Before I buy new seeds for my garden, is there some way I can test my seeds from last year to see if they are still good?
Yes, there is a simple way to test all your old seeds to see if they are still viable. First, check the packet to see if there is a date anywhere. Color packets usually have the date near the top on the back. If seeds are not more than a year or two old, most will still germinate well. I have found decent germination on seeds as much as seeds 5 years old.
Place an identifying number on each seed packet and count 10 seeds from each packet. If the seeds are valuable, you may want to transplant them in a pot after sprouting. Place the seeds in a row on the edge of a wet paper towel. Even a half a towel may be enough. Roll up the towel with the seeds inside and place it in a shallow pan. I have found that a 9-by-13-inch pan works well for up to a dozen rolled up paper towels. Place a strip of masking tape on the long side of the pan. Place the corresponding numbers from the seed packet on the masking tape.
Place a little water in the pan regularly to keep the towels constantly moist. Place the pan in a warm location such as the top of a refrigerator near the back. Heat from the back of the refrigerator will warm the pan. If you have a seed starting mat for starting seeds inside, you can place the pan on it.
Some seeds will sprout as soon as a week. By three weeks, all the seeds will have sprouted. Count the sprouted seeds and multiply by 10. This is the approximate germination percentage. A typical percentage would be 70 to 90. If the percentage is at least 70, you can plant the normal amount of seed. If the percent is below 70, you may want to double the seeding rate. Below 50 percent, you probably need to buy some fresh seed. Mark the percentage and date on the packet so you will know how heavy to plant.
Seeds that can be planted directly in the garden
Peas, beans and sweet corn are large seeds that sprout well from direct outside planting. Pea seeds are cold tolerant and can be planted as early as March. Beans and corn will not sprout until the soil has warmed in early May. Peas and beans are usually planted about an inch apart in single rows. Corn should be planted three to four seeds in a cluster (hill) at one foot intervals with 2 feet between rows. A minimum of three rows is needed for pollination.
I like to plant root vegetables like radish, beet and turnip in raised beds in one foot square patches with seed scattered across the patch. I plant leaf vegetables like leaf lettuce and spinach the same way. Both are cold tolerant and can be planted starting in March. I plant a second batch about a month later for continuous harvest. Root and leaf vegetables can also be planted in single rows.
Many flowers can also be planted directly outside in March or April. I often plant seeds of easy to start marigolds, zinnias and sunflowers in their final location in May after the soil warms.
Vegetables like cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant and flowers such as petunias, impatiens, and begonias need to be planted with plants that have been started inside.
I will write about starting your own plants in a sunny window in a later column.
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