Old seeds germinating

[kcinwv]

Rutgers tomatoes use to have a good flavor but I have noticed over the last several years the flavor is not as good as they use to be.
Recently I found a few Rutgers seeds from 30 years ago in a bag.
The storage location is normally above room temperature so the chance of them germinating is slim but I am willing to try.
I am looking for suggestions on how to get my old Rutgers growing again.

 

[ducks4you]

I once germinated (but left the seedlings to dry out), 35yo (family) tomato seeds.
Older seeds can be viable BUT they will take longer to germinate, so be patient.
ALWAYS worth a try, but you need to be a Good seed babysitter!

 

[flowerbug]

are you planting them in the same space all the time?

 

[kcinwv]

No,this is a pack of fresh seeds that was pushed back and never planted. The Rutgers 30+ years ago tasted much better and I don't want to make a mistake and loose them.

 

[digitS']

You may have good luck with them but the time the see germination is likely to be unusually long compared to fresher seed (as @ducks4you points out). Also, any seedlings may be quite weak.

Success would certainly not be guaranteed with any approach so you should probably anticipate that by not committing all the seed at once to any one process. Eggs in one basket, and all that ... You may only gain a plant or two for the season but then, the cultivar is back in play and with some seed saving, you will have more of what you want for the following year. Of course, you may only come up with a couple ideas for starting like starting seed in paper towels and then moving the sprouted seed to a starting mix. @Branching Out and others do this.

I would be sure to use sterile, soilless starting mix anticipating mold starting before seedlings can emerge. Also, optimum temperature would likely be essential. Here is a 3 page pdf from Washington State University with some guidance LINK. As they say, it is just 3 pages of "seed starting 101." Note that the optimum sprouting temperature for Tomato, Pepper, Eggplant is 75°-85°F. My guess is that 85° would be best.

Starting purchased seed and saved seed for tomatoes has been a part of my gardening for decades. Never have I used seed that was 30 years old, however. I am not a horticulturalist and with saved seed I'm rather insistent that it not be over 5 years old. That just requires that I pay attention to dates and grow new plants for seed saving on a regular schedule. There are other factors to seed saving as @heirloomgal knows well. With all her sharing of seed, she may have had some experience working with very old seed.

Wishing you the best of luck and I hope that I haven't crossed any lines tagging these TEG gardeners.
Steve