Report: Seed packets may be duds

LONDON, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- A British consumer watchdog group says gardeners may be setting themselves up for failure by buying packets of dead seeds.

A test of flower and vegetable seed packets found that many of the seeds are already dead -- as much as 99 percent of the seeds in the case of one packet of delphinium seeds, The London Telegraph said Friday.

The consumer watchdogs tested flower and vegetable seeds from 15 suppliers and found that only six companies met industry standards.

Maya Albert, an adviser for the Royal Horticultural Society, said seed quality generally declines with age and dryness. She said seeds inside foil keep better than ones loose in a paper packet, the newspaper reported.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International

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