Has anyone run into poor seed germination from seeds purchased presumably
> fresh this year. I think it may be because the seeds may have been cooked
> during storage.
Why would you say that they 'may have been cooked'?
In particular, I bought seeds several times from Target with the brand name
> Fordhook. They are prepared by Burpee. Out of about eight banana squash
> seeds, only one sprouted. Out of their IIRC Big beef only a few germinated.
I bought string beans(11/12 germination rate), Big Beef(15/16), and canteloupe(18/18) from Target( Burpee's Fordhook )also, but have had great success with them as the numbers indicate. And they're doing very well after germination. The Big Beef were so small when I planted them that I thought I never get any tomatos(2-inches in mid-May), but now they're all over three feet with tons of fruit.
Am I imagining this or do you really have to watch out for the retail
> environment in which seeds are stored?
My local Target has them in a rack in the gardening section of an air conditioned store. I supposed refills could be stored in the store's boiler room, but this particular one doesn't have that much movement of the seed packets.
Rob