As gardeners, we have lots and lots of seed packages. Old seeds, new seeds, and empty seed packages. Some kind of organizing is needed. When organizing seeds you can go from very simple to super fancy. As you know, I am all for simple. Here I share how we do it.
Storing seeds in a box
Usually, in the death of winter, I take my seedbox (often messy at this time) and sort all the seeds into categories.
- Root vegetables
- Cabbage family
- Summer vegetables
- Greens
- Legumes
Depending on how many are there in one category, I may sub-divide them into plant varieties. Then I hold the sub and main categories together with a rubber band. I know, it is not fancy and not even really pretty, but it sure works. I like it that I can take one package bundle and work on it without bringing all the seeds up.
Now, I simply store the seed bundles in small cardboard boxes. I use the ones West Coast Seeds ships their seeds in. I like to separate seeds that I plant directly into the ground (like root vegetables and legumes) in one box, from seeds that have to be started indoors (like tomatoes and peppers). But I am not super fussy about it. Rubber bands and labeling the boxes are the two important things in my simple storing seeds in a box system.
Organizers of any kind can store seeds. Here is an organizer from Ikea. Photo Keeper Box also makes great seed organizers.
Storing seeds in a photo album
Another great way to store seeds is in a photo album. If you only have about 30 seed packages, this is the way 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 other greens and herbs. It is nice to have them all in one place and easily accessible. Greens are seeds that are used multiple times in our indoor and outdoor garden.
For storing seeds in a photo album you want to choose a photo album about 5 x 7 inch in size with around 30 pocket pages. This way there is room to easily access the seed packages and the album does not get too bulky. Again, I hold the photo album together with a rubber band. You can get both (the albums and the rubber bands) at dollar stores.
Seed storage place
Seeds are best stored in a cool and dry place. If you live in a hot and humid climate you would want to store your seeds in an airtight box. The fridge is not the best place, because of the humidity, but if it is the only cool place you have, it would work.
Expiring and reordering seeds
Seeds do not last forever and they are not good forever either. Your seed package might have a date on it saying when it was packaged. If not, and you care, make a habit to add a date when you purchase new seeds. In our home garden, I do not care that much about the dates. I will notice soon if the seeds are still good or not, I just take it easy. However, if you grow a lot from the same variety you might want to know at least a rule of thumb since there isn’t a set expiry date.
Short living seeds are parsnips, onions, sweet corn, beans, and peas. Good for 3 to 4 years are carrots, turnips, rutabagas, peppers, chard, pumpkins, squash, watermelons, basil, artichokes, and lettuce. And good for even longer than 4 years the seeds from the cabbage family: beets, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, muskmelons, and celery. (Source Veseys)
Sweet corn, beans, and peas are usually all used in one season, so I just keep the empty package to know what we did grow. For other seeds that last longer and are gone, I like to mark the package, so I remember to reorder them before next spring. See also Getting seeds for the new growing season.
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what a great idea!! I plan on doing a post about starting a spring garden – may I share your post there and add a backlink?
Thanks!
Sure, links with back links are always welcome.
We store our seeds in our barn because there is not any room for them in the house. One year a mouse ate most of them! We were so upset. So now we store ours in old baby food jars and mason jars. It takes up a lot of space, but it keeps them safe.
Oh no, that was expensive mouse food. Glad you did find a solution to keep the seeds safe.
I really like the photo album storage, but right now I just keep them in a basket (not good, I know!)
The photo album is one of the easiest ways to organize seeds.
I love the idea of using the photo album to store packets of seeds. Adding the date of purchase is a great tip. I’m getting ready to plant some tomato and pepper seeds in little starter pots inside. Fingers crossed!
Yes, I do like the album too. We still have to wait before starting tomatoes. I have lots of info on here about starting and growing tomatoes. I love growing tomatoes.
You said organizing and here I am! LOL I really like the photo album idea the best!
I am sure you would come up with more brilliant organizing ideas them me, Kristen.
It just so happens that my daughter and I were talking about seeds this afternoon! I keep mine inside the house also. I have had flower seeds which came from my parents that were many years old, planted them anyway (nothing to lose) and boom they produced beautiful flowers!
I like the album for storage too but I’d like to be able to flip the page and read the back of the seed packet. Repurposing the boxes for organizing the packets is a great idea. I have empty seed packets from many years ago also because I like to keep up with what I have planted before.
I’m often surprised how long seeds can last and still be good. As for being able to read the back, I am sure you could find an album where you can take the divider out and have just one package per pocket. This way you could see both sides.
I have been wanting to start a small garden in my backyard since we moved into our current house 3 years ago. I love how you have your seeds divided into categories. When I do finally get around to starting my garden, I will probably use the photo album method. I love organizing, and there is something about that method that appeals to me 🙂
It is a great method, especially for beginners with less seeds.
this brings back so many memories. My mother was a big gardener. I just loved all the fresh produce we had. I am going to show her these wonderful organizing idea. I’m sure she had a system too, but never really thought about it. Thanks for sharing
It would be interesting what system your mother used.
Thanks for this great idea of a photo album to organize seeds.. Looks neat and practical.
You are welcome, Tilly! I enjoyed having tea with you this afternoon 🙂
Thank you for sharing with our readers at Merry Monday. I hope you will be sharing your tips with us again at the new party!
Wow…I finally found someone who has more seeds then I do! That’s a lot of seeds!
Lisa
:), I just got two seeds shipments yesterday, so now I have even more. I love to grow, and seeds are the main ingredient to be able to grow yummy plants, right.
I really need to organize my seeds! Right now they are just in a ziplock bag. I love the photo album idea! I’ll have to give that a try. Thanks!
The photo album is great for seeds. It gives you a nice overview, plus they are somehow more protected too.