Does Grass seed go bad?

[dyork]

I was cleaning out my building out back and just wanted to know if I could pitch it out (in the garbage). Does grass seed go bad?

Donna

[Antipodean Bucket Farmer]

Seeds tend to deteriorate (go bad) over time, but not completely. Depends on how it was stored (heat, moisture, etc.)

Depending on the amount, I would just look for some bare spot, then sprinkle it on, and not worry. I certainly wouldn't send it out with the regular rubbish, to a landfill.

[Snooze]

If moisture built up in the bag, some of the seed could have rotted or prematurely sprouted. Look on the bag itself, it should have an expiration date on it. After the expiration date, the germination rate of the seeds declines, but have them already, might as well use them up.

-S

[Phisherman]

Place 10 seeds in folded damp paper towel. Keep it from drying out. In 5-10 days you'll know the germination rate. A rate above 50% is good.

[Gary Groundhog]

"dyork" wrote in news:jM1Qf.57815$% [e-mail]:

Grass seeds embeded in prehistoric Groundhog poop have been observed to germinate. However, if your grass seeds are from the wrong side of the tracks, yes they can go bad. I blame the parents.

[Stephen Henning]

It depends on how it was stored, because it sort of has a half life. The germination rate decreases with time. In cool locations the germination rate is better. In hot locations it degrades faster. If stored in a sealed plastic bag, in a cool place, it will last the longest. If stored in the open in a hot humid environment, it won't last very long. However, unless it molds or rots, probably some grains will still germinate.

What I am saying, it it is best to dispose of it on places on your lawn that need reseeding. It certainly can't hurt and may be viable. Seed companies test lawn seed to see if it is still viable. For them, something like a 90% germination rate is acceptable.

[dr-solo]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at

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[Warren]

Exactly. If you don't see enough sprouts in a week, go and get some fresh seed if you want. It's not like the non-viable seed will be fighting any fresh seed for food.

What else would you do with the seed, even if it wasn't viable? Throw it in the garbage so it can go to a landfill? Put it in your compost pile, and risk that there are just enough viable seeds left to cause problems? Flush it down the toilet?

There no harm in putting non-viable grass seed on the lawn (assuming it's the seed for grasses that you want on your lawn). The worst that will happen is you'll put off buying fresh seed for a week. The best that can happen is it'll turn-out to be viable seed. Just don't judge the brand of seed based on what will probably lower than normal germination rates.

[Stephen Henning]

And if it is not good, just spread it on your lawn as if it was good. Or you can do that anyway and skip putting a bag on the frig. That seems infinitely easier and better than filling up a land fill.