide to Planting, Seed Saving and Cultural History by William Woys Weaver, now on CD. If you want to explore the fabulous flavors, fascinating history and amazing diversity of vegetables, this is the book to start with. Food historian and Mother Earth contributing editor Will Weaver profiles 280 heirloom varieties, with authoritative growing advice and incredible recipes. First published in 1997, Heirloom Vegetable Gardening has since been out of print, with used copies selling online for as much as $300. We are proud to present the original text, with color photos, as a digital book on CD-ROM. Order now." |
| My Nanny saved seeds and stored them in her freezer in mason jars or plastic bags. She never bought seeds. After she died, we cleaned out the freezer and found seeds that were 20+ years old. I planted some and they germinated and grew very well. I saved seeds from those plants. They're in my freezer now. |