i have seeds in a tin within a box in my closet and im wondering how long they will last.
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15/20+ years with proper storage. Or considerably less time without proper storage.
Proper storage:
Option #1) sealed air tight container at room temperature away from light and heat.
Option #2) Sealed air tight Freezeable container also contained inside another container like a thermos at below freezing temperatures.
My personal preference is Freezeable Cryogenic tubes with silicone Orings, with Humidity beads inside to draw out moisture. Storage inside a box at room temperature away from light & 20+ degrees heat.
The elite or “special” strains I’ve got, I do keep them in cryogenic state “frozen” as described above for super lengthy storage.
The older the seeds, the less likely they will easly germinate correctly or at all, depending on storage care. Hence why you would want to store your valuable seeds “proper” for best outcome later down the road.
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thx for the answer man and mine are in a tin within a box in the closet. have any idea how long they might last?
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Dependent on environmental factors, so I’d have no real idea mostly because they ain’t in my closet lol 
If in doubt, pull them out & grow the weed to be free ,) and start a proactive approach to seed storage 
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If the temps in the closest stay around 70 F they will probably remain viable for 3 years.
Viability will start to drop off after a year. At 3 years maybe only 30-50% will germinate.
At 5 years maybe only 10-20% willl germinate.
If you are able to store them in the refrigerator or freezer in air and moisture tight containers they can remain viable for 15 years or longer.
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They’re probably old by now. If you want to send them to me I’ll check for you
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Where did y acquire the humidity beads? I bought a box moons ago, have not seen any since and I just bought a new storage container so I want to redo and add all my new stuff
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I keep mine in the unopened original packages placed in a large ziplock freezer bag. I then place that ziplock bag inside of a light proof zipper bag placed within the fridge (sort of looks like a large pencil case, essentially it’s a fireproof document protector purchased from amazon). I heard that freezing seeds can be troublesome but I’m not here to open a debate about that… to each their own. I also will place those dry packs taken from random food containers inside the ziplock bag.
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I have germinated 20 year old seeds that were stored in a mason jar in a cool dry basement.
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I personally like rice over silica packs, and hae mine stored in a “bead sorting case”, currently in my office file cabinet, but as soon as theres room in the fridge, the veggie drawer. I think rice is a more balanced dehydration mechanism, and often wonder if the silica packs can suck the last bits of moisture out of a seed. Plus, rice is cheap, and plentiful!
I had bagseed “saved” from like 10 yrs ago that I found. Just rolled up in a ziplock, stowed in the closet and forgotten. Nothing special, but none germinated. Also, flour moths WILL find em like that (I’ve battled the little PITAS here, goddamn bird seed brings em in I swear). When they find the seeds, all you find is dust, seed hulls and these damn moths. Even in a “sealed ziplock” they find a way in (its not as sealed as we think?). Won’t have those problems in the fridge drawer!
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If you are going to use indicating silica gel (colour changing) it is best to use the orange type rather than the blue.
The blue is using Colbalt(II) chloride (nasty), the orange is ferric ammonium sulfate (much better)
Cheers
G
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It’s a miracle.
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Thank you very much, I did see these but was worried with the colours? The ones I bought 7-8 years ago are just clear, feel like plastic, just little balls. I have always kept them in a small fire safe in separate ziplocs all air removed and a few beads in each . Kept in my closet , I’ve successfully germinated 6/7 year old beans several times now. I just purchased a few really cool diamond bead containers with all sorts of free stuff which also looks super useful for sorting, shucking and preparing beads , and some tweezers, and a couple smaller containers suitable for bulk seeds snd stuff, it’s the one at the top, I actually ordered 3 while they have them to assure I’m set for a while at least. Second one from the top.
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I have the 32 bottle version of that, I think it was like $15. You ordered 3 of the 60 bottle? damn, I want a seedbank like that!
I guess when I make seeds in 3 months, I’ll need more storage, but not so much the separation. I figured the 32 would last a while till its filled, its not like I can grow THAT many! lol…
But its a great little case. You can even add o-rings (I had a box of multi size ones here) to the little bottles on the threads, its not perfect but its a decent seal and cheap addition. Some of the better cases come with bottles w/ o-rings I believe…
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Got a couple of larger ones from my pups surgery. will be keeping them for my own seeds now. Good idea, surprised I havent done that. I’m optimistic I will make more seeds than the little bottles in the organizer can hold 
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I just buy everything in bulk so hopefully never ever again. Definitely don’t have 180 varieties of beans ! I wish! I’ve given away CONSIDERABLY more than I’ve received, at least double so tbh they keep getting less rather than more. I’m really only interested in two breeders atm and trying to acquire beans from them is harder than I ever imagined. Living in Canada really sucks at times, I feel like I may just give up on that tbh.
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They definitely work, basically the exact same as the vials in these containers I got yours are just a bit bigger . I use those for everything, I have kief all over in those in my room lol
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I also use the big ones as emergency kit if I’m camping and get dunked. Fish hooks and line, matches, lighters, joints, Advil, etc.
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