seeds

do seeds have sell by dates ?





:wink:

 

Good evening Anis and welcome to the site.:gnthb: The seed packet should show a sow by date, rather than a sell by date.:gnthb:

 

Hi Anis & welcome to the forums,

Have a look at this,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oldest_viable_seed

The dates from the masada area were reputed to be the sweetest in the world, but the climate has dried out there & the dates with it, i've been there & its terrible hot.

If this seed bears fruit, we'll be able to try a taste that was lost in history. Only problem is, it might be a male plant. Keeping my eye on this one.

 

Yes, seeds have sell by dates, but they might be no more than that.
Sow by dates can be different, the seeds might be no use after that.
Seeds can be different. Tomato seeds can be good for years but parsnip seeds are no use after the first year.
Did you want to ask about particular seeds ?

 

Difficult question-yes and no, dependant on the seed involved and the conditions in which it is stored.


See this for example-

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14125-jesusera-seed-is-the-oldest-to-germinate.html

So I would suggest you mention which particular seed and give us some info about it's storage conditions.

Other than that, if you have a questionable seed packet, you can only try.

 

Had no luck with nursery bought coriander seeds this year, but loads of germination from a commercial packet that was date stamp up.