Help with flower seeds.....?

I am planting my first flower bed and have lots of different seeds packets ready to plant in peat pellets


Most of these packets have 100+ seeds in the packets and from what i understand you only use 1 or 2 per peat pellet?


So ovciously (unless you have a huge flower bed) you are not going to need even a third of these packets?? Am i right??


Can you keep the seeds for future years??

Help with flower seeds.....?
For your peat pellets, you can actually plant 2 to 3 seeds per pellet, and then pinch off the smaller seedlings.





You are also correct in that you'll only use a small amount of the seed packets for a small garden. If you have friends that garden, share some with them.





You don't specify what types of seeds you have, but let's assume you have annual flowers and herbs.





PERENNIAL seeds are another matter, requiring a process called cold stratification to germinate.





The best way is to place seeds in airtight plastic containers, glass jars or plastic zipper bags at a cool room temperature that is dry and dark.


You can store your seeds in their seed packets or in an envelope that you've labeled with the name and germination date.





Depending on the plant, seeds stored this way will last a year or two. ..some can even last several years or more.





Also, it's very important to keep seeds dry, as any moisture will encourage the seeds to start flowering.





You might put a small packet of silica gel in with your seeds to keep moisture out.





One last thought, do you have a heat mat to place under your peat pot tray?


Seedlings sometimes can acquire what is called 'damping off' disease, caused by watering and cold temps--they'll need the heat mat to encorage germination as well.





A plant grow light is also helpful once your seeds start sprouting. You can buy both at a good garden center, online, or through a seed catalogue such as Parks.





Sorry for the long answer--good luck with your seedlings, it's a fun way to start gardening!
Reply:They seeds might last longer with proper storage.


Here is a tip from Martha stewart on


Storing Seeds


http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site...


What you need to do is join the Yahoo


Group open the link and see.


You can exchange seeds.


http://groups.yahoo.com/group/sgcollecto...
Reply:there is usuallyu a use by date on the packet --- but some seeds you may have bought --- will self seed ( ie zinnias , marigolds etc ) but even if the use by date is say 2010 --- if kept in the right conditions and not opened at all --- it would be fair to say you'll get at least another coulple of years out of them . good luck .
Reply:Sure you can keep them for later use. There is usually an expiration date on the package -- it's just a guideline. At a recent Archaeological dig a 3000 year old fig seed of an extinct variety was found.....it germinated and grew. Also I've planted 4-5 year old seeds that were still viable.