I am going to start stockpiling seeds of every type, tomato, corn, lettuce, etc... I was wondering what the shelf life of seeds were, and if there was a way to long term store seeds without freezing them? Also anything you gardeners recommend for high altitude (say 4,000-8,000 feet) and a colder climate but with lots of sun.
Kyle
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If the Founding Fathers were alive today, they'd probably rather be dead.
When I was a kid, I grew pea beans from stock that I found at Grandma's house in the cellar in a sealed mason jar. She hadn't grown pea beans in at least 30 years, she said, but they germinated and grew just fine. There were kernels of wheat found in ancient Egyptian tombs that were germinated and grown in labs in the 1990s; they enabled new strains of wheat immune to common (today) plant diseases to be developed.
I believe the secret is to keep them sealed in an airtight, waterproof container at a constant temperature that is not very warm. I imagine if you could seal them in a nitrogen environment the seeds would be even more storable for the long term, but that's a guess.
It's not really a hard and fast thing; I have found that most seeds degenerate slowly, over years, when properly stored, resulting in lower and lower fertility rates. so, for example, my apple seeds from an old commercial cider orchard here that closed 20 years back, are good for about one in five at present, rather than their nearly 100% when fresh.
Seeds from somethings do not keep at all well, or are difficult to store. Trial and error sometimes...
Black plastic 35mm film containers are useful. Put the seeds in, breath into the container to displace much of the oxygen with exhaled carbon dioxide, seal, label and store. Can be frozen for suitable seeds or just stored on a cool dry shelf in the garage or shed.
You should able to grow some coffee at that altitude; 4000 - 5000 feet, or some high altitude tea, 3000-7500 feet.
Other things for high altitudes? Peas, radishes, beets, carrots, turnips, parsnips, kohlrabi, onion, rutabaga, garlic, shallots, leeks, potatoes, lettuces cabbage, chard, rhubarb, collards, brussel sprouts, endive, escarole, garden cress, spinach, radicchio, and broccoli, parsley, chives, cilantro, basil, oregano, tarragon, rosemary.
You'll need a greenhouse for tomatoes, and strawberries..
When we buy garden seed this coming spring we'll buy an additional year or two of seed...
...and store away the extra seed in vacuum sealed pouches.
I read where properly stored seed, in air-tight containers and kept in cool and dry conditions, will last for years. Here's the book we purchased to help us store seeds properly: http://www.amazon.com/Seed-Growing-Techniques-Vegetable-Gardeners/dp/1882424581
We've also stored away a years supply of sprouting seeds, to use as a back up supply of vegetable-like nutrition in an emergency.
Last edited by LiveToShoot; 11-11-2008 at 06:59 AM.
There is a special storage vault somewhere in Greenland or one of those countries! LOL sorry not more specific, but anyway I read where they are collecting seeds from around the world and cataloging them then storing in special vaults where the scientists claim they can be kept for something like 10,000 years and should species go extinct or catastrophic event happen they would have the ability to repopulate plants.
__________________ Most of my life I've spent hunting,... the rest of it I've just wasted
