In roughly 4 to 6 weeks I should be sowing my swede seeds. Before that, I want to check the viability of the seeds before I sow them in the soil. It is easier to check if the seeds will germinate before sowing the full field.
I had a bad experience one year when I had sown the seeds for more than 10 days and nothing appeared. I checked them using this test by placing them on wet kitchen roll and placing it inside the house and they still didn’t germinate after 3 weeks.
I ordered some new seeds and did the same test side by side with the old seeds. The new seeds germinated on the wet kitchen roll in a matter of days and the old seeds did nothing. I have a picture of them in this article about how long it takes vegetable seeds to sprout.
Storing seeds inside a warm home over winter may not be good – it can dry them out, which prevents them from germinating again.
As I mentioned above it is simple to check your seeds before sowing using this test. On a lid or a small dish (not used for eating) wet a piece of kitchen paper, and sprinkle a few seeds onto the wet paper. Place them inside your warm home and within 3 to 5 days they should have germinated.
If after a week or two none of the seeds germinate, then they should not be sown, and new seeds purchased.
