Organizing and Storing Seeds

Properly organizing and storing seeds simplifies the busy sowing season and saves money by preventing duplicate purchases and extending the shelf life of the seeds we already have. There is no need to buy new seeds every year.

When organizing seeds, you can go from very simple to super fancy. As you know, I am all for simplicity. Here are methods that have worked well for us. 

Finding the expiring dates for seeds

As gardeners, we tend to have lots of seed packages—old seeds, new seeds, and empty packages. Before we organize them, we need to determine what to keep and what to reorder.

Keeping the empty seed package is helpful, so you know what it was and if you want to re-order it. Taking notes in a notebook is another option, but just crossing on an empty seed package is quicker. 

Seed packages that are not empty may still be usable. Many seed packages have a date on them indicating when they were packaged. If not, and you care, make a habit of adding a date when you purchase new seeds.

Short-lived seeds are parsnips, onions, sweet corn, beans, and peas. Ordering them new every year is a good idea.

Carrots, turnips, rutabagas, peppers, chard, pumpkins, squash, watermelons, basil, artichokes, and lettuce are good for 3 to 4 years.

And good for even longer than 4 years are the seeds from the cabbage family, beets, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, muskmelons, and celery. (Source Veseys)

I do not discard seeds until I confirm they have not germinated. If in doubt, I sprout some of the seeds in a seed sprouter or a wet kitchen towel.

We cover Getting seeds for the new growing season in a separate blog article. 

Once your seeds are organized, they can be stored until planting time. 

Organizing seeds into categories

Usually, in the death of winter, I take my seedbox (often messy from last summer) and sort all the seeds into categories.

The categories can be based on variety, planting time, or planting location if you have multiple gardens. This way it is easy to take a package as needed without always sorting new. 

Example categories:

• Root vegetables
• Cabbage family
• Summer vegetables
• Greens
• Legumes

Depending on the number of seed packages per category, I may subdivide categories into plant varieties, such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and kohlrabi.

Then, I hold the main and subcategories together with a rubber band. I know it is not fancy or even really pretty, but it sure works. I like that I can take one package and work on it without bringing up all the seeds.

If you use seed organizers such as Photo Storage Craft Keeper, the separate cases have the same function as the rubber band in my system. 

Storing the seed bundles

I have stored the seed bundles in small cardboard boxes for years. Separating seeds that are planted directly into the ground (like root vegetables and legumes) in one box from seeds that have to be started indoors (like tomatoes and peppers) in another box. 

Rubber bands and labeling the boxes are two essential aspects of this simple seed-storing system.

Another option is a plastic organizer. This one is from Ikea and is more durable than cardboard. Almost any organizer the size of a seed package can be used here. Get creative. 

Another great way to store seeds is in a photo album. If you have only about 30 seed packages, this is the option for you! We have about that many packages of different greens and herbs, so I have them in the photo album, starting with salads, spinach, kale, and others. It is nice to have them all in one place and easily accessible. Greens are seeds that are used multiple times a year in our indoor and outdoor gardens.

To store seeds in a photo album, choose one about 5 x 7 inches with about 30 pocket pages. This way, it is easy to access the seed packages, and the album does not become too bulky. Again, you can hold the photo album together with a rubber band. You can get both (the albums and the rubber bands) at dollar stores.

Self-saved seeds are a bit trickier to organize since they do not come in pretty packages. We use either jars or small plastic bags that are sorted and stored in boxes. Before storing them, make sure the seeds are completely dry. 

Where to store seed 

The seed’s storage place greatly depends on your climate. There is no one-fits-all advice. Seeds are best stored in a cool, dark, and dry place. If you live in a hot, humid climate, store your seeds in an airtight container. In a dry climate like ours, that’s not important.

The fridge is not the best place due to humidity, but if it is the only cool place you have, it would work in an airtight container. Bring the seeds out before planting, and let them reach room temperature before allowing air in to prevent condensation. 

A cellar would be similar to a fridge, but probably not as moist. Again, that depends on the climate and type of root cellar.

We store ours in our basement, where it’s dry, coolish, and dim. We have had a good experience with that. Please share your best tips in the comments below for organising and storing seeds. 

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