Freezing is a great way to store seeds for the long term. If you plan to plant them in a few years, it probably won't make much of a difference, although it couldn't hurt. The key to success when freezing seeds is to store the dried seeds in an airtight container and maintain constant cold temperatures. Seeds should be completely dried before freezing, as the freezing process can cause wet seeds to crack or split.
Dried seeds should be placed in an airtight container to prevent them from absorbing moisture and absorbing any harmful moisture. Freezing seeds does no harm to them and can significantly extend their shelf life if done correctly. The secret to successful seed storage is “fresh and dry”. As soon as the seeds arrive, store them immediately in an airtight container in a cool place, away from any obvious heat source and out of sunlight.
Try to store them at 4 — 10 °C (40 — 50 °F). The refrigerator is not ideal, as it tends to fluctuate in humidity. Freezing will kill many varieties of seeds. It's true that government-run seed vaults freeze your seeds, but they do so under laboratory conditions with specialized equipment and controls that few of us could simulate at home.
Some people like to include desiccant packs with their seeds to ensure a dry environment. Another trick is to wrap a teaspoon of powdered milk in a piece of tissue paper and use it the same way. This will absorb any moisture available in the airtight container. Freezing Some Seeds Will Kill Them.
Freezing others who aren't dry enough will also kill them. Yes, you can freeze the seeds at home for long-term storage. To do this, you need to make sure that the seeds are well dried. Unless you use a company that specializes in testing or buying equipment to do this, it's a bit risky.
Should you freeze the seeds? I lean towards the “no, in general. The main advantage for the home gardener who wants to store seeds in the freezer is that the freezer opens much less often than the refrigerator. It is much easier and more practical to store seeds of just one or two varieties per year, as this gives you enough time and space to plant a population large enough to ensure the highest quality and enough seeds left after removing the less-than-perfect plants and fruits, resulting in strains lower than generation or two later. While you can simply hide the seeds in the back of your refrigerator, you'll probably want to keep the seeds cooler than your food.
If you are storing seeds from a seed package where you didn't use all of the seeds, keep the package and put it in a Ziploc bag. Many orthodox seeds continue their ripening process after the seed turns black and is released from the parent plant. Pepper seeds (Capsicum annuum) had the highest germination rate when the seeds were left in the harvested fruit for another 14 days after harvest. Whether you're trying to decide how to store vegetable seeds or how to store flower seeds for next year, the process is pretty much the same.
Once they realize that relics are open-pollinated seeds that can be saved and replanted year after year, they often wonder how to start saving their own seeds. If you've ever read the labels on seed packages, you've probably noticed their recommendations for storing unused seeds in a cool, dry place. However, seed banks also have specialized equipment for freezing seeds that the average homeowner doesn't have. To keep them dry and prevent oxygen from reaching the seeds while they are in storage, the seeds are stored in three-layer sealed aluminum foil packages.
The take-home message here is that there is no “better method of storing seeds” as suggested by most gardening sources. Yes, it works for some seeds as long as it dries properly, but it is not recommended for most gardeners. There is some confusion as to how to keep seeds viable for a couple of years, as news about seed banks and high-tech methods has created a false sense of need. .
