I live in Gatineau Quebec. I would like to order seeds for my vegetable garden ahead of time and not wait for various stores to start selling them in the spring. My question is how far ahead can i order my seeds and how can i store them until the right time?? I would like to order seeds for Pole beans,radishes,zucchini and carrots. I read somewhere that you can store your seeds for an extended period by putting your seed packages unopened in a glass jar and storing them in your fridge. Any information would be appreciated..... Phil in Gatineau(Buckingham sector)
I keep my seeds in paper bags or in their original packages in room temperature for years. I don't like to have it higher than 15 – 17 C during winter, it is higher or much higher in the summer. May be storing seeds the way you propose would be better, but my method is good enough for me and I like keeping things simple. This approach works with seeds from the companies I buy from and with my own seeds. There are companies, though, I would never buy seeds from. I still have very viable Radish seeds I collected from my own plants 10 or more years ago. My own Bean and Tomatoe seeds are no problem, too. Very old Carrot seeds from the company I trust germinated better this year than those I bought this year not paying enough attention whom, in fact, I was buying them from. In conclusion, fresh, not tinkered with in any way, seeds will store well and for a long time in normal, clean conditions without any special care.
Seed banks usually store seeds in freezers to keep them viable as long as possible. I've been storing my own seeds in a chest freezer, and that seems to work pretty well. I have some tomato seeds from 1991 that have been used every year since then without any problems. They take longer to germinate and don't have anything close to 100% viability, but otherwise they seem to work as well as fresh seeds. But note that not all seeds will remain viable as long as tomato seeds; there is a lot of variation among the different types of vegetables.
West Coast Seeds have this clear & concise page on storing seeds: http://www.westcoastseeds.com/topicdetail/topic/how-do-i-store-my-seeds
You mentioned ordering early and storing your seed. Keep in mind that many seed sources sell last year's seed right up to the time people normally start ordering for the next year. So in some cases, if you order too early, your seed may be a full 12 months older than if you waited a month or two to order when everyone else does.
I live in S.W. BC & I order in February, online. Check the website of the seed company, since some of them will tell you which crop-year the seeds are from. Seed packages from a good company will tell you this as well. I must say, very gratefully, that the quality of seed suppliers & the range of varieties has improved immensely over the years I have been gardening. Just don't buy the packages in supermarkets & home impovement stores, unless you know the seed company & trust them. Some of these packages contain almost no seed, are poor quality, may not be suited to your climate & may even contain the wrong variety. Meanwhile, it's snowing, the day after tomorrow is the shortest day, the world is going to end according to someone or other, my family all have colds & I have not yet found an Xmas present for my wife...the seed catalogue should arrive in the mail shortly.
