1 year old grass seed still good?

I have a bag full of grass seed 1 or 2 years old that I was storing in my garage (opened). Is it still good?

Reply to
lbbss
Loading thread data ...

Probably good enough. Do a germination test in a flower pot. If you really want to be obsessive, count the seeds, space them far enough apart to spot each sprout, and count the sprouts. The bag itself may list a minimum germination rate for comparison purposes. Whether the result is acceptable to you depends on whether you're doing a large area that's crucial, or just a little patching.

Reply to
Doug Kanter

Go for it and sow heavily! Cheryl

Reply to
Cheryl Isaak

Throw them away by spreading them across the area where you want a lawn and see what happens.

:-)

-- Brian "Let's be grateful for our Fridays and face our Mondays with good humour."

Reply to
Brian Watson

The Q

Reply to
the q

Maybe, maybe not. For longest life, most grass seeds need to be stored below 50oF, 50% relative humidity, and that's not possible in most garages. The only way to find out is to plant some.

Reply to
Kay Lancaster

It maybe good...but..?

I would take some seed and put it in a bucket. Add water and if most of the seed floats, then it's no good. Hth... good luck.

Reply to
Timothy

Not.

Reply to
Doug Kanter

How so...? Thats what was said at the masters class last year. The theory behind behind this (as told to me) is that with age the germ inside dries out and thus replaced with air. Hence when placed in water it will float. I've tried this on my own and found this observation to be true.

Please, if I'm incorrect, feel free to enlighten me with the correct information. "Just cuz" will not suffice.........

Reply to
Timothy

If the seed has been exposed to high temperatures and high humidity (think a nice warm garage in Houston), it'll still be dead or have vastly reduced viability, but moist enough to sink. Conversely, a well-dried but viable seed (perhaps freshly harvested from a well-dried plant) may float.

There are a number of ways of quick-checking viability, including such things as tetrazolium tests, but the best method at home remains just trying to germinate the seed.

Kay

Reply to
Kay Lancaster

If the seeds have died, you're going to throw them away, so just spread it out on the lawn, if they germinate, great, if they don't, no loss.

Snooze

Reply to
Snooze

My landlord just threw down seed that was 5-10 years old from the basement and weeks later he's got a decent amount of grass. We weren't sure whether it had a lower germination or whether the seed simply washed down the hill some.

DiGiTAL ViNYL (no email) Zone 6b/7, Westchester Co, NY,

Reply to
DigitalVinyl

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.