How Long Do You Keep or How Do You Keep Seeds?

The past 2 years I have worked hard at trying to edit (compost or donate) or use ALL my seeds. I've discovered here, the way I keep seed, that > 2 years of storage doesn't work.

I don't have space to save seeds in a fridge, that space is already occupied by film. (I married a pro photographer who since has changed jobs.) So, I only have a little fridge space for seeds.

What I'm curious about: how long do seeds last in your estimation? How do you store them?

TIA!

My record keeping on the homestead is horrible.  I have pulled seeds out of the freezer that were at least 5 years old and had them sprout.  The problem is I can’t remember what kind of seeds or what % sprouted.

I need to add that the seeds in the freezer are shrink wrapped.

I store seeds mostly in plastic bottles or bags and keep them in plastic ammunition crates with rubber seals. I might freeze them for a week or two if insects are suspected, but I don't store them in the freezer or refrigerator. This spring I planted beans from 2016 and corn from 2019, they both are growing well right now. I planted thick thinking germination might be low but ended up having to thin.

I also have a "seed vault" with stainless steel canisters buried in the ground, I open it to remove and replace older seed about once every five years. It is a large stainless steel milk can with the smaller stainless canisters inside, buried about three feet with an insulated cover.

I store my seeds in Ladakh in rectangular plastic food storage containers, the airtight type. I store them in a dark storeroom in the back of my solar heated house, so they're fridge cold in winter but room temperature in summer. But the climate is extremely dry.

Many types of seeds last just fine for years, like tomatoes and cucurbits. A lot more than 2 years.

I have found that most seeds last a few years even if unrefridgerated.  I have a wooden box in which I store seeds, whether I dried them myself from grocery store produce or whether I acquired them already seedsaved by a friend or in packets.  My NW wildflower seed mix stored for, like, six or seven years and produced some flowers for me this year, I passed it along to a dear friend up north so she can enjoy and use up the rest of it.  I have some seeds that she sent me which she saved in 2022 and I've been working through them.  Some of them are still working, I'd say the majority.  Calendula, small favas, but the snap peas are starting to lose eficacy, germinating at about 1/3 sprouting.  MY MIL seedsaved radishes in 2022 or 23 and they're still growing fine too, though the ones she said were daikon weren't.  Haha oh well.

My pretty seed bank. I keep plenty of seeds in non-pretty conditions.

Cool,
Dark,
Dry,
Safe from pests.

My household repurposes cleaned and emptied pharmaceutical bottles for seed storage.

I don't trust my experience so far on properly drying seeds for storage so I have obtained a package of kraft clay desiccant packets that I add to each bottle to help mitigate moisture issues. So far, this system has worked well but it has only been one years time of storage. I planted out a bunch of seeds successfully from this system this year.

In canning jars and steel ammo crates, in the cellar. Except for all the ones that are strewn all over the house, especially the kitchen and my office.

I think it varies wildly by plant. I've read that allium seeds lose considerable viability after only a year while corn can easily last 20.

I found a small box of seeds from about 6 years ago.  Mostly peas, but a few squash that I am not sure of what they are.

Almost all the peas are growing and 80% of the squash are growing.   Looking forward to seeing what the squash are,  acorn, pumpkin?   Kind of like Christmas.

I save many of my seeds in regular letter sized envelopes.  Many of them, making sure they are very dry, go into pill bottles and zip lock type bags.  

So far I have only had a couple packs of seeds go bad, (mold, they were not dry), and that is over 30 years or so of saving my own seeds.

Usually I try to plant over half my seeds each year and the other half the next year with the newly saved seeds from the last year.  (Ha Ha !!  that is one crazy sentence)

I do buy a lot of seed each year, would not really have to, but like to try new and different varieties and then save those seeds I like.

I keep my saved seeds in a large cardboard box.  Inside the box I do have a few tupperware type containers that I use to sort the types of seeds.  I keep the box in my garage over the winter.

I keep them cool and in the dark. Preferably airtight. I sprouted some that were about 5 years this year. Seeds are like rip van winkle lol. They could lay dormant for ever if needed. All about how you preserve them.

Varies. Most of them go in small, non-air-tight plastic containers. Problem with plastic is they have to be well-dried or they rot. I leave the caps ajar for several weeks or months.

Quite a lot of it stays in paper bags, sometimes for several years, mostly in my garage. It doesn't seem to matter.

If I am worried about bugs I put them in the freezer for a few weeks or up to a year.

Corn, beans and squash are good for several years. I was given a big bag of commercial sweet corn seeds and they did well for 5 years. This year I planted cantaloupe dated 2016. It's growing.

My seed storage is pretty low-tech. It used to be a bunch of half-empty seed packets in a cardboard box in the garage. That go to be too hot & dry, and I had a bunch of dead seeds.
Now I keep them in a variety of small plastic bottles and ziplock baggies in a couple of drawers in my office room, which doubles as the guest bedroom.
I have some seeds that are dated "best used by 2012". I doubt they will germinate. Other seeds I have from a trip to Sicily in 2019 and they do still germinate. Which reminds me, I need to find out what to do with Chicory now that I have a patch growing.