Most appropo, this past Saturday hubby and I cleaned out a part of our garage
that had sat untouched since we moved in 1998. (We use the garage for storage,
not cars)

In among things that I had been trying to find since 1998 [g], was a box of
gardening stuff. Mostly old pots, but tucked into one of the pots was the cache
of seed packets that used to be in my kitchen cabinet in my old apartment. Some
of these had "packed for" dates going back to 1984. Most were in the late
1980's to 1996. Supposing I had nothing to lose, I took some recycled 4-cells,
filled them with starter mix and planted some vintage 1984 pansies, 1992
lettuce, 1994 New Yorker tomatoes, and other odds and ends. I sprinkled more
seeds than I would normally use, since I was sure I probably would not get much
germination.

I check them this morning, and the pansies and the lettuce have begun to
germinate. Nothing else so far, but, honestly, I didn't expect ANYTHING. All
the starter paks were pretty wet, since they were outside in the rain, and the
weather has also been cool. And FWIW, the new cucumbers and snapdragons I
planted at the same time haven't done anything yet.

When it comes to seeds, stuff that is usually high in germination and easy to
start, I will use until the packet is gone. Stuff that is hard to germinate, I
will toss and replace after two seasons or less. Obviously, twenty-year-old
seeds are not my norm for my gardening habits, but I do have to laugh at the
unexpected surprise.
That, and clean out the garage more often....[g]


-=epm=-

In matters of truth and justice,
there is no difference between large and small problems,
for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.
- Albert Einstein