[mwncigirl]

Hi, I was wondering what people usually do when planting seeds. Do you use previous years leftover seeds or do you buy fresh every year? 

[the great composto]

bit of both but i also try to collect seeds from the previous year if I can.
if you are not sure about old seeds - take a few and put them on damp tissue in a warm place and see if they germinate - they will die but at least you know the rest of the packet are good or not.

[HesterF]

Both. Some seeds last ages, others are better fresh. I bought some sealed lupin seeds in New Zealand about twelve years ago. They needed boiling water to kick start them so I'm just trying now to see of they're still fertile!

H

[Fleecewife]

As long as you have stored last year's seeds properly many will still be perfect.  Germination rate tends to drop off gradually with age.  Things like tomatoes and brassicas will last for several years in very good condition, but parsnip definitely need to be grown from fresh seed each year.  I find lettuce prefer to be fresh and beans start to die after a year or so, esp French beans.
 
With the cost of seeds so significant now it's well worth doing a little germination check as the great composto says 

[Clarebelle]

A bit off topic but: I planted some seeds in my propagator at the weekend using bagged compost which has been outside since august when we moved in. Ive had several seeds germinate, mainly the Basil but a couple of others have sprouted and I couldnt think what they were until one sprouted with the seed casing still attached - they are baby silver birch trees, the seeds must have fallen from the tree in the garden and into my compost bag!

[mwncigirl]

Thats a great idea to test them, I hadn't thought of that. Thanks for the idea. Any thoughts on which seed suppliers are cheapest? I was going to get mine from Thompson and Morgan but found the Organic Gardening Cat. a lot cheaper unexpectedly.   

[Lesley Silvester]

The Organic Gardening catalogue has some good stuff.  I'm sowing seeds from them several years after buying.

[Fleecewife]

I buy some from each of several suppliers.  T&M tend to be expensive but there are some bargains. Mr Fothergill and DTBrown both keep pretty much the same stock but seem to take it in turns to have cheaper and more expensive ones eg a certain variety of tomato will be cheap in one but expensive in the other, whereas a chilli will be the other way round (I think they are owned by the same company now).  The Organic Gardening Catalogue has mostly organic seed, but lots of it is from the EU which doesn't necessarily do well in the UK.  Marshall's tends to coat their seeds in antifungals which I don't like.  I'll just go and look up the name of a little company in Wales.......
 
The Real Seed Catalogue  www.realseeds.co.uk .  That is a gem - a fairly small range but many seeds produced in Wales, varieties which do well here and the price is good as it's jointly owned by the customers - or something (they explain)
 
When looking through the catalogues, check the seed counts - they are very low this year.

[Jackie 2]

I buy a lot of seeds from Wilkinsons @ 60p per packet which is quite cheap I think.

[Mammyshaz]

I've found an allotment association not far from home who have loose seeds when it's near time to plant. I've just bought a full carrier of Kestrel seed potatoes ( appx 20 for £3

[mwncigirl]

I've just had a look at The Real Seed Company, they look fantastic. I love their ethos and the info for each variety. I will definitely be using them in the future!

[HesterF]

My twelve year old seeds are fertile  - or at least one has germinated!

H

[sabrina]

I used  4 year old seeds last year and they were fine.

[RUSTYME]

Some wheat seeds , found in Egyptian tombs 2,000 years old , were viable when tested ,

[Bramblecot]

Simpson's Seeds have a small catalogue and are giving away chilli seeds at present (see dorset chilli festival).  Seeds from Lidl were cheap and germinated well last year - but no cariety names.
Can't believe how the prices have rocketed check the number of seeds on some packets