How To Store Garden Seeds To Keep Them Fresh For As Long As Possible
Do you have garden seeds leftover or new ones you just harvested that you want to save? If you store them properly, they can last until the next growing season and a couple of years after that. The secret to keeping them perfectly preserved is where you put them. The room should be chilly, dark, and free of any humidity. Plus, airtight containers are essential. If you don't find an area in your home that meets all these criteria, saving your seeds will never work. When you use them next year, all you'll be left with is an empty pot of soil.
Garden seeds won't be able to grow into the healthy plants you expected if you store them improperly. Their viability declines, leaving you with little to no seedlings for your garden since it becomes harder for them to germinate. The seeds can be saved for up to three years if done correctly. After that, the germination rates begin to lower even if they're in the perfect environment, so don't forget to use them when they're still healthy. You don't have to go out and buy a big packet of seeds every year if you know how to store the ones from last year properly.
Keep them in a cool, dark, and dry place
The first step when storing your garden seeds is organizing them. You don't want to open them in a few years and have no memory of what plant variety you saved. Keep seeds in their paper packets if you bought them from the store. That way, they're already in their own containers and labeled with care information. Skilled gardeners may harvest seeds from the plants they've grown this year so they can have more in the future. They should also be put into paper packets, with their names, variety, and collection date written on the label. Then take all the containers and put them into a large glass jar with an airtight seal.
Humidity is a big problem when preserving seeds because the moisture will cause them to break down faster. To prevent this from happening, you can place a silica gel packed into the glass container. Another option is to wrap powdered milk in a cheesecloth. Both of these methods work by absorbing the excess moisture so it doesn't harm the seeds. Now you need to find the right place to store your jars. The temperature needs to be chilled at between 32 and 41 degrees Fahrenheit. It also needs to be dark. If sunlight reaches them during storage, their ability to germinate decreases.
Place seeds in the freezer for long-term storage
If you know you're storing your seeds long-term, the perfect place to put them is in your freezer. You must keep them in a stable environment if you want them to stay fresh for multiple years. The freezer is the best place for this because the temperature is perfect, and you rarely have to open it. Your fridge is the next best option, but the environment fluctuates whenever you open it to make food or grab a drink.
To store your seeds this way, you need to ensure they're completely dry. If any moisture is left, it will freeze, ruining the seeds. You should still organize your seeds into paper packets for each variety and then in a glass jar with a silica gel packet.
When you're ready to refresh your garden with plants, you'll have to set aside time to defrost your seeds. Take the jar out and place it on the counter for about 12 hours. You want it to slowly reach room temperature without condensation forming inside. Then you can open the lid, but you should wait to do this until the day before you plan on planting your seeds. You can only defrost them once, so if you know you won't use them all, consider packing them in separate jars.