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How old is too old when it comes to trying to germinate beans?
I can get hold of some but they're saying they could be a couple of years old. They're a fair way out of town, so it would be a bit of a mission to get them and if they're unlikely to pop I wont bother.
i've heard of people germing seeds from the 70s. the rate of germination will no doubt go down but it's never not worth a shot! i mean if you don't give it a go they might as well not be able to be germinated haha so go for it and see how you go!
if properly kept, seeds should last a good while. i have used 7 year old seeds and all that happened was it took 4 days longer then normal for them to pop. (I normally have seeds popped in 1-2days) before you go, i'd ask the guy how he has kept the seeds. if they were in a cool, dry environment, and he let them dry out before storing them, they should still be good. germination rate does go down with time so make sure u get enough seeds.
I READ with much surprise in NATURE of March 31 (in Prof. Judd's defence of his statement as to the longevity of seeds) that “competent botanists have cited the case of the germination of seeds taken from ancient Egyptian tombs as authentic. Many experiments have been made as to the length of time seeds may retain their power of germinating, by Robert Brown, Henslow, and others, with interesting results as to the longevity of some; but my impression is, and I venture to make it public, that competent botanists have universally condemned as utterly worthless the evidence given in support of alleged instances of the germination of mummy seeds. No scientifically responsible person has, so far as I am aware, put the fact on record. In these circumstances, therefore, the results of the successful experiments referred to farther on by Prof. Judd as having recently been made, possess the greatest interest, and botanists will look forward eagerly to the details which it is to be hoped will soon be made public. Hitherto the fruitful source of error has been the deception at the outset of the credulous experimenter by the Arab. In fact, the mummy wheat of one well-known traveler grew up in the form of oatsâ”a plant not cultivated by the ancient Egyptians, but now grown in the land they inhabited”though this did not shake his faith in the genuine source of his supply. In the present case, however, the statement made in faith by so high an authority as Prof. Judd leads us to anticipate that the undertaking has been hedged in with all the safeguards demanded by a pure cultivation of undoubtedly genuine material.
just germinated some sssc seeds that were decades old got 50% on them and the ones that popped look very healthy. I use a russian supplement EPIN that has worked wonders for me.
I've germed some beans that are as old as I am...they were SSSC M39 my dad got back in 89'. Sadly it was 3 years ago and I had no idea that M39 was a classic strain and was no longer available in seed form so I didn't keep any moms.