About ten days ago I pondered how long seeds lasted after I found a number of packets of seeds floating around in my shed.
After a few people suggested that the seeds should be viable, I decided to try planting some and seeing what happened.
Ordinarily I only plant one seed per punnet because I hate the idea of thinning things out (how do you choose which live and which die?!) but because these seeds were old I decided to pop a couple in each one to increase the odds.
From top to bottom the seeds that got planted were: Sunberry, Tomatillo, Aunt Molly’s Ground Cherry, Pineapple Ground Cherry, Ground Cherry and Winter Cherry.
Surprisingly, after ten days I have a few (very few!) seeds sprouting. Three, to be precise. They are:
Winter Cherry:
Pineapple Ground Cherry:
And Sunberry:
I’m not sure three seedlings is actually considered success, but it suggests that seeds are far more robust than I had previously expected!
What’s the longest you’ve waited before planting seeds? Have you ever been surprised in the garden?
What always surprises me is when we move and then move some of our “dormant” planter boxes with us — then they magically start springing up for no reason. Alas, it’s winter here in the US northeast, so there’s nothing sprouting in the garden….
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