If a plant germinates from old seed stock, does it affect the viability of the plant? I can't speak directly to melons since I don't do any of them but as a general rule I haven't found that to be the case. The germination rate will fall off substantially with old seeds - depending on how old - but IME if the seed germinates it then grows normally. I'm sure there are a few exceptions to that rule but off hand I don't know of any. "Aren't thriving" how? Dave

Hey that's very encouraging! I did a whole bunch of seed swapping in 2004 and have had tons left over and this year I sowed several flats indoors and several containers for winter-sowing. I figured that if "they" can get 4000 year old lotus seeds from Egypt to bloom I should be able to get a few flowers and veggies out of 4 and 5 year old seed, I had a few seeds that were almost 9 years old so it will be interesting to see what happens. If they don't grow then I will throw the remainder of the seeds out but boy I sure hate to do that! Thanks!

Knowing the origin of the plant helps. Tropical plants rarely (if ever) need any sort of a cold period to germinate, which is sometimes a method to coax an older seed to germinate. If the seed has a hard shell (which I believe PoB does), it doesn't hurt to nick and soak for 24 hours or so. Patience will serve you well too, as older seeds sometimes will take longer to germinate. Do your research (online or in books, or asking questions here was good too :), and they should tell you what the seeds like for germinating. If the seeds have a short shelf life, then there's not much you can do to make them germinate, except plant them and pray. Sometimes they will surprise you. I got one Corydalis lutea seedling from a bunch of two-year-old seeds, which is quite amazing for corydalis. The baggie method will give you the versatility to experiment a bit, like relocating to a light or dark place, giving it cold for a controlled period of time, or putting it on the fridge, etc., so it's probably the best method if you keep a close eye on it for fungal growth and such.

3 - 5 year old tomato seed is not that big a deal so long as the seeds have been kept under dry, cool and relatively even temperatures/conditions. Many of us routinely sprout 3 - 5 year old seed with no different techniques than we use on 1 - 2 year old tomato seeds. For really old or stubborn tomato seeds, here are a few techniques that have worked well for me: Pre-soak seeds in a mild tea solution in the refrigerator overnight. Set the seeds in moist starter mix covering them with sand to a depth about twice the thickness of the seed and keep the starter mix consistently, evenly and continually moist. Wrap the starter tray in plastic wrap or enclosed in a plastic bag, and after a couple or three days, checking on the seeds daily to see if they have sprouted. Set the starter tray on a seed starting heat pad at 75 - 80*F to provide bottom heat. If this is not possible, set the wrapped tray in a warm spot in the house, but not above 80*F. For particularly stubborn seeds, I have pre-soaked them in hydrogen peroxide for a couple or three minutes and soaked the starter mix with water that had a very small amount of high phosphorus, instantly dissolving fertilizer like Peters or Schultz bloom booster. But that shouldn't be necessary with 3 - 5 year old hybrid tomato seed.