Nevertheless, among the items encountered during this cleaning frenzy were plastic bags containing old seed packets, some dating from as far back as 1988 - I just hate to throw out anything for fear that I may some day need it.

Obviously, my penchant for "saving" old seed is getting ridiculous since vegetable seeds lose their viability rather quickly, especially if not carefully stored under cool and dry conditions. Onion, parsley, parsnip, and sweet corn seed are particularly short-lived and any that were not used this year can be tossed. The expected life of other vegetable seeds is as follows: two years for beets, okra, and pepper; three years for beans, broccoli, carrots, cucumbers, lettuce, peas, spinach and tomatoes; four years for cabbage, Swiss chard, squash, and turnips.