Storage of bean seeds

KiwiSFGnewbie 1/15/2023, 10:18 pm

I've been growing lettuces seed to seed for over a decade; I keep the seeds in plastic ziplocks inside a sealed preserving jar, in the back of the fridge. All of the seeds I bought for the current summer came in little foil packets, except for the beans, which were just 'naked' in the outer package (what you see at the store). I've put them all in the preserving jar too.

But I'm thinking about the bean seeds, might it not be a good idea to wrap them in some foil, and/or put in a ziplock, to keep them dryer inside the jar? Should I wait for a low humidity day before doing this, to prevent these cold bean seeds from forming condensation inside the foil/plastic? I could also let them come to room temperature before wrapping/whatever, and then put them back in the jar?
thinking

What do you folks do to preserve bean seeds?

**sanderson** 1/16/2023, 1:07 am

Don't ask me. I store ALL of my seeds in teeny ziplock baggies in the paper sleeve they came in. They go into a small plastic container when I get around to them which are stored on shelves in the computer room. The one on the left has a top but after using it for years, I'm sure it's not air tight.

OhioGardener 1/16/2023, 7:55 am

I don't store any seeds in the refrigerator -- if I did, they would probably end up in a soup one day. thinking

I store the seeds in their original package inside a zip lock bag, with one zip lock bag for each type of seeds, such as Lettuce, Spinach, Kale, etc., and each individual seed packet is marked with the date of purchase.

Beans are known to store for a long time and still be viable, while other seeds, such as onions, are only good for one year.

Johnny's Selected Seeds offers a great chart for the length of time to store seeds:

https://www.johnnyseeds.com/growers-library/methods-tools-supplies/harvesting-handling-storage/seed-storage-guidelines.html

KiwiSFGnewbie 1/16/2023, 2:26 pm

Goodness, I am surprised! Thanks for the benefit of your experience, both of you -- and for the link to Johnny's advice, very helpful Smile

**sanderson** 1/16/2023, 2:41 pm

Yesterday I found a similar chart but from High Mowing Seeds. There are some differences between the chars, but the main point is that seeds do lose viability over time. Well, except the Svalbard Seed Bank. Very Happy

https://www.highmowingseeds.com/blog/seed-viability-chart/#:~:text=Seed%20Viability%20Chart%20%20%20Seed%20Type%20,%204%20years%20%2033%20more%20rows%20

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Storage of bean seeds

Storage of bean seeds

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Re: Storage of bean seeds


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