Ancient Seeds

While cleaning out the shop of a dear friend's departed father we came upon a box of seeds. I volunteered to take them, and amongst the packets was a pack of Sutton Seeds cabbage lettuce - 'Fortune.' The packaging date on the back read 30.6.77 - better than 30 years old! The package was still sealed, and inside was a small foil pack that was sealed as well. I counted them (a bad habit I've picked up since I started planning this garden) and there were 1400 seeds. Wondering if they were good I set up a quick improvised sprouter. I took a Ziplock disposable container and cut a bit of cardboard to fit inside. I then placed the cardboard on the lid and wet it, then carefully spread 50 seeds out. Add a sunny window and three days elapsed time and...

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Here we grow! The germination rate is 70% on this test batch. I'd love to share these seeds with anyone involved in the challenge. I plan to divide them into parcels of 100 seeds, let me know if you'd like some.