Your hand tools are clean and stored. Starter pots are neatly stacked on their designated shelves.
Yeah right. 😉
I have most of those things done and a few others too. One thing I always agonize over is throwing out seeds.
Now I know I’m always talking about how important it is to save seeds. Saving seeds is vital to preserving heirloom varieties. That’s all well and good. But what if you don’t get to plant those seeds come spring? How long can you keep them?
Seed viability depends on age of the seed as much as how you dry and store it. Once your seeds are totally dried, store them in a dark, cool place that has low humidity.
You can get an estimate of how well your seeds weathered winter by doing a germination test in spring. Count out about 20 seeds and place them in a damp paper towel. Place the towel in a zip baggie and store it according to the conditions for germinating those seeds. Check it in about a week and see what percentage of seeds sprouted.
Here is an easy reference chart for some popular garden vegetables.
5 years:
Artichokes, celery, collards, cress, cucumbers, endive, escarole, lettuce, melons, radish, turnips
4 years:
Chard, eggplant, fennel, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, pumpkins, rutabagas, summer squash, tomatoes, watermelons
3 years: peas, spinach
2 years: corn, okra
1 year: leeks, onions