This fall when you’re packing away the shorts and swimsuits, there’s one more thing that you should take care to pack away properly – your garden seeds and tender bulbs.
Seed packets are usually stamped with “Packed For” or “Sell By” followed by a date, similar to an expiration date on food products. But just because that date has passed is no reason to dispose of the seeds. They are often good for many years after the date printed on the pack.
In general, and given proper storage, corn, onion, parsnip and soybean seeds are viable for two years; bean, leek, parsley and pea for three years; carrot, mustard, pepper and tomato for four years; cabbage, kohlrabi, lettuce, pumpkin, radish, spinach and turnip for five years; beet, eggplant, melon, and squash for six years; and cucumber for ten years.
Seed packets as well as seeds that you’ve collected yourself from your plants need proper storage to ensure that they will germinate at planting time. They should be absolutely dry before you store them, and then should be placed in a cool, dry place. A cool basement or a refrigerator is a good storage location
Many people stick the seed packets inside quart canning jars or zip-top plastic bags. To make sure the seeds stay dry, place a packet of silica gel in the container. You often get these little packets free when you buy athletic shoes or vitamins. Another option is to place a few tablespoons of powdered milk between sheets of paper towels in the bottom of the storage container.
Next spring when you take the seeds out of storage before planting, do not open the container until they have warmed to room temperature or condensation will form inside and may cause them to mold or rot.
Storage of tender bulbs is a little more involved than sticking seed packets in a jar. Some of the common plants that grow from bulbs or corms that cannot withstand the cold Wisconsin winters and must be lifted from the ground and stored inside are anemone, begonia, caladium, canna, dahlia and gladiola.
Dig the bulbs, cut off stems and let them dry a few days before placing them in the coolest part of your basement. Anemone, begonia, caladium and canna can be stored loosely in a cardboard box with the soil that comes up with them still around them. Soil should be brushed or washed off dahlia bulbs and gladiolus corms and they should be packed in sand or peat. Gladiola corms should be dried for several weeks in the shade before storage and can overwinter in the garage if you’re sure it won’t get below 35°.
Check stored bulbs at least once a month and discard any with rot or mold. Do not open the seed storage containers to check them because you risk letting humidity inside.
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