Found some 9 year old pepper seeds. Could they still be viable?
I found an unopened package and it contained these seeds that I apparently ordered in 2016. Has anyone else been able to get old seeds to work or should I toss?
by honeysuckleminie
20 Comments
Snoron
They can always potentially germinate. I’d hedge my bets and stick them all in a single pot and be happy with 1 of them sprouting, though!
o6ijuan
All you need is 1.
W-h3x
Only one way to find out.
md22mdrx
I’ve had some fully germinate 100% (of about 20 seeds) from 6 years personally.
I’ve had others that flat out didn’t germinate a single plant (0%) after 4 years.
It depends on a shit ton of factors, so the answer is a big MAYBE!
(And by the way, both of those were kept in sealed plastic bags (2”x3”?) in the same box, in the same room, at the same temperature and moisture level)
bruising_blue
I’ve had bad luck with old pepper seeds, but beans, peas, even some cucurbits have surprised me before. It’s worth taking a shot.
Old_Orchid2130
FAFO!
Scootergirl1961
I would still plant them.
wizardtroubles
Worth a shot and make sure to be extra patient with them! I sprouted a few old seeds using a moist paper towel and two sprouted within 36 hours and the third sprouted 9 days later haha
HungryPanduh_
[https://youtu.be/-EFQKIutwt4?si=INsM_9xJwDkQzSTO](https://youtu.be/-EFQKIutwt4?si=INsM_9xJwDkQzSTO) Just came across this video from pepper guru today. Haven’t tried the technique but if you try half of those and have no luck, it would be worth a shot to use this method
ThatDustinKidd89
Plant them and find out. It’s a science experiment.
GhettoSauce
Hey, where’s the person on here who managed to grow 30 year old seeds? That was crazy.
So is the history of the Fish pepper, which is a neat little Wikipedia article: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_pepper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_pepper)
^ in there, they say that the species was lost but then resurrected due to finding 50 year old seeds in a freezer
So… there’s hope! Plant ’em
theegreenman
Most of the seeds I grew this year were from 2016-2018. They’re slow to germinate but fine
jack_begin
What have you got to lose? (Aside from your time and sanity.)
rbhansn
Good luck! I hope you get some plants.
CantinaPatron
If stored properly, hell yes! Remember, there are seed banks designed to preserve seeds for decades. If storage conditions are reasonaly kept (temp, humidity, darkness) – seeds can outlive us all!
ElderberryOk469
I’ve had 6 year old pepper seeds be viable and they were wrapped in a napkin. I think you should give it a shot!!
Ramo2653
There’s a guy in the forum that got some seeds his grandad used to harvest that were sitting around for 30 years or something. There’s always a chance.
JonBovi_msn
It’s worth a try, but don’t put all your eggs in that particular basket. If you want reapers for sure you could get new seed for less than $5 on etsy.
20 Comments
They can always potentially germinate. I’d hedge my bets and stick them all in a single pot and be happy with 1 of them sprouting, though!
All you need is 1.
Only one way to find out.
I’ve had some fully germinate 100% (of about 20 seeds) from 6 years personally.
I’ve had others that flat out didn’t germinate a single plant (0%) after 4 years.
It depends on a shit ton of factors, so the answer is a big MAYBE!
(And by the way, both of those were kept in sealed plastic bags (2”x3”?) in the same box, in the same room, at the same temperature and moisture level)
I’ve had bad luck with old pepper seeds, but beans, peas, even some cucurbits have surprised me before. It’s worth taking a shot.
FAFO!
I would still plant them.
Worth a shot and make sure to be extra patient with them! I sprouted a few old seeds using a moist paper towel and two sprouted within 36 hours and the third sprouted 9 days later haha
[https://youtu.be/-EFQKIutwt4?si=INsM_9xJwDkQzSTO](https://youtu.be/-EFQKIutwt4?si=INsM_9xJwDkQzSTO)
Just came across this video from pepper guru today. Haven’t tried the technique but if you try half of those and have no luck, it would be worth a shot to use this method
Plant them and find out. It’s a science experiment.
Hey, where’s the person on here who managed to grow 30 year old seeds? That was crazy.
So is the history of the Fish pepper, which is a neat little Wikipedia article:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_pepper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_pepper)
^ in there, they say that the species was lost but then resurrected due to finding 50 year old seeds in a freezer
So… there’s hope! Plant ’em
Most of the seeds I grew this year were from 2016-2018. They’re slow to germinate but fine
What have you got to lose? (Aside from your time and sanity.)
Good luck! I hope you get some plants.
If stored properly, hell yes!
Remember, there are seed banks designed to preserve seeds for decades. If storage conditions are reasonaly kept (temp, humidity, darkness) – seeds can outlive us all!
I’ve had 6 year old pepper seeds be viable and they were wrapped in a napkin. I think you should give it a shot!!
There’s a guy in the forum that got some seeds his grandad used to harvest that were sitting around for 30 years or something. There’s always a chance.
It’s worth a try, but don’t put all your eggs in that particular basket. If you want reapers for sure you could get new seed for less than $5 on etsy.
Send em!
Yes