sunflower seeds

[Billy's lad]

My brother in law grew an enormous sunflower last year and gave me a bag of the seeds that he had harvested from it

I have planted some seeds in a tray in a propogator and left on the window sill above a radiator Two weeks later and only two out of 24 have appeared

I dug around in the compost and the others show no sign of germinating Am i missing something I thought sunflowers were supposed to be idiot proof !

Should I soak them first or put in freezer overnight or throw them away and buy some seeds from a shop?

[nickdub]

Quite likely the other seeds weren't viable in the first place, as it sounds like you had them in the right conditions - there's no obvious way to test if a seed is viable except by trying it in the correct conditions, which is what you did.

BTW you don't say how the seed was stored over winter - this can be a factor in viability.

[Billy's lad]

seed was stored in a plastic bag in the drawer

[nickdub]

OK, bit less than ideal, especially if this was inside in a room in the house.

For future reference when saving seed try to get it reasonably dry, then put it in a paper envelope and store with other seeds in a plastic box somewhere cool like the salad drawer of a refrigerator or a shelf in a garage/shed for the winter.

Storing large quantities of seed can be tricky as obviously with bulk you get quite a bit of moisture content which makes mold more of a problem.

BTW if you want some cheap sunflower seed I find the ones sold for bird food usually germinate fine and you can grow a small field full for a £1. :-)