Every Gardener Should Do This BEFORE Seed Starting - Germination Testing

[tjo]

I can't wait until you hit 1 million subs

[afergie]

A quick and easy thing I do when starting seeds, I use my oven. Place them between damp paper towels in a zip lock bag and place them in an oven with the light on. Creates constant temp, light and humidity. Don’t turn the oven itself on, just the light.
Just remember they’re in then when ‘you’ preheat the oven.

[michelekennedy]

Just a testimony about MI Gardener seeds... Last year I had almost a 100% germination rate and all the seedlings were strong and healthy. I did so well I was able to give seedlings away to family & friends when I ran out of garden space. Thank you Luke for the excellent quality of seeds and supplies you offer us gardeners. I will continue to purchase MI Gardener seeds for years to come. :)

[EmonyLP]

Very helpful, thank you. I'm starting my whole garden from seed for the first time this year, and was just debating whether or not it was worth trying some outdated tomatoes. Now I'll be able to know for sure!

[WormyLeWorm]

Learned this as a kid in school and have done it ever since. Probably one of the only useful and most useful things I learned in school. We used to fold the seeds in a moist paper towel and then put them in a plastic baggy and give it a few days- couple weeks.

[ElderandOakFarm]

I posted a video about this a couple weeks ago- didn't even think about including how to store the seeds!?!? However I didn't know about the correct way to store them, & I was storing them in a garage that got really hot, then really cold, over & over for almost 10 years, & they still are germinating. So don't just throw out old seeds & assume they're bad!

[sherrymurphy-kleine]

I bought seeds from the Seed Guy 10 years ago, and have stored them in the freezer, in a vacuum sealed mylar bag since. I grew some Ace 55 and other seeds this past year, and the germination and growth was excellent!

[j.h.]

Thank you for bringing seeds to us so we can grow our own foods to survive.

[paulgamblin]

I didn't test my leftover purchased seed from last year. I just planted more than I needed in each soil block. So far, I have nearly 100% germination. To God be the glory.

[WickedAwesomeGardening]

I just did a germination test for the bell pepper and jalapeño, and black beauty eggplant seed I saved last year and its was great!!! I was so nervous that I didn’t do it right but almost everything germinated!

[vonsquirrel]

My friend's son was a gardener and when he passed away my friend gave me all his seeds. He kept them in the freezer. I did a test on them and everyone of them grew. The surprise in all this was because of his health, he did not garden again and so the seeds were forgotten. The date on the seeds---- 2009

[IndianaBackyardGardener]

I love germinating with paper towel method. Saves time and seed :)

[antoinettegainous]

You are such an awesome teacher. Thanks.

[brown]

I had a random tomato plant come up in a walkway area 8 years ago. It made the best fruit, so I saved some seeds. I replanted them and didn't think they'd sprout BUT they did! They were kept in a paper envelope inside a ziplock in the fridge. The key seems to be keeping them cool and dry for long periods of time.

[wendybeach]

Fantastic. You could also put the names of the shops the seeds were purchased from, if you use more than one company or place to purchase. I discovered all my seed packets from one shop did not germinate while testing and never bought from them again as I realised they weren't looking after the seeds at all. The seeds were well in date and the brand from other shops germinated just fine.

[countryroads]

I just tried saving seed from an heirloom cucumber last year. Thus sounds like a great way to see if I did it right before I actually plant them. Thanks!

[rondacorkhill]

The scrap book picture storage system is the best in terms of storage as well as cataloging. JMO

[trishapomeroy]

I've started preaching germination testing. Just because I have 5 or 10 year old seed doesn't always mean it's no good. Great video on how to!

[bethheerten]

Perfect timing for me. I have been gathering, sorting and filing seeds that I have found squirreled away around my house in plastic pill bottles, small pimento jars, paper bags, and assorted envelopes. I was wondering if some of the old ones were worth planting. Having no school age children at home I DO have Ziploc bags. I will be doing germination testing tomorrow.
Thanks so much for the info.

[lilacjay]

Hi, I did this last year, I had 2 packs of beetroot seeds, one from 2016 and the other was 2018. I sowed 6 cells of compost for each and labelled them with the year. As i suspected the 2016 seeds didnt germinate and the 2018 were still viable, so I used them all up over the summer. A great tip and money and time saving too!