Old seed success

I found an old packet of Franchi  endive seeds in the seed box.  The expiry date was 2012..so a viable proposition to get them to germinate?

I decided against sowing them directly into the soil and instead tried the earlier method of cotton wool soaked in water.

Amazingly nearly every seed germinated!  This was a huge surprise and left me with a tray of very densely populated seedlings, all vying for position in growth. I have transplanted three trays worth out, but the seedling roots were firmly adhered to the cottonwool so not sure how they will emerge out of that mat of cotton.  We’ll see.  At the moment they are in clumps of 3-4

then one of the transplanted trays..you can see the bits of cotton wool poking out!