In a more complete answer to a question a few days ago; here is the
germination data on the tomato plants I'm currently starting indoors .
These are all seeds I saved, cleaned by fermenting a couple of days,
washing and drying. The variety names probably don't travel well but they
should give an idea of how long the seeds can last. These were stored,
when fully dry, in paper packets in an airtight food service bin, with a
couple of containers of silica gel that I occasionally dry out in the oven.
All were in plug flats with an electric heat mat, set to keep the potting
mix at 80F.

Variety Year Harvested germination percentage
Blondkopfchen 2016 88
Bonny Best 2015 87
Brandywine 2012 95
George O'Brien 2012 93
Golden Jubilee 2016 73
Green Zebra 2006 20
Mortgage Lifter 2012 100
Pik's Yugo 2012 53
San Marzano Redorta 2016 98
Siberian 2012 97
Silvery Fir Tree 2014 90
Yellow Brandywine 2007 80
Riesenstraub 2012 97

Before the statisticians take me to task, these were relatively small
samples; typically 5-20 cells, 3 seeds to a cell, seedlings counted before
thinning.

It's a dismal day on the (New) York colonies; barely above freezing with
just enough coating of snow/sleet/slush to make staying indoors reading
garden catalogs a Really good Idea.

Cheers!


--
Gary Woods AKA K2AHC- PGP key on request, or at home.earthlink.net/~garygarlic
Zone 5/4 in upstate New York, 1420' elevation. NY WO G

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On 31/03/17 20:37, Gary Woods wrote:
In a more complete answer to a question a few days ago; here is the
germination data on the tomato plants I'm currently starting indoors .

Variety Year Harvested germination percentage
Blondkopfchen 2016 88
Bonny Best 2015 87
Brandywine 2012 95
George O'Brien 2012 93
Golden Jubilee 2016 73
Green Zebra 2006 20
Mortgage Lifter 2012 100
Pik's Yugo 2012 53
San Marzano Redorta 2016 98
Siberian 2012 97
Silvery Fir Tree 2014 90
Yellow Brandywine 2007 80
Riesenstraub 2012 97

Before the statisticians take me to task, these were relatively small
samples; typically 5-20 cells, 3 seeds to a cell, seedlings counted before
thinning.

Looks right to me; plenty of seeds for statistical accuracy. Most
published refs give around 4 years for tomato seed viability, with some
stating up to 10.

It's a dismal day on the (New) York colonies; barely above freezing with
just enough coating of snow/sleet/slush to make staying indoors reading
garden catalogs a Really good Idea.

It's a very pleasant early spring day here. Yesterday was the warmest of
the year so far at 18 or 19C; not quite as warm today - around 15 or so.
A good day to start removing winter protection; we will probably get a
frost or two, but nothing penetrating. We could do with some rain,
though (apologies to David in Wales! It's been chucking it down there, I
am informed), as there has been only 10 mm rain in the last 20 days. Add
to that incessant winds, and any unprotected soil has dried out.
Fortunately, I put down 50+mm of woodchip mulch on the beds late last
autumn, and they are nice and damp underneath it.

--

Jeff

On Fri, 31 Mar 2017 15:37:17 -0400, Gary Woods
wrote:

In a more complete answer to a question a few days ago; here is the
germination data on the tomato plants I'm currently starting indoors .
These are all seeds I saved, cleaned by fermenting a couple of days,
washing and drying. The variety names probably don't travel well but they
should give an idea of how long the seeds can last. These were stored,
when fully dry, in paper packets in an airtight food service bin, with a
couple of containers of silica gel that I occasionally dry out in the oven.
All were in plug flats with an electric heat mat, set to keep the potting
mix at 80F.

Variety Year Harvested germination percentage
Blondkopfchen 2016 88
Bonny Best 2015 87
Brandywine 2012 95
George O'Brien 2012 93
Golden Jubilee 2016 73
Green Zebra 2006 20
Mortgage Lifter 2012 100
Pik's Yugo 2012 53
San Marzano Redorta 2016 98
Siberian 2012 97
Silvery Fir Tree 2014 90
Yellow Brandywine 2007 80
Riesenstraub 2012 97

Before the statisticians take me to task, these were relatively small
samples; typically 5-20 cells, 3 seeds to a cell, seedlings counted before
thinning.

It's a dismal day on the (New) York colonies; barely above freezing with
just enough coating of snow/sleet/slush to make staying indoors reading
garden catalogs a Really good Idea.

Cheers!


Good post - interesting - many thanks