How long can seed last?

I want to stockpile some seed for use later, but I'm not really not sure if I should due to the age of the seed. I know they don't last forever, but I was wondering if they would last a year. Anybody use old seed with success?

I have used seeds as old as 10 years old and my female/male ratio is 70/30 and its some good. Just make sure you keep them in a steady environment preferably the fridge, if not use a cool dark place. Keep them as dry as possible as well.

I always keep my seeds in little plastic vials in the fridge no matter how long i'm keeping them.

You want them cool, but don't put them in the freezer because I think that's too cold. The lower temperature and light will slow the decay of the hormones and compounds in the seed. Moisture is one of the things that activates the seed when it reaches the soil so you want to keep it dry for this reason and also because water also will aid the break down of compounds and eat into the shell etc.

People have successfully used seeds from decades ago that weren't kept in good conditions- so if you keep them dry, dark and cool they should be safe for at least a couple years easy.

Depends on the purpose of the seed too. If you want to keep a strain alive but stored away, you could keep maybe 50 or more for even say something crazy like 50+ years- but not expect them all to germinate or grow well. But you see you could find at least 1 keeper out of 50 and so resurrect a 50+ year old strain.
On the flip side of that, if you want/need all or most of the seeds to germinate and kick on perfectly- you wouldn't plan to store your seeds nearly as long.

As for hard specific facts, you could look around but I think it would be a hard thing to judge and will all be based on probability of this or that. Maybe look up that Swiss seed vault and see what they say. If you haven't heard of it, they are preserving as many of the earths species in seed form as like a way of ensuring the genetics survive. Like a Noah's arc for seeds I guess...

Frozen about 400 years...

http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2007/01/070112-jamestown.html

Three Years is what the books say, starts to deteriorate after that.

Thanks a lot for the info. Now I'm going to break my piggy bank and hit up that 30% off sale at SOS. 400 years? Excellent!

LOL ffs yeah, that was funny, you know when they broke open tutenkamens tomb they found a sealed baggie with the latest attitude promotion freebies, sprouted no problems at all. jeez guys 3 years it is, but of course you have to think its maybe a year old when the seed company sends them out. Also they last longer if stored in a cool dark place

might still get a few germs from seeds older then that
but numbers will be low

I use seeds over 20 years old kept in a dusty old tupperware that is on a window ledge exposed to light and heat......they always germ and I have the same female to male ratio as with new seeds....People make shit way to much of a science then they need to.

Mattemil said:

I use seeds over 20 years old kept in a dusty old tupperware that is on a window ledge exposed to light and heat......they always germ and I have the same female to male ratio as with new seeds....People make shit way to much of a science then they need to.

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I believe there is much in what you say, think the book I was reading was quoting three years as when the seed was most viable, possibly as a recommendation to retailers selling seeds, eg don't stock seeds for any more than 3 years, but I have no doubt as you say that some will be good for many years.