Growing out old seed

Hey folks, I have some seed from several vegetable varieties that is as old as "prepared for the 1992 planting year".  While these seeds are not heirloom varieties and new seed could be found easily, I already have it and would like to plant it to grow out for "fresh" seed to then save correctly if possible.  I know there are dark red beets, radishes of 3 varieties, and carrots which produce seed in their second year I've learned, so they will take up garden space for 2 years.  There's also a bag of larger, I'm assuming sweet peas since they are a bit wrinkled.  I tried germination testing in a couple batches this past winter of the green bean seeds, and not one germinated on top of the fridge, only molded and started to stink, lol.  The old sweet corn seed I had, I gave up on since it also failed to germinate and molded.

Option 1:  I'm thinking I could try a bulk tray germination of each variety to see if anything even sprouts before moving on to an individual seedling tray.

Option 2:  Just wait until the 60-70 degree days next year, then simply plant a row of each variety with the hope that something, anything comes up, then try to transplant it somewhere that it can stay for 2 years.

Question:  If I planted the root veggies now (carrots, beets, and radishes), would they overwinter in the ground and send up new growth in the spring, or would I have to dig them up and store the roots over winter to plant again in the spring.  Would this still count as a year in the 2-year cycle since it's separated by winter?  I'm Zone 6.

This seed was not stored well before I got it, and most likely won't germinate at all.  I'm not out anything but a little time to try, so "here goes nothing".   Does anyone have any advice on how to increase my odds of germination?

You might want to try the paper towel method of getting the seeds to germinate.

This year, I tried some from 2019.

Our of 20 seeds I got 4 to germinate using that method.  This is a lot easier than planting in pots.

How ever you decide to try this experiment I wish you the best and please post your results.

Will do.  I am always hesitant to toss out old seeds because they have value to me.  I always have hope that maybe some will make it, but if not, I tried.  In this case, I have little hope, but if I even got a few to make it to seed production, it'll be worth it to me.  I've tried the paper towel method in the past, and liked that I could just pick out the seeds with "tails" to get started.    

I don't have any that old, but I do have some from 2018. My plan was to take a garden row one year, mix all my old seeds together and scatter them. Rake in and water. If they grow, great. If not, I let the chickens in and I get eggs out of them.

Hi Cy, I have the same situation. Since you have chickens, if you have a lot (a lot) of seeds I think bulk sprouting is not a bad idea with the ones you suspect are bad- you could always just give them to the chickens.
I also baby them using the paper towel method (inside a plastic clamshell package, if possible) if I really, really want them to grow. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. I'm so hesitant to throw seeds away, especially for special plants I might not see again.

I planted a few containers with "mystery brassicas" this year and got a bunch of turnip greens and radishes, because I felt bad throwing them out. I do plant out the old ones like an optimist, but always interspersed with new seeds just in case they don't do well. I often plant things in waves with a few weeks in between, so I usually use old seed as a second-wave planting in case not a blessed one comes up and I need to replant, there's not too much of a time gap between yields.

I have a ton of old seed, and a lot of very poorly stored seed from this year, and my plan was to strategically plant it all after I get frost, and just see if anything comes up in the spring. Unlikely to get much, but what comes up might end up being pretty strong? Who knows.

While I have no actual clue, I feel like your root veg sprouts might overwinter fine in the ground. Maybe I'm too optimistic.

I feel that collecting seeds and some pretty seed packets are a permies' thing.

I have tons and then they get old ...

I think it would be an interesting project to try and breed varieties that have seeds with extended longevity.  Let's say you planted 100 old seeds and only 4 germinated....would the seeds from those 4 plants that only crossed with each other end up having seeds that maintained viability for a longer period?  I'd love it if we worked to develop strains that last and last without special storage conditions.  

Greg,

I originally wanted to try that with my sweet corn since it has such a short shelf life, but then I thought "if it were that easy, why hasn't it been done already"?  So I tried probably 6 or 8 varieties of old seed that I had, & only one type germinated 2 seeds that I grew out & added to my corn mix.  

I definitely believe there's good logic in that theory, but in the case of my failed sweet corn, I think the qualities that keep the seed viable are the starches that were once sugars, and that's what feeds the seed until depleted, then it's no longer got the "fuel" to germinate.  Best seed saving practices extend this range by slowing down the rate at which the "fuel" is used up, leaving more for germination when the time comes...At least that's my way of thinking.  I could be way off though.  

That's the only reason I had to reduce my number of corn varieties to 4.  If I only have to maintain 4 strains, I can grow out 2 crops a year & the seed is no more than 2 years old at most.  I often wonder what the professional/national seed banks do in this scenario.  I imagine near freezing in a moisture free-oxygen free vault slows degradation down quite a bit, but how often do they refresh their stock?

About saving radish seed, the bad news. This year I planted several varieties of radishes from old seed packages and also a lot of seed that I saved from last year. I got a couple tender radishes. The rest were to hard to cut with a sharp knife.

But the good news is: radishes are an annual.

And I don't think that I should save seed from this years crop.