Worth sowing is Sow By date is 2022?

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missmoneypenny

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Worth sowing is Sow By date is 2022?
« on: March 17, 2023, 11:47 »
I have parsley, basil, cucumber and cabbage that “ expired” in 2022. Would I be better off binning and getting some cheap seeds in Lidls instead? Or does one year not make a difference? Thanks for any views.

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coldandwindy

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Re: Worth sowing is Sow By date is 2022?
« Reply #1 on: March 17, 2023, 12:21 »
My take on it:-

I'd ditch the parsley because it has a very short storage life so an extra year is a big % of its life. Also if you did a test germination on kitchen roll it'd be ages before you'd know because its slow. New parsley seed is cheap.

Cabbage is the opposite! Long storage life & fast germination, so I'd chance keeping that & you'll know soon enough if you were wrong and there'd be plenty of time to catch up.

Cucumber seed has a very long shelf life and is expensive to buy so again, worth chancing.

(I don't grow basil, it doesn't like it here!)

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missmoneypenny

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Re: Worth sowing is Sow By date is 2022?
« Reply #2 on: March 17, 2023, 13:39 »
Thanks cold and windy I’m going to follow your advice to the letter!

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Subversive_plot

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Re: Worth sowing is Sow By date is 2022?
« Reply #3 on: March 18, 2023, 05:14 »
Parsley can last in storage up to 2 years, but if you can get fresh seed at low cost, why risk it?  After planting fresh seed, if you have extra room, you can thickly sow the old seed in a patch somewhere else.

Basil seed can last up to 5 years in storage.  It may be a safer bet to go ahead and plant that seed.
"Somewhere between right and wrong, there is a garden. I will meet you there."~ Rumi

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coldandwindy

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Re: Worth sowing is Sow By date is 2022?
« Reply #4 on: March 18, 2023, 08:56 »
Thanks cold and windy I’m going to follow your advice to the letter!
Eeek, no pressure then! Let us know how you get on.  :)

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Grubbypaws

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Re: Worth sowing is Sow By date is 2022?
« Reply #5 on: March 25, 2023, 15:57 »
What about coriander seeds? I have some from last years planting which say that they can be sown until 2023 but they look a bit tatty. Should I risk it or use some freshly bought?

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Subversive_plot

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Re: Worth sowing is Sow By date is 2022?
« Reply #6 on: March 25, 2023, 17:35 »
You can try chitting them, if the germinate, pot them up, or put in the ground.  Coriander (cilantro) will tolerate a little cold. Each year I have at least some that comes from seed that over-wintered on the ground outdoors.

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AnneB

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Re: Worth sowing is Sow By date is 2022?
« Reply #7 on: March 26, 2023, 09:14 »
With the exception of onion and carrot seed I tend to be sceptical of sow by dates on seed packets.
Quite often the germination rate tails off a bit but you can still get useful crops from out of date seed. 
I tend to have lots of out of date stuff as I can't resist buying anything new.  If it's old I just sow more of it and often have success.



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