Looking for ways to keep my seed stash organized, as well as fresh.

After laying them out on individual coffee filters (to dry them a bit), I package them into small (2"X 3") manila envelopes. Seal them up and labeling them, of course. (I've learned my lesson the hard way in that department! :_|) Making sure to include the colors, heights, spread, sun exposure and bloom time. Put all the little packages in a snap-close lidded box and throw in about half dozen packets of an anti-dessicant to keep everything dry. (Mostly I use those little packets that come with new pairs of shoes, or those little cylinders of anti-dessicant they shove in pill bottles).

Keep the whole shebang in a dry and cooler part of the house.

That method has worked well for me in the past, and since I'm saving more seeds this season than I've ever saved before...it had better work as well this time around!

gardenz

Ah-Ha! A use for the 750 pack of coffee filters I got at Costco 2 years ago! DH doesn't drink coffee every morning anymore; so the 2 year supply is now an infinity supply!

Great idea! Thanks!

I use small zip-lock bags to store seed packs in. These are labled with the plant family or group ie. legumes, nightshade, herbs, etc. These bags all go into one large bag that goes in the frig. I don't save a lot of seeds, but when I do, zipper creams for example, I air dry them and store in several baggies with a twist tie. Name, date info is on a slip of paper in the bag.

I "recycle" my empty Crystal Light containers to use them for seed storage. I take the CL label off, put my seeds in the containers, and write what type of seed on the lid and side of the container with a permanent marker. Then, all of the containers go into a wooden crate, and get stored in the (unheated) garage for the winter. Keeps them nice and fresh for spring. Best thing, is even if I get lots more seeds, I have a constant supply of containers to keep them in.

I usually use small envelopes, divided by index cards, crammed into a small tin box my grandfather used to keep his seeds in, which stays in a dark corner of the basement. Larger amounts go into clean babyfood jars.

Your seed needs to be dry as a mummys butt before packing into glass or plastic.

Labeling and record keeping are critical unless you only save a couple cultivars.

The more (cultivars) you save the more trivia becomes important, like, who you got seed from where they lived etc.

All of this trivia falls under a "provinance" heading. By the time your saving a couple dozen cultivars you'll be wishing you had (saved it).

Been there done that, and all I got was "CRS"
"can't remember stuff"

Using only tomatoes as an example there are at least two "Thessaloniki" tomato cultivars. Each was named for a slice of greece--each is different from t'other. Knowing which one has tomato-leaves, an' which has potato-leaves makes a real difference. Or will to the person who is searching for a specific tomato, or to thee when your eyeballing a stack of envelopes or jars, and scratching your head...

Those little inserts that fall out of magazines when you shake them (thereby slimming the mag by half) make good seed packets when taped together. Also, they don't encourage mold.

My seeds are saved in a container in the fridge. Cold in there, and not too moist an environment.

Such great ideas! I have learned from this that I should keep them in my basement, which stays about 60 degrees year round; and take the time to write what they are, or I'll be sorry! :-)

I just started my compost pile last weekend, and went out to work on it this morning. I'm very surprised to see that my "raw ingrediants" are already a foot thick in my 4' X 4' container...didn't think I would have that much, but the horse manure and straw sure add up fast. (haven't even made a dent in the hore manure available, but am being cautious about my having enough browns to mix in). Anyway this is great fun, and I appreciate having a forum like this to learn from all you experienced gardeners!!! Mama and daddy always had a garden, and I learned how to plant, etc. But I also learned how to spray heavily with sevin dust! :-( So, now that I'm older and wiser and looking to maintain my health, I'm very excited about organics! I will even try canning my (2004) summer bounty, for the first time!

Thanks for the inspiration!

Oh woe is me. I've been a bad girl. You mean I'm not supposed to dump the seeds in a white envelope and toss them, helter skelter in the top drawer of my craft cabinet with a dozen partially used packets of seed from the last couple years. And you say I'm supposed to labelthem. Hmm, maybe that explains some of the surprises!

Seriously, baby food jars have always been one of my favorite storage containers. I just add a piece of paper in the jar telling me (hopefully) what's in it. The jars fit quite well in a shoe box which goes in a cool dark cupboard.

I like to use the prescription pill vials to store the seeds in. They are easy to carry and store.

Dry seed is much more important than cool seeds with only a few exceptions (none of which are vegetable seeds).

Should you start growing blood -root, or Japan maples (just a couple for "wet seeds") then you'll need skills like cold stratification. Carrots, corn, onion, tomato, pepper, beets, cabbage, etc etc the magic is dry seed.

The buzz word I opened my first reply was--"dry as a mummy's butt", fer a reason.

eat well

tinytrees:
"dry as a mummy's butt"

Thanks for the belly laugh! I needed that today!

Oh boy, where do I start? Seeds go where I put them! I just hung a "curbside rescue" spice rack on my kitchen wall, next to the garden centre, so my seeds must now be stored in containers that can stand on their own. But to keep them dry and in breathable containers, I use the following:

1. "Remit payment" envelopes you get with utility bills, which you usually pay at an ATM.

2. Unsealed envelopes of greeting cards, which were addressed only with the recipient's name.

3. Home-crafted envelopes made from spoiled 8.5X11 pages, sealed with scotch tape or a glue stick, if my DD is helping me.

4. All my old wedding invitation RSVP envelopes I never used, because I had to order in a lot 'way larger than my guest list.

5. Film canisters. Kodak is black opaque, Fuji and no-name are transparent.

My psersonal favourite, and immensely suited to seed SHARING and spice rack storage:

6. Making BOXES from old greeting cards. This works great for those larger seeds, like beans and peas and corn. Saves them from getting accidentally crushed, too, as I have done in the past with enveloped beans. If you have a greeting card with a picture centred on the front, you can get a really nice-looking box for gifting. Cover the card's origin information with a label on the bottom, and you're set.

And of course, everything gets labeled with the ends of those label sheets that the printer can't print on, because they're too close to the edge of the page. DH saves them from the trash at work.

I'll post the greeting-card how-to on the Craft forum.

check out seedsofchange.com they have the neatest little kits for organizing and storing seeds that you have ever seen! I got my dtr. one last year and now she wants to have her own spread! pretty determined for a 13yr old...