I store my seeds in a back corner of the fridge in little ziplock bags. I have some seedlings growing this year from 2 years ago. And yes, I do start the germination by putting some 10% peroxide in a separate ziplock with a half a cotton face wipe and stick back in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. I check them periodically - anything I had with Dance Bojangles Dance seemed to germinate almost immediately. If they germinated I planted. If they didn't, I brought them out of the fridge to room temp, allowed them to get some sun & warmth, (I either leave them in the bag, or do it by the "on the rocks" method) and checked daily until germination.
I learned not to wrap them in paper towels - then you have to unwrap them to see them. The half of a cotton face wipe works really well for me. I just glance at the bag to see what is happening. I kept them damp but not wet.
I find that at least where I live, that I should start them under lights in early spring, then stick them outside in a shady area of my patio in May, and plant them whenever I get a place to stick them. The patio shade seems to work well. I keep them in a flat bottom pan and water from below, or they get rain.
Last year, I did it this way & also planted some seeds directly outside. At least here where I live in south central Wisconsin I did much better with the ones I started inside first. The seeds germinated, but even this year, some are no larger than this years seedlings I started indoors.
About 2/3 rds of last years seedlings bloomed this year. I did make a new raised bed for them, + the milder winter and early spring may have contributed to the good bloom rate I had. Haven't lost any yet, although there are a couple that aren't doing well. And yes, some are duds, but I am leaving everything alone for another year, when I will make a better effort to weed out the Ugs, and encourage the pretty ones.
I have been experimenting with things, and this is what works for me where I live. ~Jan
