On 5/26/2014 11:30 PM, SteveB wrote:
My wife is the daughter of a depression baby, and has a sometimes bad
habit of keeping things she should throw away.

We planted some Bush contender string beans last year, nice germination
time, and great growers and producers right into frost.

We had seeds left over, which she kept in a plastic ziploc in the garden
shed, temps sometimes very hot, and then through a freezing winter.

This year, it seems they to be taking a long time to germinate. Is
there a good estimate of how long seeds are good for? I would say to
buy just enough for what you need each year, but perhaps you find a
strain that you really like, and don't know if they will carry that at
the seed store next year.

And tips on storage from season to season would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Steve
I have seeds in the refrigerator that have been there ten years or more.
Germination rate drops even with chilling, sometimes they work,
sometimes they don't. My wife has a habit of leaving the container of
seeds on the kitchen table for a few days if I don't watch her. Your
Contenders may or may not, in my opinion NOT, germinate.

I've been growing the same strain of crowder peas for twenty years, each
year I let a few pods stay on the vine to ripen fully, shuck them and
put them into a paper envelope and keep them until the following year.
These are heirloom seeds so are okay, some of the specialty seeds may
revert to one or more of the original parents.

George