Design

Photo ©M-J de Mesterton 2010 If you possess old packets of seeds, or have conserved flower and vegetable  seeds from plants past their prime, there is a good way to test them for viability. Put 10 seeds of the same variety in-between two wet paper towels, then place the towel-stack into a plastic grocery-type bag, leaving some air in it and lightly tying the ends closed. Leave this assembly in indirect sunlight and monitor it, spraying it lightly with water every two days if the papers have dried out. If after ten or in some cases fourteen to twenty-one days the seeds are usable, at least 6 of the 10 will have sprouted (60% germination ratio). Check on-line for the expected span of time for each variety to germinate. That will help you gauge when to give up the ghost. If fewer than six seeds among the ten do sprout within the projected time-frame, you ought to chuck them all out and purchase new ones. Each seed has its own germination speed. From an Old Thompson & Morgan Seed ...