how do you store carrot seeds for a couple of seasons?

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bower
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how do you store carrot seeds for a couple of seasons?

#1

Post: # 12091Unread post bower
Thu Feb 27, 2020 7:36 am

Fridge? Freezer? Special handling or tips?

I had a crop failure of carrots last year - I was not the only one, so weather conditions played a part. But I also was using seeds from the previous year, and I have read carrot seed is not a good keeper. Now I have the opportunity to buy a nice hefty package of my favorite carrot seed for a good price. I only hesitate due to concerns there may be no good way to keep em. It would be enough for three seasons, generously, instead of the packet which is one year stingy amount. What say ye?
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FarmerShawn
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Re: how do you store carrot seeds for a couple of seasons?

#2

Post: # 12097Unread post FarmerShawn
Thu Feb 27, 2020 8:16 am

You could try keeping them in the freezer, just taking out what you plan to plant that day. I keep mine in a walk-in cooler, about 38F, and usually get three years out of them, on average.

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Re: how do you store carrot seeds for a couple of seasons?

#3

Post: # 12106Unread post bower
Thu Feb 27, 2020 11:33 am

Thanks Shawn. Maybe my cellar would be a good place to store after spring planting. I should get a thermometer down there to check the temperature. Freezer would be okay, as long as they don't mind being thawed once a year.
I am wondering though, if it's more stressful for them to be frozen and thawed repeatedly, or just aim for "cool". 38 F is a good value to have, I can aim for that...
SSE says:
"Store carrot seeds in a cool, dark, and dry place in an airtight container to keep out moisture and humidity. When stored under these conditions, carrot seeds can be expected to remain viable for up to 6 years." Three years sounds better than I'm doing so far, I'll take it... ;)
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Re: how do you store carrot seeds for a couple of seasons?

#4

Post: # 12111Unread post FarmerShawn
Thu Feb 27, 2020 1:41 pm

I just figured you could only remove from the freezer what you plan to plant, and get the rest back into the freezer while still frozen. Of course, SSE's advice doesn't just apply to carrot seeds; it's good advice for pretty much any seed.

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Re: how do you store carrot seeds for a couple of seasons?

#5

Post: # 12122Unread post bower
Thu Feb 27, 2020 4:20 pm

Well that makes sense, I can easily break it down into season sized packets before it goes in the freezer. One packet per season, voila! I wouldn't have thought of that without you, tx Shawn! :)
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Re: how do you store carrot seeds for a couple of seasons?

#6

Post: # 12159Unread post brownrexx
Fri Feb 28, 2020 7:52 am

I have never kept any seeds in the freezer, just a cool, dry place in my garage. I think that dehydration of the seed has more of an impact than the temperature. Remember that the embryo is tissue inside the seed that is viable when it is re-hydrated. The seed coat keeps it from totally drying out and dying. If you don't have seeds completely sealed in something air tight like a glass jar and put them in the freezer it could cause them to dry out even more than being at room temperature. Think freezer burn.

I don't really have trouble with carrot seeds but I have heard that they can be difficult. I have read that keeping the seed bed moist is key to getting good germination. Some people place a board on top of the seed bed after they water it to reduce evaporation. You have to watch closely and remove the board after germination of course.

[mention]Bower[/mention] I would suggest checking viability of your seeds that didn't germinate. Just put 10 seeds between a couple of layers of paper towels on a plate and keep it wet for at least 10 days to see if the seeds start to germinate. This should tell you if it was your seeds or the environmental conditions that caused the problem.

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Re: how do you store carrot seeds for a couple of seasons?

#7

Post: # 12161Unread post bower
Fri Feb 28, 2020 8:16 am

Thanks brownrexx - I don't have any seeds left to test, but it's very possible it was not the seed but the germination conditions that caused the failure, especially since at least 3 other growers mentioned the same problem last year. We use row cover to keep the seed bed moist but this didn't help last time.
The big concern about seeds now is whether to buy 2500 seeds for about $7 and keep some for future years, or just buy a packet of 300 seeds for about $3. Obviously a much better deal in bulk, and actually would still be ahead if they lasted for just three years.
Point taken about the freezer - I've read about that and afaik mason jars provide a decent seal while plastic containers do not. So if I wanted to spread that over five years for example, I would make packets of 500 seeds each and seal them inside the mason, with the idea that I could just remove and thaw the packet needed each year without disturbing the others. Or am I forgetting something about bringing the jar to room temperature before you open it? hmmm.
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Re: how do you store carrot seeds for a couple of seasons?

#8

Post: # 12162Unread post brownrexx
Fri Feb 28, 2020 8:29 am

[mention]Bower[/mention] Yes you must allow the jar to get to room temperature before opening. I put my dry beans in the freezer for 4 days after harvesting to kill any potential bean weevil eggs. When I pull them out of the freezer, the outside of the jar immediately fogs up. This would happen inside too if you opened it too soon.

One time I must have put some beans in the freezer before they were completely dry and they got completely moldy after storing in my pantry. Now I open the jar for a week after it returns to room temperature to make sure everything is nice and dry.

If it were me, I would resist the idea of a "deal". Do you actually plant 300 seeds in a year? I only plant about 50 - 75 seeds per year and $3 is a pretty cheap way to have a lot of carrots. They cost over $1 per bag in the produce aisle so it is a good deal too.

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Re: how do you store carrot seeds for a couple of seasons?

#9

Post: # 12259Unread post bower
Fri Feb 28, 2020 6:08 pm

[mention]brownrexx[/mention] Ah well that blows the idea of separate packets in one jar. The cellar is probably my best bet.

I would like to grow more carrots - enough to keep for my family for winter if I can. We pay about $3 a bag for carrots, but it's more about the quality than the price. Carrot is a traditional staple for us. You would have other things like squash I bet, which is a gamble to grow here and we don't eat them much. Rutabaga is another staple here you can count on, but I don't eat them often at all. I really like the different colored carrots but I end up paying a lot for little packages of seed and then the germination may be not great. So a big pkt of my fave yellow carrot at a great price is hard to pass up. :)

Carrots could be a good rotation for some of my garlic beds, since I haven't had any rust fly issues here. The ones I have in mind are raised beds mostly if not all compost so they are not rocky, it should be a good soil for carrots. I tried this one year, with limited success because I planted too late. The carrots could have done with some more weeks to size up. (The crop has to be pulled and bed prepped by early September ideally, to plant the garlic in October. ) Then last year I planted early enough and the mystery of no germination - actually I got two carrots! And the greenhouse aphid-carrot fiasco. I haven't nailed down the process yet but this could be the year (or bust!) ;)

The candidate beds this year are also the beds that are handy to the working hoses and should get watered plenty, I gather, to get good germination and keep the carrots plump and sweet.
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Re: how do you store carrot seeds for a couple of seasons?

#10

Post: # 12267Unread post MissS
Fri Feb 28, 2020 6:33 pm

Test post.
~ Patti ~

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Re: how do you store carrot seeds for a couple of seasons?

#11

Post: # 12313Unread post MrBig46
Sat Feb 29, 2020 12:46 am

Bower wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2020 6:08 pm @brownrexx Ah well that blows the idea of separate packets in one jar. The cellar is probably my best bet.

I would like to grow more carrots - enough to keep for my family for winter if I can. We pay about $3 a bag for carrots, but it's more about the quality than the price. Carrot is a traditional staple for us. You would have other things like squash I bet, which is a gamble to grow here and we don't eat them much. Rutabaga is another staple here you can count on, but I don't eat them often at all. I really like the different colored carrots but I end up paying a lot for little packages of seed and then the germination may be not great. So a big pkt of my fave yellow carrot at a great price is hard to pass up. :)

Carrots could be a good rotation for some of my garlic beds, since I haven't had any rust fly issues here. The ones I have in mind are raised beds mostly if not all compost so they are not rocky, it should be a good soil for carrots. I tried this one year, with limited success because I planted too late. The carrots could have done with some more weeks to size up. (The crop has to be pulled and bed prepped by early September ideally, to plant the garlic in October. ) Then last year I planted early enough and the mystery of no germination - actually I got two carrots! And the greenhouse aphid-carrot fiasco. I haven't nailed down the process yet but this could be the year (or bust!) ;)

The candidate beds this year are also the beds that are handy to the working hoses and should get watered plenty, I gather, to get good germination and keep the carrots plump and sweet.
And you didn't try to grow your own carrot seeds?
Vladimír

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Re: how do you store carrot seeds for a couple of seasons?

#12

Post: # 12323Unread post bower
Sat Feb 29, 2020 6:00 am

Hey Vladimir,
That is certainly on my mind as well.
As I understand it, you must select the best carrots for 'stecklings' and keep over winter to plant the next season. So it would be helpful to grow more carrots and select the best.
Do you grow your own carrot seeds?
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Re: how do you store carrot seeds for a couple of seasons?

#13

Post: # 12502Unread post MrBig46
Sun Mar 01, 2020 10:39 am

Bower wrote: Sat Feb 29, 2020 6:00 am Hey Vladimir,
That is certainly on my mind as well.
As I understand it, you must select the best carrots for 'stecklings' and keep over winter to plant the next season. So it would be helpful to grow more carrots and select the best.
Do you grow your own carrot seeds?
I don't grow carrot seeds. In our country are very cheap, a nonhybrid bag with 5 grams of seeds (about 1300 seeds) costs 15, - CZK. Yet 1 US dollar is 23, - CZK. Each seed company has many varieties, SEMO gives 31 varieties.
https://www.semo.cz/osivo-semena/hobby/ ... ev-obecna/
If you want some of the seeds, choose and send me your address. I'll send you seeds in return. I have no problem with that.
Vladimír

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Re: how do you store carrot seeds for a couple of seasons?

#14

Post: # 12511Unread post bower
Sun Mar 01, 2020 12:27 pm

That is very kind of you Vladimir. Those are great prices for seed.
My farmer friends came to visit yesterday and of course talking about seeds. So I may share the carrot seed with them instead of trying to keep it. I really do want to grow and save carrot seeds if I can next year though! I have saved seed of some other biennials like celery and it was certainly worthwhile and not too difficult. The main reason for growing seed on site is in hopes to select for adaptation to the local climate. It's fun for me, and who knows? Maybe a benefit to the community, if something well adapted is a result.
Maybe a carrot breeding project would be fun? :)
The one that is always grown here is the Chantenay, they do well in our soil generally and it's a good carrot for storage. The seed is a good bargain even here with 2400 seeds in a packet. https://www.damseeds.com/collections/vc ... -chantenay
And I've tried a few yellow carrot types, the one I like best and performed best for me is Yellowstone.
https://www.damseeds.com/collections/vc ... ne-organic
They are about 75 days though, compared to Chantenay at 65 d. Maybe in combination I could find a yellow Chantenay type? ;)
AgCan Zone 5a/USDA zone 4
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yearly precip 61 inches/1550 mm

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