[woodburner]

What does everyone do with their old seeds?

I hate to see it go to waste but I have some that is surely dead by now (10 years out of date, various reasons).
I don't want to sow them and find out for sure by having no crop, so I plan to sow decent seed mainly/first, then use the old seed for potential 'back up'. I'm sure I will be able to sell or at least give away any surplus, as only two neighbours on this side of the street grow their own veg.

[Trillium]

Personally I toss my old seed as I don't have much storage space and the old are likely to mix with the new as I use mostly the same brands. But if you've got outlets to give away surplus, then give it a try by all means. Not all the seeds will germinate but certainly enough to justify the effort.

[sunshineband]

If its somehting I really really want to grow, I try a few out of a bit of wet paper indoors in the warm, see how many come up and decide it they're worth sowing or not.

[min200]

A friend of mine was given some carrot seeds by her grandad that he was sure were 30 years old.  He found them at the back of  draw when tidying up.  She planted them and most of them grew!!     Might just have been lucky.

[woodburner]

If its somehting I really really want to grow, I try a few out of a bit of wet paper indoors in the warm, see how many come up and decide it they're worth sowing or not.

I'll give that a try, thanks.

[strangerachael]

You could also try sprouting the seeds in a sprouter or jam jar, and eat the sprouts in a salad?

[Stripey_cat]

I do the germination test thing too.  For anything that needs starting in heat, you can then plant out just the germinated seeds (like the expensive started cucumber seed you can order), so you don't need either hundreds of modules and most empty, or multiple seeds per pot (that will inevitably germinate unevenly anyway).

[alfman]

 Some seeds last one year some last many years but I never keep parsnip seeds more than one year, They're notorious for not being reliable to germinate after one year.

[DIGGER]

Seen a chart somewhere recently,Might have been Johns book.

[RGManby]

I am sure they germinated some seeds from a tomb of Egypt, around 3000 years old, so in my opinion, if they germinate they will grow, nothing ventured nothing gained and all that.

[Salmo]

If they are kept cool and dry most seeds are ok for at least a second year.

I keep brassicas, beet/chard/spinach beet, carrots and onions until the packet runs out.

Peas and beans I keep for a second year but then throw them out.

Parsnip I only sow fresh seed.

Small seed like lettuce usually are OK but a simple germination test is wise.