Old Seed... Will it germinate
Contributors to this thread:Whitetail Deer
From: Davy C
25-Apr-17
I found an old bag of Fleet Farm clover and Chicory. I have no idea how old it is but it said on the label the inoculant expired in 2010. I planted it at twice the rate. Do you think it will germinate? If not I will over seed it this fall using a drill.
From: Brotsky
25-Apr-17
Davy, a good friend of mine and their family have a seed company. I often get their old seed for my BIL to use in his food plots on his farm. The seeds certainly do not germinate at the same rate but they do a great job for the price. Alfalfa has a long shelf life I know, I think hard seeds like clover and chicory would last a long time as well.
From: cnelk
25-Apr-17
Back in the day (a long time ago) when we were farming, each spring we would count out 100 seeds of each crop, place them on a cookie sheet with wet paper towels below and covering the seeds. Keep them moist until we got germination. Then count the ones that didn't.
You can get a close % and adjust your seeding accordingly.
Is it perfect? Nope. But close enough
From: Davy C
25-Apr-17
cnelk... I did save out a handful of seed and thought I would try to germinate it under controlled conditions. I like you cookie sheet idea.
From: Fuzzy
25-Apr-17
cnelk, I have always "proofed" seed the same way. You can also assume a 25% reduction in viable seed per year from the "packed for" date and come pretty close.
From: Fuzzy
25-Apr-17
also my brother is 44 YO and has a one year old son.
From: drycreek
25-Apr-17
I planted some Frigid Forage Plot Screen for three years in a row out of the same bag. Stored in a shed that I'm sure got 120* in July and August. I couldn't tell much difference, but I wouldn't plant a food plot from seed handled like that. If I have leftover, I put it in the deep freezer if I have room.
From: r-man
25-Apr-17
I found a small pack of seeds from 2010 , I belive it was either turnip or mustard , at least 80% grew. could not believe it. I know Beans don't keep well.
From: t-roy
25-Apr-17
r-man X2 on the beans. I plant 1 year old seed corn test plot seed that I get for free and have had no issues with it, but the germination rate on the same 1 year old soybean test plot seed sucked.
Small seeds like clover, alfalfa, turnips, etc seem to keep fairly well.