All seeds are alive, and are very slowly using carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen to remain alive. Maybe since beans and peas are such big seed, if you keep them airtight, they suffer. I have never heard a seed company say that beans and peas need open air.

I kept my Scarlet Runners Beans in a dark glass vitamin bottle in the kitchen all winter and they grew fine this season. I have more harvested this year so I was thinking of using a canning jar with a plastic lid for storage, or would a plastic baggie be better?

Their advice is probably good. But I do know that I've stored bean & pea seed in canning jars with screw on rings and lids, and that seed was good for years.

George
Tahlequah, OK

I have stored them in sealed baggies, jars with tight lids, never had a problem.

When I was cleaning out my late Dads freezer last winter, I found baggies with beans and peas that were labeled as such and such seed for planting. The hand writing was unmistakably my Mom's, She died in 1998. I had excellent germination on all of them! But I'm just an old man...not an expert.

I store my bean and pea seed in plastic bags and they do fine. Bill Best talks about airtight containers and the video of him shows seed in an airtight plastic tub.

I store mine in plastic bags. Some things to remember are, get them good and dry before bagging, then keep them cool and dry. Keep out of sun or heat. If you freeze them, when you take them out of the freezer, wrap the bag or bottle in a towel and let the whole thing thaw to room temperature before opening it, so condensation from the air does not get sealed into the bag.

Happyday that is a good point. I put them in a dry place until late December and then they go in the bags. - Dick

I am storing my bean seeds this winter in a canning jar with the ring but instead of a lid I have a coffee filter. The ring still goes on fine and I think the coffee filter will let some air move through without letting anything else really get into the seeds. I'll let you know if I have any germination problems. Also I think this might help if I end up having a little too much moisture left in the seeds, it can still escape.

Dear wertach,

That was a really cool post man.

Take care,
Travis

My Mom would be proud Travis, She loved to garden. Miss her badly.

wertach, my brother lives at home with my mother, now that our father has passed.
He still put seeds in the freezer, just as my dad did for over 40 years that I know of.
I keep mine in zip baggies, can,paper bags, all in a cardboard
box in a cool place.

Beans and peas fall into the 55 55 rule. 55 degrees and 55 percent relative humidity. This will keep them for up to 3 years with very high germination. They do fine if fully dried and frozen in a deep freezer for up to 10 years.

DarJones