oh @#$%.. wet seeds

13 years ago

I don't know if any of you remember my 700 seed packs I was sent last spring.... I traded a lot, sold some, gave them away to family and friends and had the number down to about 100 veggie and herbs which I was hanging on to until spring came to give away again.... I was storing the box in the garage-- up high on a shelf, thinking they'd be safe up there. Hubby didn't know what they were, and moved them to the floor, which ended up next to the snowblower..... consequently, the box ended up full of snow and ice. (insert stunned face, with imaginations of thousands of seeds screaming as they froze to death)

(followed quickly by the frustrated face, and a long sigh)

What do you think? ARe they toast?

I'm going to do a paper towel test on some of the herbs which seem to have suffered the worst.

Currently, I have them on the top of my stove while I run the self cleaning thing to use the heat to dry them, and I'm flipping them every ten minutes, but I'm just not sure if I'm wasting my time or not.

After they are all dry, I plan to post them on CL, because these were the extras I didn't need, but I'm still really frustrated that they got wet and maybe ruined.

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Comments (2)

morz8 - Washington Coast
13 years ago
That's sad, but really, things happen and we learn from mistakes - there is a good chance they are toast like you guessed.

Would depend on what they were packaged in. If they were in paper envelopes and they got wet enough that water breached the seed coat and you dry them out again not sow them, chances are the embryo would be damaged and the seeds not viable. Water breaching the seed coat is usually the trigger for the germination process.

Dried for storage, moistened, then dried out again not sown can be fatal for many types seed.

If they were in plastic zip locks, or metal, and just got cold snow dumped on them while dry they would be OK but if you are at your stove drying I suspect that isn't what happened. Can you use some, instead of drying, sow them?
beck_wi
Original Author
13 years ago
They are all in sealed commercial packs....well they were sealed, up until the water opened a bunch of them.
About 95% are still loose in their packages, and not stuck together or to the paper, which to me is a good sign...and when I opened a few to take a peak, they look pretty good.
Except the lima beans... they were squishy.

I came here to look and most of what I have is on the "ok to winter-sow" list, so I'm hopeful that a good cold/wet/snow/ snap won't hurt them.. some of them are pelletized so I'm crossing my fingers.
I just hate to see all these seeds ruined.

Everyone send positive germination energy to my seeds lol
I"m going to give them away, so hopefully someone will want to take a chance on them.... I already have my stash, and I do not have enough space to sow 100 packs of veggies. lol

thanks
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