I wish I could say that organizing my seeds yesterday was an annual, or semi-annual, or at least a planned, regular activity. Lolz. Nope. Up against a deadline to have all our cabinets cleared out for remodeling, I finally tackled the seed collection.

Mind you, bad as it looks, it wasn't a totally dysfunctional disaster. I've been using this "system" to successfully start all our vegetables (and lots of perennials too!) from seed for years.

There was just, also, a "system-behind-the-system", of the seeds I might use, someday.

If you're facing something like this, I'm not much help when it comes to lovely organizing systems, as you can clearly see! 😉 But I can help you with seed biology and how to sort keepers from lost causes.

First, the bad news: There is no way to know 100% if older seeds are still viable except to test them.

There are, however, some rules of thumb to make an educated guess:

🌱 The closer the storage conditions are to the "rule of 100" the longer seeds last. The rule of 100 says temperature (in F) + % relative humidity combined should be less than 100. So, if the temperature is 75 F, humidity should be less than 25%. If your humidity is 65%, the temperature should be under 35 F.

🌱 Smaller seeds, in general, stay viable longer.

🌱 Unless they were stored with dehumidifying packets, seeds in plastic bags don't last as long. (The humidity within the seeds themselves gets trapped in the bag and can cause rot.)

🌱 Seeds that are visually compromised in any way - mold, clumping, dampness, etc are not worth saving.

🌱 Seeds don't "go bad" all of a sudden like a container of milk. As they age, seeds take longer to germinate and a lower percentage of them will sprout. But even a "bad" packet of seeds might give you several good plants.

🌱 The plants grown from older seeds are just as healthy as those grown from fresh seed.

🌱 The "packed for" year on your seed packet is not an expiration date. It's the year for which a germination test is valid. Seeds must test above a certain percentage (85% in most cases) to be legal to sell. Those results are then valid for 18 months after the date of the test. If the same seeds pass a re-test the following year, they can be repackaged for the next year, and so on. Very often, the seeds you buy are several years old and have passed germination tests every year for 3-5 years in a row.

So - that packet of lettuce from 2011? Keep or toss?

I kept all the lettuces that were packed in paper and still looked good. I love lettuce! And I have lots of packets that are older, but are hard to find varieties that I didn't want to lose. 2011 is pretty long, though, even for seeds stored in good conditions. 🤞🏼 (Seeds stored in ideal conditions in seed banks can last much longer!)

My usual method of "germination testing" seeds I want to sow is simply to sow them and hope for the best. I'm confident enough in my seed sowing processes that I know that I'm unlikely to kill viable seeds.

For iffy seeds, I do, however, make note of the sowing date so that I can give up on them after a reasonable time. For example, at my house, lettuce usually germinates within about 4 or 5 days. So if the seeds still haven't broken the surface after 3 weeks, I'll call it. (Though, simply out of neglect, I've had some seeds I thought were goners germinate after about 6 weeks.)

If you want to do a proper germination test, spread some seeds on a paper towel, fold it over to hold the seeds apart from one another, moisten (damp like a wrung out sponge, not soaking wet) and roll it up into a plastic bag. Leave one end of the bag open for a little ventilation, and place it somewhere close to the ideal germination temperature for that seed. (Warmer for peppers, cooler for lettuce - those temps are easy to look up online.)

After about a week, open up the paper towel and see how many seeds have sprouted.

"Proper" germination tests by seed companies are more rigorously controlled in terms of quantity of seed tested, temperature, contaminants, etc, but it's more or less the same concept.

Finally, if you have seeds that are likely to be viable, but that you no longer want, they can be donated! Your local library may have a seed library where you can "check out" and "return" seeds. (Shout out to the Contra Costa County Library system seed libraries! and to Richmond Grows, some local resources here in the East Bay.)

Community gardens, school gardens and various gardening non-profits also often welcome viable seeds.

It may still be very wintery outside where you live, but spring is almost here! You certainly don't have to have perfectly organized seeds, but maybe have a look at what's sitting around? See if there are any gems in there that might be worth sowing this year?

Happy Seedurday (on Monday!)

Anne

P.S. Final installment of science from Good Nature coming later this week! It was too much to fit in with this week's newsletter. Stay tuned for some really good news about how healthy gardening is for you.

P.P.S. The sale is still ON through March 1st. 20% off everything with code POTS2026.

~or~

When you’re ready, here are some more ways I can help you grow a thriving garden from seed:

1. Plan your seed-starting schedule with our ​free printable planner.​

2. Download the free ​Orta Seed Starting Handbook with all the basics you need to succeed with seeds.​

3. Take the guesswork out of watering with Orta Self-Watering Pots. (Find discounted factory seconds here!)

4. Join the Orta Seed Club to have 5 hand-picked, unusual & high-yielding varieties delivered to you every season.

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