Yep, you answered your own question, but I'd SAY...if they weren't "damp" and it appeared to be good storage, I'd sow them. There's a list somewhere...hold please...

Found this at "Kenny's"
Storage Life of Vegetable Seeds

Below is the average number of years
seeds will remain viable
if properly stored

Asparagus - 3 years
Beans - 3 years
Beets - 4 years
Broccoli - 3 years
Brussels Sprouts - 4 years
Cabbage - 4 years
Carrots - 3 years
Cauliflower - 4 years
Celeriac - 3 years
Celery - 3 years
Chard,Swiss chard - 4 years
Chicory - 4 years
Chinese Cabbage - 3 years
Collards - 5 years
Corn - 2 years
Corn Salad-(mache) - 5 years
Cress - 5 years
Cucumbers - 5 years
Eggplant - 4 years
Endive - 5 years
Kale - 4 years
Kohlrabi - 3 years
Leeks - 2 years
Lettuce - 6 years
Muskmelon - 5 years
Okra - 2 years
Onions - 1 year
Parsnips - 1 year
Peas - 3 years
Peppers - 2 years
Radishes - 5 years
Rutabagas - 4 years
Salsify - 1 year
Scorzonera - 2 years
Sorrel - 4 years
Southern Peas - 3 years
Spinach - 3 years
Squash & Pumpkins - 4 years
Tomatoes - 4 years
Turnips - 4 years
Watermelon - 4 years

Here's another one that includes flowers, too.

Hope those help!

great -- thanks! that's very helpful.

Leisa

i found some from 1996 and 2001. I'm trying them.

The "actuarial" tables are very helpful, but some things I try anyway, have little to lose. I'd buy fresh if it was something I was really counting on that season.

To see if the seeds are viable, you can sprinkle a few in-between a wet paper towel. I cover the towel with Saran so it doesn't dry out. Depending on the seed, in a week or so you will have some sprouts if they are alive. If the seeds are slow germinators, it might take longer. For something like peas or beans, you could soak them overnight in water first. This will give you some idea of the percent of seeds that might germinate.

I've grown Kale, Collards, Spinach, Radishes and Turnips that old. I just sow heavily, and checked every day. The plan was that if things were too sparse, I would sow more in the empty spots.

I didn't have to. I had to thin. But, as I said - I did sow heavily to begin with.