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Storing seeds in poly bags

Folks,
Poly bags permit the transmission of water vapor through the poly barrier,
even when the bag thickness is 4 or 6 mil.  No, it's not much.  But it's
enough to impact the long term storage of seeds.  One year, two years, in a
cold dry place, the poly bags are OK.  Beyond that, keep dry seeds in foil
pouches, made from aluminum foil / poly / mylar.  Virtually no water vapor
transmission across this three part membrane, and the open edge can be
sealed with an clothes iron (remember clothes irons?).  Alternatively,
store dry seed in a airtight can (constructed like a paint can) or jar
(with good seal), over indicating silica gel to keep the seed dry.  Once
the seeds are dry, the pouches work fine.  I've been pulling out ten year
old plus Aquilegia and Digitalis seed recently, and getting near perfect
germination.  

Where can you get the foil pouches?  I think the Seed Saver's Exchange
(Decorah, IA) sells them.  And Johnny's (customerservice@johnnyseeds.com)
in ME may also sell them.  If you've ever bought seeds from Burpee's, their
Life-Lock pouches are paper-covered (for printing purposes) foil pouches of
this material.  Likewise, the gold-colored ParksPak from Park Seeds.  Those
folks are storing their inventory in this material for a very good reason:
it dramatically extends the inventory life of the seeds.  And that means
better seed quality to the consumer.  

Remember, not all seeds should be stored cold and dry.  But for those that
should be, foil pouches are the way to go.  
Rick Grazzini
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