Storing seeds for long term

How long can you keep seeds? Iv been thinking about buying a big load of seeds and storing them for 1-2 years is this a bad idea? Do seeds go bad over time even if stored properly? Whats is the best way to store seeds, in the fridge maybe? Or just room temps?

I have heard over 10 years from some people, but most say 5 to 8 years and usually recommended to put them in the fridge, stable, dark. Some people recommend vacuum sealing, which is what I do when I put my selfmade seeds in long term storage

Thanks for that. Saved me asking the same question.

light proofed jar in fridge with desiccant packs will maintain a high germ rate for many years.

Rurumo said:

light proofed jar in fridge with desiccant packs will maintain a high germ rate for many years.

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so humidity is bad for seed storage? Those packs really suck the humidity in and make it dry af kinda scary

I have 10+ year old seed that germinated last year.

I keep mine in fridge in sealed jar with humidity sacks. Refresh the sacks frequently.

shroomhaze said:

so humidity is bad for seed storage? Those packs really suck the humidity in and make it dry af kinda scary

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Yup humidity is bad. The fridge can be great if you seal it correctly and forget about it. Problems occur when you take the cold storage bottle into a room with higher temperature and open it. Just like a cold soda in a warm room, the outside(and insides!) of the bottle will get pretty saturated with condensation. And then you re-close the bottle and trap the moisture if you're not careful, this is one area where the desiccant can be very helpful.

Those silicon bags you get are handy for that.

Freezer baby!

Never store your seeds in the freezer. Always use the fridge and make sure to let any storage container come to room temp before opening it to avoid the inside of the jar sweating.

waterproof808 said:

Never store your seeds in the freezer. Always use the fridge and make sure to let any storage container come to room temp before opening it to avoid the inside of the jar sweating.

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Nice dude good call, makes total sense. So don't just open the jar or whatever your storing it right when you pull it out of the fridge, and then also if you opened right away don't just chuck it back in the fridge.
Yes heard freezer is a no-no. You definitely would want to vac seal and use silca packs. Thing I wondered about is-you should obviously probably take it out of the breeders pack but what about the seedling case the come in, I figured you could leave the beans in those, right? I have to start thinking about long term storage soon.

waterproof808 said:

Never store your seeds in the freezer. Always use the fridge and make sure to let any storage container come to room temp before opening it to avoid the inside of the jar sweating.

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You don't think that will cause any prob with temp variances? Assuming you pop seeds 3-4 times a year. It usually takes me a few mins to find what I'm looking for as they aren't organized. I put my Tupperware in the freezer with the door open while I'm searching as to stay in the cold zone. Once I separate packs with zip locks and a couple more Tupperware, the process will be even faster. I just dread the process of that lol.

Dividedsky said:

Nice dude good call, makes total sense. So don't just open the jar or whatever your storing it right when you pull it out of the fridge, and then also if you opened right away don't just chuck it back in the fridge.
Yes heard freezer is a no-no. You definitely would want to vac seal and use silca packs. Thing I wondered about is-you should obviously probably take it out of the breeders pack but what about the seedling case the come in, I figured you could leave the beans in those, right? I have to start thinking about long term storage soon.

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I haven't had trouble with beans pulled from the freezer and heard many a dude use the freezer with no trouble. However, fridge works too. I just may be sitting on 10+ years worth of beans so the freezer is the best bet for me.

Romulanman said:

You don't think that will cause any prob with temp variances? Assuming you pop seeds 3-4 times a year. It usually takes me a few mins to find what I'm looking for as they aren't organized. I put my Tupperware in the freezer with the door open while I'm searching as to stay in the cold zone. Once I separate packs with zip locks and a couple more Tupperware, the process will be even faster. I just dread the process of that lol.

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Not really, as long as you arent opening it in a 90+ degree room, open them in a cold room if possible. The changes in temp arent as harmful as introducing a bunch of sweat inside your storage container.

Regarding condensation when pulling packs and this would apply to fridge or freezer kept, if I know where in my vault the pack is that I want, I’ll keep it inside the chest freezer, open jar, pull pack, close jar. No temp change, no condensation. If I don’t know, then I’ll pull the jar out and pull all the packs from the jar. Give them a quick wipe with towel to remove condensation, throw into a fresh jar with fresh desiccant. Boom bada bing. We all have our methods and whatever works best for you should be what you go with. Based on enough anecdotal evidence and now my own personal experience, don’t be scared of the deep freeze! A often touted seed bank here was just offering some old school beans as freebies, stored for 30 years in the freezer...a often used and highly thought of bank. Just sayin.

Freezer is totally fine, if not preferred for legitimate long term storage.

I pulled a couple packs of original connoisseur genetics OG Chem, circa 2011, in 2019 and got 18/20 plants up.

If you're checking or pulling things regularly, sure the fridge might be a better option.

quiescent said:

Freezer is totally fine, if not preferred for legitimate long term storage.

I pulled a couple packs of original connoisseur genetics OG Chem, circa 2011, in 2019 and got 18/20 plants up.

If you're checking or pulling things regularly, sure the fridge might be a better option.

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Yea that`s what my research also suggested. If you use the freezer its supposed to keep them viable longer, but you dont want to take them in and out all the time.

Some people on hear said they used seeds after 8 or 10 years in the fridge and they still germed.

Jut got my 3rd stimmy pack in the mail today. I've decided that almost 300 strains needs to be frozen for long term storage like I plan for. I spent a SHIT LOAD of money on these seeds and its the smartest thing to do.

I'm looking at chest freezers. They will work perfect for this. Does anyone have any suggestions on what brand?? I see most entry level ones are about $200. The cheapest I've found is $170 at Best Buy. I haven't looked at used but if its an open box/floor item I would consider it.

I store my seeds in the freezer inside of tupperware/mason jars with a couple of desiccant packs. When I want to grow something, I pull the pack, leave it on the counter overnight to slowly get back to room temperature, and then put the seeds into water.. most of the time there's no issue in germing.

I remembering reading a study on NCBI that mentioned that it varies. For medium term - Fridge, Extreme Long Term - Freeezer.