| Old Seed... Will it germinate |
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By:
Davy C
Date:25-Apr-17
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I found an old bag of Fleet Farm clover and Chicory. I have no idea how old it is but it said on the label the inoculant expired in 2010. I planted it at twice the rate. Do you think it will germinate? If not I will over seed it this fall using a drill.
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By:
Brotsky
Date:25-Apr-17
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Davy, a good friend of mine and their family have a seed company. I often get their old seed for my BIL to use in his food plots on his farm. The seeds certainly do not germinate at the same rate but they do a great job for the price. Alfalfa has a long shelf life I know, I think hard seeds like clover and chicory would last a long time as well.
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By:
cnelk
Date:25-Apr-17
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Back in the day (a long time ago) when we were farming, each spring we would count out 100 seeds of each crop, place them on a cookie sheet with wet paper towels below and covering the seeds. Keep them moist until we got germination. Then count the ones that didn't.
You can get a close % and adjust your seeding accordingly.
Is it perfect? Nope. But close enough
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By:
Davy C
Date:25-Apr-17
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cnelk... I did save out a handful of seed and thought I would try to germinate it under controlled conditions. I like you cookie sheet idea.
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By:
Fuzzy
Date:25-Apr-17
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cnelk, I have always "proofed" seed the same way. You can also assume a 25% reduction in viable seed per year from the "packed for" date and come pretty close.
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By:
Fuzzy
Date:25-Apr-17
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also my brother is 44 YO and has a one year old son.
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By:
drycreek
Date:25-Apr-17
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I planted some Frigid Forage Plot Screen for three years in a row out of the same bag. Stored in a shed that I'm sure got 120* in July and August. I couldn't tell much difference, but I wouldn't plant a food plot from seed handled like that. If I have leftover, I put it in the deep freezer if I have room.
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By:
r-man
Date:25-Apr-17
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I found a small pack of seeds from 2010 , I belive it was either turnip or mustard , at least 80% grew. could not believe it. I know Beans don't keep well.
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By:
t-roy
Date:25-Apr-17
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r-man X2 on the beans. I plant 1 year old seed corn test plot seed that I get for free and have had no issues with it, but the germination rate on the same 1 year old soybean test plot seed sucked.
Small seeds like clover, alfalfa, turnips, etc seem to keep fairly well.
