Broccoli seeds from 1981......Will they grow???

[epitman]

Hello all,
I have a very sad story to tell then a quest with some broccoli seeds. My father in-law was a farmer most of his life and knew about farming the old school way. He use to plant about a 3 acre garden in the North Carolina mountains on a hill side that had rocks and roots. He told me stories of the enormous crops that he grew. Ten years we all moved to South Carolina so I could get a job and to get them off the mountain for a better life. Four years ago my mother in-law passed away then papaw was all alone. He was staying with us during the night and going back to his place during the day. On November the 13 we lost papaw in a car accident. My wife and I was going through a dresser drawer and what did we find........a pack of broccoli seeds yes a pack of broccoli seeds in a plain white seed pack. Oh and it was dated "for the 1981 season". Yep thats right 1981 so that makes them 31 years old. So with a musty smelling old pack of seeds and some jiffy pots and jiffy starter soil I have planted 8 pots with 2 seeds per pot and stuck them under a grow light with my tomato and peppers.
So this is for all of you gardeners the quest is.......HOW MANY WILL SPROUT AND GROW AND PRODUCE BROCCOLI???????? They have been in soil for 2 days so far an no signs of growth. I want them to grow so bad. They were forgotten all this time 31 years.. Thank you
I Will post pics if they sprout

 

[catjac1975]

There is a definite chance that they will grow. I would have over seeded the peat pots. Make sure they are warm. Where are you that you are seed starting already?

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

good luck! i hope some of them sprout for you! my FIL passed away on Nov 19th last year and we have slowly been going through his house and my dh found some old bean seeds and asked me if he thinks they might be worth keeping. they were from a seed supplier here in NH which i think has since gone out of business. i'm going to try them just in case. it won't hurt to give them a try!

if ever in doubt of germination you could always put the seeds in a damp paper towel or coffee filter and keep moist for a week to see how many have sprouted. count the sprouted vs the non sprouted and you can figure out the germination rate of the rest of the pack that way.

 

[epitman]

very good info i live in north augusta south carolina and want to get a jump on the growing season. last year i had a hard time getting sutff to live i am trying early so if i fail i will have more chances to be successful before spring.

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

if you're ever curious about the start date of certain veggies or flowers www.Johnnyseeds.com has a neat spreadsheet that all you need to do is enter your last frost date of the spring and it will tell you when to either start them outside or inside the house. there are other sites that can help you find your last and first frost dates, you would just have to do a search to find them.

btw, i finally found the date on the package of beans and noticed mine are also from 1981.

 

[HunkieDorie23]

When we were cleaning out my mom's basement after she passed away I found some of her corn seed and she hadn't had a garden in over a decade. I soaked some of them to see if they would germinate. They didn't but corn is a little more needy. I would never throw out seeds without trying them first. Good luck.

 

[catjac1975]

Hello all,
I have a very sad story to tell then a quest with some broccoli seeds. My father in-law was a farmer most of his life and knew about farming the old school way. He use to plant about a 3 acre garden in the North Carolina mountains on a hill side that had rocks and roots. He told me stories of the enormous crops that he grew. Ten years we all moved to South Carolina so I could get a job and to get them off the mountain for a better life. Four years ago my mother in-law passed away then papaw was all alone. He was staying with us during the night and going back to his place during the day. On November the 13 we lost papaw in a car accident. My wife and I was going through a dresser drawer and what did we find........a pack of broccoli seeds yes a pack of broccoli seeds in a plain white seed pack. Oh and it was dated "for the 1981 season". Yep thats right 1981 so that makes them 31 years old. So with a musty smelling old pack of seeds and some jiffy pots and jiffy starter soil I have planted 8 pots with 2 seeds per pot and stuck them under a grow light with my tomato and peppers.
So this is for all of you gardeners the quest is.......HOW MANY WILL SPROUT AND GROW AND PRODUCE BROCCOLI???????? They have been in soil for 2 days so far an no signs of growth. I want them to grow so bad. They were forgotten all this time 31 years.. Thank you
I Will post pics if they sprout

So any luck????

 

[epitman]

nothing yet i check them in the evening. every thing else has sprouted except the blackberrys, and ground cherries,and them 1981 broccoli seeds. if anyone knows the gremination time on any of them seeds i would apreciate it.

 

[pretty40acres]

:tools What I found says 5-10 days at 65-75 degrees. Hope that helps ya!:watering