>I planted some old seeds today. They were old not in the heirloom sense, but in the found-them-in-the-closet and who-knows-when-they-were-stored-there definition. I teach science. as part of my many roles. Last spring I cleaned out my classroom closets of all old science materials to make room for the new curriculum kits. I found a big bag of spinach seeds. Spinach? I don’t remember needing spinach seeds for any of the experiments and activities I taught. These must have been stored by one of the teachers that had the room before me. One is retired now, and the other is deceased. The only date I found on the packages said 1997. Was that a “plant by” freshness date or a purchase date? I’ll never know. So in my philosophy of waste not, I planted them. My garden soil is still moist from yesterday’s watering, and the tomato plants are growing like crazy. I know the soil is fertile. If the seeds don’t come up, it won’t be the soil. It’ll mean they’re simply old and dried beyond usefulness, so I’ll compost the rest. If the spinach comes up, it means more bunny food for Beast and Tiny and the little house bunny, Nut!