I have heard conflicting methods for seed storage. Some say freeze and some say refrigerate.
Any opinions?
Any opinions?
Thanks for the good info!When people refer to freeze, they mean snap deep freeze which is something not available to the average gardener!
Freezing seed in the household freezer does the same damage as freezing a lettuce.
However refrigerating seed can expose it to moisture which will kill it in the end anyway.
If the seed has been properly dried & bagged on a very dry day, then sealed in an airtight darkened plastic container, it should hold in the fridge at the back of the bottom shelf so the temperature remains as close to constant as possible.
Most seed will hold for one year at cool, constant ambient temperature if properly dried in the first place. Then sealed in an airtight container & stored in a darkened cupboard that has low steady temperature.
Some seed will only last a few months at best so has to be replanted regularly.
All seed that you want to hold long term should be refreshed annually by planting just a few & saving the best fruit for new seed.
Be sure to cause cross pollination of the best specimens so the natural vigour of the plant is maintained.
Seed saving is not simply a matter of sticking some seeds in a plastic bag & storing somehow for long periods.
The standard method is to plant 50 of each type & tag the best fruit that represents the vigour & desirable traits of the species to grow out for seed.
Even then, it can go wrong as I discovered this year. I sowed capsicum that I saved last year but the fruit were not sweet in the least. Rather they were like large capsicum shaped chilies! I obviously & inadvertently saved seed with an undesirable trait, unless I wanted chilies... which I didn't. It means for next season I have to buy seed again from Diggers or Green Harvest.
A different situation occurs when some seed needs to be chilled before planting to ensure a good germination, flowering & fruiting. Bulbs are routinely chilled at just above freezing for 6wks prior to planting.
ThanksI refrigerate any leftover seeds in store-bought packages in airtight containers in the fridge, and have had some germinate even after spending more than a year in there. I think it depends on the "freshness" of the seeds when they were packaged / how long they have been sitting on the store shelf prior to purchase, as well as what kind of plants they are.