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21/03/2008, 11:23 valB Joined on 21/11/2007 Posts 215 seeds Hello all you experts out there  !!!!!  I have found a packet of  carrot seeds bought in UK two years ago and passed the sale by date. Would I be wasting my time planting and sitting waiting for them to grow ? Also, the pack contains lettuce, spring onion, and radish seeds as well and as it was cheap I don't mind too much if I have to bin them.    Report

21/03/2008, 11:32 Russethouse Joined on 23/08/2004 Forum Moderator Posts 9,938 Re: seeds My gardening motto is: its got two chances, do or die. What have you got to lose ? All the same maybe I wouldn't rely on them as an only planting, perhaps an additional one? www.quimperclub.org 99    Report

21/03/2008, 12:16 Tony F Dordogne Joined on 10/04/2005 Small village in the Dordogne, near St Cyprien Posts 1,494 Re: seeds Val, I grow veggies in three gardens on an industrial scale - put them in, see what happens, I use seeds much older than those and get great levels of germination, if you're really unsure head for your local brico shed, buy a 99c bucket and put them in the bucket - with compost of course - then you wont use up garden space.. Tony F Dordogne (24) Huguenot Trails    Report

21/03/2008, 15:50 dragonrouge Joined on 08/02/2008 Posts 101 Re: seeds As Tony rightly states most seeds have about three or more years life perhaps more.  Save for parsnip which you should always use fresh each year and my tip and this is from Sarah Raven is to grow them initially as with carrots and beetroot in plastic guttering and then just slip them into the trench in the garden. This year in the Vendee have leased a huge plot and I thought it would not be possible to fill it.  However looking at the stuff already in and under cover my eyes are bigger than my belly and I will run out of space.  Hence envy and Tony's three plots. I have forced true Jersey Royal seed pots under cover and perhaps within a month we will have the first picking.    Report

21/03/2008, 18:10 valB Joined on 21/11/2007 Posts 215 Re: seeds Thank you all so much for your replies and great ideas and I will certainly have a go in buckets and anything else I can find hanging around...why did I not think of that  ?   Dragonrouge, if you are growing Jersey spuds please tell me where you live and I will be round for a meal as I just love them. Many years ago I lived in Portsmouth and I used to go to where they unloaded them and they would always "drop" a bag. It would split open and we were ready with our bags and could fill them very quickly.  I planted a lot of veggies last year but lost a lot due to the wet weather but I will persevere.    Report

21/03/2008, 21:54 hoverfrog Joined on 18/10/2004 87 Posts 642 Re: seeds seeds can last for a lot longer - they succeeded in germinating wheat (I think it was) from several thousand years ago! I'm still using my Dad's seed-box up - he died in 2004. So far no failures, even parsnips. Just keep the seeds dry and that's it! I would've said keep at a reasonable temperature too, but I leave my seed-box out in the workshop where plants in pots freeze, so as long as they're dry I don't think it matters. www.veytisou.com    Report

22/03/2008, 8:32 chocccie Joined on 01/03/2005 Posts 379 Re: seeds If you have a lot of seeds ... try germinating a few in a propagator (or seeds tray covered in clingfilm to keep the warm in).  Keep in the house and see if they germinate and grow into tiny seedlings.  If they do, then you can safely sow them in prepared earth with no risk of wasting the space. Also depends where the seeds have been kept.  If in a cold and dry place, then you'll have a lot more chance of success than if they were found on a dusty windowsill.  I keep all of mine in a tin box in the fridge.    Report

22/03/2008, 10:32 valB Joined on 21/11/2007 Posts 215 Re: seeds More good suggestions...thanks. While we were in a Brico shop yesterday I noticed plants for sale, tomato, peppers and many others but surely it is a bit early to put plants ? I know last year I did not plant toms until a lot later.    Report

22/03/2008, 10:49 Russethouse Joined on 23/08/2004 Forum Moderator Posts 9,938 Re: seeds Perhaps they were to grow under glass ? www.quimperclub.org 99    Report

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France Forum » Leisure and Pas... » Gardening » Re: seeds

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