How Long Do Seeds Last?

How long do garden seeds last? How do you tell if your old seeds are still good? Let&#;s find out!

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Wintertime is the season when these questions matter. The gorgeous seed catalogs arrive in the mail, tempting you with beautiful photographs.

But before you go crazy, it&#;s time to inventory your leftover seeds to avoid duplication and determine viability.

How Long Do Vegetable Seeds Last?

Seeds are living things and their viability is affected greatly by the way they are stored. Most experts agree on dark, cool, and dry conditions as being the best. We keep some of our seeds in the refrigerator, but most are in open boxes in the dining room&#;probably not the best location!

Some seeds inherently have a longer life expectancy than others, too. Most last for a couple of years if stored in a dry, cool place. Consult the table below to see how long some of the most common garden seeds last.

How Long Do Seeds Last?

Replace after&#; Type of Seed 1 Year Lettuce, onions, parsley, parsnips, salsify 2 Years Corn, leeks, okra, peppers 3 Years Asparagus, beans, broccoli, carrots, celery, kohlrabi, peas, spinach 4 Years Beets, brussels sprouts, cabbages, cauliflower, Swiss chard, eggplants, kale, pumpkins, radishes, rutabagas, squashes, tomatoes, turnips, watermelons 5 Years Cucumbers, endive, cantaloupes Seed viability data gathered via Colorado State University Extension.

How to Tell If Your Seeds Are Still Good

If I have a question about the viability of some seeds&#;such as those beans that someone gave me back in &#;I will test a few.

This is as easy as placing ten seeds on a damp paper towel, folding it up, and placing it in a plastic bag. Put the bag in a warm spot and check after a week or so to see if any of the seeds have sprouted.

• If 2 out of 10 germinate, that means a germination rate of about 20%&#;not too good, so I would either plant more of them than usual or buy fresh seeds altogether.
• If 8 out of 10 germinate, that means 80%&#;not bad at all, and I can likely get away with using them for another season.

Once you have determined what you need, you can shop with a clear plan in mind and be less likely to overbuy.

Have fun looking through this year&#;s seed catalogs and dreaming of your best garden ever. Summer is just a page away in a seed catalog!

Speaking of which, check out our list of free garden catalogs and sites.

The beginning of spring usually sees me sprawled in the middle of the living room floor, with all my seed storage cans, laying out rows and rows of seed packets sorted by vegetable and herb, and then by variety.

Some are even color-coded&#; and I realize I have a deep obsession with growing tomatoes of all kinds and collecting an entire rainbow of tomato seed varieties.

Related: These are the best tasting heirloom tomatoes you should try growing this year

Inevitably, a handful of seed packets get tossed in the compost pile as I double-check the dates&#; peppers from , onions from three years ago. Yikes.

Some seeds I&#;ve only sown once or twice but still have half a packet left, some I&#;ve saved&#; and saved&#; and saved&#; because they&#;re so easy to save by the bagful every year (I&#;m looking at you, beans). Others are rotated every few seasons as I try new varieties, and by the time I make it back to those Parisienne carrots, it&#;s already been a couple years.

Are they still good? Should I get new ones? How long do seeds really last, anyway? I&#;ve combed through countless seed sites and extension sites over the years, wondering this very question.

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So, how long do seeds actually last?

In general, you can expect most vegetable seeds to last two to three years after their packing date, though there are exceptions&#;like onions, which start to deteriorate after just one year.

Most herb seeds last about two years from their harvest or packing date, though basil (particularly sweet basil) can remain viable for up to five years.

But these &#;expiration dates&#; are just rough estimates, especially when you take into account the environment the seeds were stored in, the quality of the original crop the seeds were harvested from, and even the condition of the seeds themselves (as treated seeds will have a different lifespan than seeds in their natural state).

Seeds have a shelf life (as all living things do), and depending on where your particular shelf is, the viability of your seeds can vary by as much as a year or two.

When someone asks, &#;How long do bean seeds last?&#; a safe answer is three years, but in ideal storage conditions your seeds could still actually sprout after five.

So, you see where our dilemma lies.

Why seed vigor matters

Storage conditions are only one piece of the puzzle. Seed vigor matters, too.

According to Oregon State University, vigor is the &#;ability of those seeds to produce normal seedlings under less than optimum or adverse growing conditions similar to those which may occur in the field.&#;

In layman&#;s terms, vigor is the ability of your plants to survive outside with all the elements working against them (even if they&#;ve been hardened off), as opposed to being coddled indoors under grow lights or controlled conditions.

Above: A bean seedling that sprouted within days of being sowed. The cotyledons clearly look healthy and vibrant.

While you can predict seed germination rates by knowing when the seed was harvested/packed, or by doing a simple germination test like this one, ultimately you can&#;t really predict its vigor: how well a seedling will grow in terms of health, strength, uniformity, and root system, not to mention its production of flowers and fruits.

A seedling with compromised vigor may have a missing cotyledon, look stunted or scrawny, or seem overall slower to develop than seedlings from fresher seeds.

Above: A bean seedling (sprouted from a three-year-old seed) with missing cotyledons. This seedling will never develop into a normal productive plant.

Try as they might, sometimes older seeds just don&#;t have it in them to sprout, grow, and go all the way to seed again. A will to germinate does not equal an ability to thrive.

What all this means: Your seeds may still be &#;good&#; as far as expiration dates are concerned, but the longer they&#;ve been stored, the weaker they&#;ll possibly develop. (Though there&#;s always that spunky outlier that still grows big and strong after many years!)

Average lifespan of vegetable and herb seeds

The chart below takes the average life expectancy of seeds from a variety of sources, including the cooperative extensions of Oregon State University, Colorado State University, Purdue University, and Virginia State University, as well as my own personal experience over the last decade-plus.

Consider it more as a guideline, as the shelf life of your seeds ultimately depends on the date on the packet and how carefully you&#;ve stored them since then.

Seed Viability Chart

VegetablesShelf LifeArtichokes3 yearsArugula6 yearsAsian greens3 yearsAsparagus3 yearsBeans3 yearsBeets3 yearsBroccoli3 yearsBrussels sprouts4 yearsCabbage4 yearsCardoon3 yearsCarrots3 yearsCauliflower4 yearsCelery/celeriac4 yearsChard3 yearsChicory4 yearsChinese cabbage3 yearsCollards4 yearsCorn (sweet)2 yearsCress5 yearsCucumbers5 yearsDandelions2 yearsEggplant4 yearsEndive5 yearsFennel (bulb)4 yearsKale4 yearsKohlrabi4 yearsLeeks2 yearsLettuce3 yearsMelons5 yearsMustard4 yearsOkra2 yearsOnions1 yearParsnips2 yearsPeas3 yearsPeppers3 yearsPumpkins5 yearsPurslane4 yearsRadishes5 yearsRutabagas4 yearsSalsify1 yearSoybeans4 yearsSpinach3 yearsSquash (summer and winter)4 yearsTomatoes5 yearsTurnips4 yearsWatermelons4 years HerbsShelf LifeBasil5 yearsChamomile4 yearsChives2 yearsCilantro2 yearsDill2 yearsFennel2 yearsHyssop2 yearsLavender4 yearsLemon balm2 yearsLovage2 yearsMarjoram2 yearsOregano4 yearsParsley2 yearsRosemary2 yearsSage2 yearsSavory2 yearsThyme2 years

This post updated from an article that originally appeared on March 17, .

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