"Victoria Clare" wrote in message
.207...

The important bit from Si's point of view is:

"However, recent studies showed extended longevity of vegetable seeds once
stored (15 to 30 years) in ambient temperatures at Cheyenne, Wyoming, and
are now stored at the National Seed Storage Laboratory at -18oC (0F). For
example, tomato seeds stored for 60 years germinated 82%, pea seeds stored
for 51 years germinated 94%, and pepper seed stored for 51 years
germinated
28%. These data suggest that the longevity of seed can be extended if
proper storage conditions are utilized. "

Awesome peas!


That's incredible, isn't it? To think that's there's some sort of life
process going on in there for that length of time - just waiting for a drop
of rain. Amazing!

Sounds like there is a chance of germination for the 40-year chillis,
assuming low moisture and heat for the storage. I'd guess the moisture
content must have been pretty low or they'd have disintegrated, but I
guess
if they were dried somewhere quite warm chances aren't so good.

Well, the chillies themselves were extremely crispy and the seeds look in
good condition, i.e. not disintegrating, so we shall see...

Si