My top seed stockpiling method
To freeze or not to freeze, that is the question. Well, it’s the question for a number of people who store seeds, anyway! There seems to be some controversy on this subject, so I thought it would be a good idea to talk about it. After researching a number of different viewpoints on this topic, I’ve come to a few conclusions.
Seeds, much like the food that they produce under the right growing conditions, are susceptible to certain things, including moisture, light and warm temperatures. Fresh food will go bad quickly when exposed to any of those elements. With seeds, the process is slower, but they will definitely suffer the same effects. But if seeds are frozen, their DNA will stay intact for a long time. Those who claim that freezing seeds is a bad idea point to the seed’s natural moisture that will freeze, expand and crack the seed. But if the seeds are dried first, it’s no longer a problem. And last time I checked, nature does a pretty good job of freezing seeds in the winter, thawing them in the summer and then providing the warmth, light and water they need to fulfill their purpose.
What has been your experience with long-term storage of seeds? Have you kept them in the refrigerator or the freezer or somewhere else? How have your frozen seeds compared to the non-frozen ones in terms of performance after they were planted? Let me know what’s worked for you and what hasn’t.
Wow, Frank, thank you for providing this incredible information-sharing place. My favoruite seed-savings are Heirloom /Organic seeds. Yellow pear cherry tomatoes, are the MOST robust I have had so far. I am currently eating these as well as a white one, and a brown/purple cherry with a french name. The yellow pear I have been saving each year since 2010, the others are new last spring from Baker Creek Rare seeds, and are still setting and ripening fruit, since I always bring the cherry tomatoes into my living room every fall. This year I’m planning on increasing the amount of light they will get next fall. Thank you again, and thanks to all the responders!! Carrie Cofer
I save seed from all the plants I liked in the current year’s garden and keep them cool and dry over the winter in my pantry. Seed is always fresh, sprouts well and produces really well. I have your seed bank in my freezer as a backup. In fact I also have another seed bank my daughter gave me for Christmas. As preppers say, “Two is one and one is none.”
I take the fruit or vegie when it is fully ripe and remove the seed, then allow them to dry out in the partial sun, with a fan blowing on them. Then I store in a vacuum sealed bag and place in a ammo box. Room temp is about 60 deg. F year around. Seed germinates better than 95%.
I save seeds. I normally keep them in a cool, dark
room. Living in the southwest, I usually freeze them.
Beans stored dry and sealed in a jar will keep for at least a thousand years (inca tooms) and rice for three thousand (Chinese tombs)
We kept some small pea seed in a jar with a clamped-on sealing lid for about 13 years. We just decided one summer to plant some to see if they would grow. Well, they did. We collected 23 quart bags of peas for the freezer! Planted more the next year and had bushes about 6 feet tall. Unfortunately, we discovered deer really love those plants and blooms!!
Supplement bottles (dark brown) for storing seeds has worked for me, never freezing. I use mostly heirloom seeds or buy the plants then let them go to seed and save them. I take the seeds out of the fruit/veggie and place them on paper towel until dry and then bottle them and store them in a container under my bed. Have many of the popular veggies. I am always amazed at how God has provided hundreds of seeds out of one plant.
I started putting back seeds in 1999, Y2K was going to place us all back in the stone age (back then). Well, I guess I put a lot of seeds back because I’m still using on them. I simply placed them in a plastic box with a loose fitting lit and went on the my next prep. when Y2K came and went and 2012 was on the way I started using those seeds to can food for the long term via my garden. I’m still using them today, my garden I planted here in Kentucky is up and doing good for the 2015 crop but only about 80% of the seeds came up. The amount that makes it each year is a little less, but dry storage in the dark seems to work ok.
I learned from my mother-in-law to plant your own fruit trees using pits from any good (be sure it’s really tasty) pitted fruit you happen to be canning. Every time she moved from one house to a new one, she would take about 4 pits from fruit gotten at the fruit stand for canning that first season and plant the pits where she would want fruit trees at the new place. Just plant each pit in a corner of about a square foot area, then wait until the next spring to see which come up. Let the hardiest one keep growing in that spot. Of course, you’ll probably want to do this in a couple of places on your property in order to have two trees providing cross pollination. Your children will love planting the pits, then watching the seedlings come up the next spring. But be sure to show them where to plant. One of my little boys planted a single peach pit next to our fence without my knowledge. The tree that came up has wonderfully sweet peaches, so I hate to get rid of it. But it is surely “doing a number” on my fence!
Most fruit seeds will not grow true, since they are hybrids. Also, most fruit trees are grafted with a root stock that is better than the branch stock. I’ve found it is a good investment to spend a few dollars on trees, to know what you are getting and to save several years of growing time.
What happens when the power goes out?
What? You don’t have solar panels? :)
In all seriousness, be sure that your seeds are stored in a waterproof container, so even if they get warmer, they don’t get wet and warm.
saving seed in freezer for planting up to 3 yrs down the road has worked for me in south ga. for 40+ yrs, accept for one time, had a second freezer with a few seed in it ,was closer for wife to walk too, and it failed. Lost all stuff in it, 21 cubic feet full lost. So then we decided to find a better way to save seed. After drying seed very good, we use a vacuum sealer for storing seed. Many packs are still in freezer but we are slowly getting those out and the new seeds are going into sealed packs. Stored in mason jars very hand tightened in boxes covered for darkest, in home.
The new Rutgers seed will be dried on a white kitchen paper towel covered with another white paper towel , spaced 3″ or 4″ apart and book on top of it until dry probably 2 weeks, then will cut in strips to put in seed bed next year
Please make sure you all are aware of what plants and seeds do well in your area. I am pacific NW and try to get local seeds and plants because I have had trouble trying to get South Dakota and souther Caifornia plants to grow here. I did buy the “seed vault ” last year and every pea seed sprouted have not done any others yet but I will be starting more soon.
I understand the seeds will last for longer periods if frozen but what if the grid goes down and we are forced to survive without power? What would be the best way to store your seeds for several years and still have a good crop to feed your family?
Keeping them cool, of course, will help. But really, the best thing to do it plant them and collect the seeds your new vegetables produce. You’ll have fresh seeds each year.
has anyone tried drying seeds then vacuum sealing them in plastic? If so, how did it turn out?
A cool way to get soem seeds is at the supermarket. yes,, I just said at the super market. Growers often grow a single crop in a large field. Cross pollinatin is minimized as a result and the seed you clean and collect from fruits , berries, and some vegetables can be saved from the plants you eat. Tomatoes, Peppers, Squash, berries of all kinds, the seeds can be saved and grown. I now have over 100 blue berry plants that cost me $ 1.50 ,half the cost of a bag of frozen blueberries at Trader Joes. The seed took me maybe 15 minutes to clean and then dry and store in a plastic bag. I have another 100 plants coming up. You can do this with blackberries and raspberries also. Tons of plants for next to free. I have done this for years. I grow fruit trees from seeds that I have cleaned and stored in the refrigerator. Plums, peaches,apricots and cherries can be started in the refrigerator. For stone fruits, dry them thoroughly. Then crack open the seed coating ( I use a vise ) by gently applying pressure along the ridge of the seed..You can hear them pop and then stop . Inside is a kernel. Take the kernel ( looks like an almond seed) and wrap that in a damp paper towel that has been wet and rung out thoroughly. Place the paper towel with the seeds folded up in it into a plastic zip lock bag.Seal it. Put this on the inside door shelf of the frig. Mark it with a pen what it is and when you placed it in the frig. Check on it every week or so. When the roots start to come out, carefully plant the seedling in a pot with dampened sterile soil mix ( half perlite and half peatmoss) in a window inside a plastic bag sealed with a twist tie. May have to put a straw in it when the seed sends up a green shoot .As it gets bigger, replant outside . You can get three to four foot tall plants by the end of the summer of that same year. I have Pluots and Apriots and Plucots growing from fruit I bought at Whole Foods. That store has the best fruits and the most current varieties. it’s where I get a lot of my seeds!!!!Eat the part that’s for us to eat and save the left over seeds. Fruit trees are very expensive and it can be done for all of them, even pears and apples for next to nothing. I have about two hundred apple tree seedlings ready for grafting. I also grow pawpaw, Amelanchier better known as service Berry( I get that seed from the parking lot of Home Depot. They planted tons of Amelanchier alnifolia, the bush form, in their parking lot islands. I just go in at the right time and sweep up the dried berries . I get thousands of seeds that way and have raised thousands of trees. One lady has a quince tree and every year the fruits fall all over the ground. I collect the fruits , process the seeds and then plant them. , I also grow Paw Paw and American Persimmons the same way. And even a few American chestnuts. All very doable. Mass marketers of fruits and vegetable seeds and plants don’t want you doing this. Save your own seed. Even the fruit tree growers don’t want you doing what our forefathers did for hundreds of years. Grow your own. Save seed from year to year . Let some of your best lettuce plants go to seed and the same for Swiss Chard. Even Strawberries!!! and Gooseberries too. Do it every year and the plants are great. Pumpkins, eggplants, I get from Whole Foods and save the seeds. Yellow Pepper seed is so expensive. Just make sure you coat them with a fungicide after they have dried and before you store them for the winter. Tomato seeds need to be put in water. I use a small juice glass. Fill it with water and put the tomatoes seeds you want to save in the water and let sit for about two or three days. Mold will start to form. Use a strainer and wash off the mold. The gel coating on the seed is what causes the mold to grow and you need to get that gel coat off to have seed that you can store. Rinse thoroughly with cold water and let dry for a day or two on a paper towel. . Then store in frig in a paper envelope. . Peppers can be a little tricky to get going from own seed. Hot sweet and every kind can be grown from fruits and vegetables from the grocery store. Label everything that you do too.
I am so impressed with your remarks about what you do with seeds, I just had to say “Thank You” I have never commented before and your post was most worthy.
Right?! I’m inspired. I’ve been meaning to put in blueberry bushes….
I really appreciate the information and the details you gave. I continue to be frustrated with the hybrid problem. I have planted hybrid seed with poor results. How do you determine you are saving seed that are “true”? Thanks
How do I order the seeds?
My Grandma had seeds stored in the freezer probably from as far back as 1953 when she built her greenhouse. That house was sold in about 1990, I truly don’t know how long they had been in the freezer before that. She moved in with us and the seeds just stayed in the deep freeze in the garage. It thawed completely in May 1999, and survived an F5 tornado.
When I built my greenhouse earlier this year I used some of those seeds to start my crop, and to the best of my knowledge all of them produced. If that isn’t a testament to God’s magnificent design I don’t know what is.
I’m so thankful for all of your input and knowledge that your all so willing to share to everyone.
I want to get those seeds and store them as so as I can. I’m looking for a job right now and soon as I get my first pay check , I will be ordering them. I have already order the CD’s for the solar panels and can’t wait to check it out.
Thank you so much for all your time with research and sharing with us.
Rebecca
Rebecca, I’ve been unemployed also and I’ve used this time to research a lot of topics on prepping and I have built my own hydroponics system, I’ve grown a few veggies in buckets (which we eat during the summer), I’ve started storing my own seeds, I’ve taken a gun class, I’ve taken a self defense class, I’ve increased my food storage, I’ve created bug out bags for my entire family and I’m ready to build my own solar oven and panels. Why not try to harvest your own seeds while you look for your new job? You might need this skill when the SHTF. My new job starts on Monday. Good Luck.
There’s seed scammers out there. I received information recently from a company saying they had only a limited amount of their “seeds in a can” and when they were gone there would be no more. You know the old scarcity trick. But at the bottom of the page they were looking for affiliates to sell their seeds. Now you and I know that if they only had a limited amount of their seeds they would not need any affiliates to help them sell those few cans. Right?
Over the years I bought many seeds from “Seeds Of Change” in New Mexico.The only thing they sold were open pollinated or heirloom seeds and they were a great company with good seeds. This year I planted one of their tomato varieties called Standing Red House that I had saved from 2001. It grew fine large tomatoes and I saved new seed from some of them. Sadly, the company as we knew it then sold out to some big corporation and you know or can guess the rest of the story.
I never freeze seeds. I just keep them in packets in those white styrofoam coolers in my shop. I keep the coolers in a cool corner where the sun don’t shine.
Yes, you can freeze those seeds now to extend their life.
I bought the liberty seed vault a few month back but haven’t put then in the freezer so can I still do that now along with the chia seeds I got a month ago?
Brett I think a lot of us would be very interested in purchasing some of the seeds from your home town company. Could you get their info. out there for us or even just list the town your in? Thank you in advance.
morevaluablethangold.com will not load on my computer. I am using Mozilla Firefox. Could that be the problem?
There is a company in my town that puts a variety of dry pack seeds together in a #10 sealed can. I don’t know the life span of this technique but they’ve been doing this for quit some time.
I would think after reading other responses about dryness, and germination process that these would hold up to 30 yrs stored under the right temp conditions and still work properly.
also if you read the label on bags of seed it will tell you the % of viable seed, % of seed you are buying(99.9% seed/0.1% weed seed, etc…)
http://www.seedcontainers.net has a guide for long term seed preservation. it is pdf document 13 pages long and totaly FREE! i found the link threw the seeds savers exchange website. just google it. seed savers exchange’s goal is to preserve the diversity of heirloom seeds. they have a huge collection and tests regularly for seed viability. they no not want rare varieties to go extinct. they have done lots of research on the subject
i found this info because i was wanting to start an online business where i made custom long term seed collections and packaged them in #10 cans. you pick the varrities you want from several websites and the quantities you want and have them sent to me and dry and can them. i still need to build the freezedrier before i can start this business.i am 55 year old sustainable agriculture student and made an B in principles of agronomy class. been a survivalist since i was a child. the business i want to start would process and can any seed you would send it, or any items sent.
one thing i have learned is this NEVER STORE SEED IN A FREEZER THAT IS AUTO DEFROST, SUCH AS IN A REFREGERATORS FREEZER SECTION! it heats up to defrost(melt the ice or frost on the inside walls) and therefore your seed will too. to freeze dry i would have to have some way to measure the moisture content acurately. i have the can sealer already but need to learn more.
rareseeds.com is in the state of MO. and CALIFORNIA, and seed savers exchange is in decora iowa the state i live in. my paper on how to grow and process organic seed as a type of farming business recived an A as was the final grade for my “organic crop production” class.
but as with everything else, do your research and include consulting the experts before wasting your time and resources. by experts i mean the people who are at the top in their field.
Great information, Leonard! I appreciated your entrepreneur spirit in growing so many things from your supermarket source! I will also check out the 13 page article you mentioned with the link.
Hi, FRANK I did get some seed from you. My wife planted them, a few of them seem to be a know show?
I have frozen my seeds for over 30 yrs. and never had a problem. Yes, I do dry them before packing in plastic bags and freezing them. I mark the plant name and date/year they were harvested, dried and frozen. I share a lot of my saved seeds, therefore, there is always a rotation of the seeds available.
Just check the Svalbard Global Seed Vault to find out if freezing is good or bad for seeds.
As far as the comment about an EMP attack and loss of power for a freezer; that would be the time to USE the seeds. Just what are you waiting for?
excellent articule. I have yet to do any planting because of the cold and the deer and bear. but it is in my near future plans.
I have kept a variety of seeds, including hybrid field corn, in freezer storage for as long as 5 years. I always test germination before planting to avoid wasted effort and expense. At most, I lose 2% germ. Seedling vigor, especially in cold soil, is very important, but I have no data on that except to say that vigor seems to preserve well in the freezer. In addition. some seeds (legumes and crown vetch in particular) don’t germinate well until overwintering after seeding. Freezing the seed prior to planting “fools” the seed through an artificial winter.
Frank, I believe you can read my mind. When I was a girl growing up with my sister, my mother, and my cousin we saved seeds from our growth and preserved them for the nest summer’s planting.
Not only did we save seeds from our garden, my mother and I would take the excess food offered by family and friends.We did not have a freezer so we caned all of our blessings.
Believe it or not I still have the jars my mother gave me. My daughter though I had lost my mind when she saw me cleanings jars last summer, she said”Mama what are you doing.How many jars do you need? I will go buy you some.”
I said “Honey, I appreciate that but you cannot buy Grandmother’s jars in the store. You do remember the promise I made to my mother about not selling or throwing anything of hers away when she went to heaven don’t you? She quickly asked me how she would know whether or not you kept your promise. I told her that my mother had looked after her baby(me) since she left me and that I was sure she was watching me. I continued to say, I believe she is telling her friends now “Look at my baby, she is keeping her promise cleaning my old dirty jars. I knew she would not break a promise.” I closed the conversation by telling Carol you could never find jars like my mother’s jars.
I did no mean to bore you with that memory. Thank you, though, for listening
Frank, I regret that I returned my Power 4 Patriots materials. I cannot get it off my mind and am still searching for someone to assist me in this dream. Please keep sharing your materials my friend. By the way, when my mother finally got a freezer, we froze our seeds. They were great!
this stuff about storing seeds is OK but the government is making our seeds so they will not last nor make great food the only good seed is the ones they have and have put underground
Good idea. I have been doing this way to save seed for over 20 years. I had some sweet corn seed that has been over 20 years it it came up. It wasn’t 100% but I would say about 80%.
My understanding is that different seeds have different requirements for germination, depending on how they normally grow in the wild. I have had good luck keeping leftover seeds from purchased seed packets for a few years, just by keeping them cool and dry. I tried saving my own seeds, and at least in one instance, packed them away before they were completely dry, which didn’t work. Probably the best idea would be to test the storability of various types of seeds before you actually need to save them in large quantities, to see what works best—ie. save a few on the shelf, a few in the refrigerator, and a few in the freezer. Then in the spring, plant a known number of each in separate marked containers and keep a record of the germination rate. As for keeping moisture out, I like to throw in one of those little silica gel packets that sometimes come with new leather products, electronics, etc. I never throw them out.
Alas, I have found another silica gel packrat. I first became interested at a craft fair where a lady sold glass domed (with a turned walnut or maple base) display piece containing a bud vase, and a rose in full bloom that had been preserved by burying it in silica gel. It looked fresh picked. Alas, thirty years later, I have all this silica gel and have never repeated the process.
I am a retired chemist who had a pre-med education. I am very interested in all the ideas in this blog. But, one thing bothers me. It is based on freshman botany. Here is the time bomb: Green plants use sun to photosynthesize, which means the consume carbon dioxide, and emit oxygen. Most people do not know this, but at night the plants consume oxygen to survive and eliminate carbon dioxide.
So, while it is counterintuitive, it would seem that seeds stored at low temperature for prolonged periods of time need to be stored in an evacuated then filled with oxygen container.
Wow! I would like to hear from an expert in this phytobiology field of endeavor.
‘But maybe we have. several people with 30 or more years of seed harvesting have basically said, clean ’em, dry ’em, freeze ’em.
I’ve read from the top, so I don’t know if anyone has touched on this, but there is an international project that has the ultimate seed vault located 50 feet under ice that contains seeds of every known heritage to repopulate the world in the event of an apocalypse.
Keep SilGelling on,
Charles
Freezing is a great idea for most seeds. Mother nature knows best and she freezes most things in preparation for the next season. There are a few seeds, like the paw paw tree seed, that will never grow if the seed dries out. What applies to one plant, may not apply to all. Buy a book on seed saving. Many on Amazon. If you are using Heirloom varieties, many will pop up on their own and you can work from that. If you also grow fruiting bushes, trees, ground covers and vines….Then you can also graze until your garden grows. Plant one of everything you have room for….Then learn to propagate to create more of everything. Each species propagates differently. That knowledge is a skill that could build a new beginning. Also learn to “Eat the Weeds”. One of the most nutritious foods on the planet is clover. Most spray to get rid of it. Buy a book on foraging for your specific area. Seeds and gardens are hard to do if you are on the move and gardens take months to mature. A balanced and educated approach to survival is what will save your life. Seeds are merely a starting point. Survival is knowledge and skill in motion.
I have used freezing of seed (aftr drying) for years and have never experienced any problems!
how one stores seeds depends on the variety and historical growing are. ie the colder the climate the plant evolved in less likely freezing will negatively effect the seeds. keeping oxygen out of the package helps to.
I have farmed and ranched in South Texas for years. I never tried it, but many large farmers would have the seed elevator freeze their planting seed just before planting. They said they got faster and better germination.
As for seeds in nature, take a disc plow to a pasture that hasn’t seen any cultivation if 40 years. After the first rain there will be more forbs and plants popping up than you can keep up with.
I have had good sucess freezing seed especially when I vac pac them. Even beets which perish quickly are preserved well in the freezer. The rule of thumb for seed saving is is that for every 10 degree drop in temp you double the life. If your freezer goes out so what dont worry it is not meat or other things that perish. It may even be good for there are natural freezing and thawing cycles outside. The enemy of seed storage is oxygen, heat and sunlight. Try putting oxygen absorbers in the vacpac. There was found in Egypt ancient storage buildings covered for millenia and once unearthed seed was planted and grew to the exact type that they still grow.
We keep our seeds in the refrigerator
Cold and dry is the best. However nature is not the best method. Nature can operate at less than ten percent germination. Most of us want to approach one hundred percent.
In the 60’s Northrup King and Company, the largest seed research company in the world at that time, found that less than two percent humidity (content not relative) and less than 50 degrees but not freezing was the best for long term storage.
However, when it gets that dry it also may take more than a year to bring it to germination. They also found that if it freezes most seed doesn’t make it.
Not sure freezing seed is a good idea? What happens if we have an EMP attack or a number of things that could cause loss of electricity and fuel?
Mother nature freezes seeds without drying them and just look at the bounty of vegetables and flowers that come back up every year. The only problem we have had with drying and saving our own seeds (no matter how we store them) is those that have been genetically engineered sometimes revert to their pre-engineered species, i.e., flowers change colors and veggies often take on an entirely different shape/color. Thanks for your informative articles!!!
things are not right weather jobs old bases being put back in use for what for we crazy earth quake happing in strange places omoste like some one wants to brake up the land masses change them for what end i dont know better control if the usa brakes in 4 differt parts who will goven us then
Many seeds need to have their dormancy broken, before they will germinate. I’m from Canada, and most seeds (from Canada) require several months of freezing before they will germinate. It’s a natural survival process, so they seeds will not germinate in the fall or during warm periods in the winter, and the plant will then freeze and die without reproducing. Fruit tree seeds have this feature. Many natural trees need their dormancy broken, by fire, or physical damage (machinery or through an animals gut, and such).