Garden

[depglass]

He's getting just a few plants.  Could it be you can't use old seed?  He says they are germinating seeds found in the pyramids, his should grow. 

[Tuppermore]

Seed is sensitive to temperature and humidity.  It needs to be stored in the refrigerator or freezer.  I always store mine in a glass canning jar in the refrigerator.  I can use it for about 3 years.  If you aren't sure about it's viability, you can test it.  All you have to do is spread it on a damp kitchen towel and cover it with another damp towel.  Keep the towels damp (not wet) by misting.  If the seed is alive, it will sprout in a few days.  The package should tell you how many days before it sprouts.  Hope this helps.

[software]

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@depglass wrote:

He's getting just a few plants.  Could it be you can't use old seed?  He says they are germinating seeds found in the pyramids, his should grow. 

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You can buy 'new" seeds and it can happen.

There are many variables

[Nightowlz]

Our garden is slow gowing this year because it has not been hot enough. It just got hot a week or so ago around here. It's really hot now so it should take off.

[RedTop]

Most of our plantings are done with leftover seed that has been stored in a glass jar in the freezer.   Beans and corn grow best when the days are sunny and hot, and the ground stays warm.   If you see a lot of birds in your garden, they love eating the tiny green shoots of sprouted bean and corn seeds.   

[candys mine]

The seed found in the pyramids is Nothing like the seed of today.  you would hardly recognize the fruit that came from it.  The further from"heirloom" the variety is the more finicky it tends to be.  Soaking the seed to soften the shell can help the germination rate in corn.

[depglass]

This was bulk seed from the feed mill.  I just remember we liked it.  The summer has been very late here, zone 4, and my iris are just starting to bloom.  I don't remember their being this late ever. 

[x Hedge]

@depglass, be patient then.
Im zone 5 and my iris are done blooming for the year already.
Could be your corn is just delayed due to weather/temps.

[gardenman]

Generally speaking when they talk about the seeds in the pyramids, they're talking about Egytian Lotus seeds which have an incredibly long lifespan due to a very hard seed coat around the seed. This seed coat is so hard that you literally have to file it away to get the seeds to germinate in a timely fashion.

Corn does not have an incredibly hard seed coat around the seed, so it has a more limited shelf life. Seeds germinate best under controlled conditions and outdoors is anything but controlled. Too cool, too dry, too wet, can all lead to problems with seeds germinating. Jim Crockett, the original host of "Crockett's Victory Garden" on PBS would start his corn seed in the greenhouse in a flat then transplant the germinated seedlings out to his garden once they were up and growing. Once growing corn seedlings can tolerate a wide range of temps and weather, but corn seed needs a bit of pampering to get it started.

Local commercial growers plant the corn then cover it with a thin layer of clear plastic to form an in-field greenhouse for the corn. The clear plastic traps moisture in the soil, lets sunlight through to heat the soil and is then split once the corn seed starts to grow to give the plants space to grow. It's a very thin plastic that ultimately breaks down in the sunlight, but it gives them an edge in getting their corn to start growing well.