Storing seed - two simple rules

Contained within the seed are all the genetic instructions for a particular variety of plant along with all the reserves needed to get the seedling off to a good start. As seeds are nature’s way of preserving plants they generally survive for a long time. However, they do eventually deteriorate so by storing them in the best conditions you'll be rewarded with greater longevity.

The two main factors that will reduce the life of a seed are moisture and warmth.

Moisture is probably the most important factor that needs to be controlled when storing seeds. A dry seed will last much longer at room temperature than a moist seed will in the fridge. Cool and dry are the two ideal conditions for most of the seed we are concerned with. As a rule of thumb, the storage life of a seed is doubled for every 5 ̊C drop in temperature and 1% drop in moisture content. There is a limit to this though, freezing and ultra-drying can be harmful to seed so home growers should be aiming to achieve 5% moisture content and then storing in a domestic fridge or freezer will suffice.