While cleaning up my apartment, I discovered piles of seed packets all over the place. Some in the office from the basils I had started. Some on the kitchen table. Others recently received from Botanical Interests were sitting next to the front door. Ignoring the fact that I had a “slight” obsession with seeds, clearly what was needed was a better storage method.
This is what I came up with. I didn’t want to spend any money organizing the seeds I had already spent a small fortune collecting, so I used things I already had left over from other projects. To create a similar seed box, you’ll need a Botanical Interests shipping box (or a similar small, cardboard box), wrapping paper, and scotch tape.
The first thing to do is cut off the top flap of the Botanical Interests box. There’s no need for anything more serious than a pair of scissors. Try and make the cut as smooth as possible.
Next, cut a piece of wrapping paper that is large enough to wrap around all sides of the box, with room to spare. Wrap the box with the wrapping paper. If you need instructions on how to wrap a box that doesn’t have a top, Trixie wrote a tutorial and included helpful photos.
Voila! I cut some index cards down to a siz that would fit inside the box and divided my seeds by “herbs,” “vegetables,” and “flowers.” You don’t have to organize your seeds that way though. You could break them down by the season you sow them, by heirloom and hybrids, or if you have multiple varieties of a number of plants, why not divide them by tomatoes, eggplants, carrots, and so on.
What do you use to keep your seeds organized? Whatever the method, you should store the container in a cool, dark place. My brother likes to keep his seeds in the fridge. If you do decide to keep your seeds in the refrigerator (but generally not the freezer!), be sure to keep them away from fruits and vegetables. Many of them give off a gas that will interfere with the seeds’ ability to germinate.
Related Posts:
- SYS: Save Your Seeds (How to Make Your Own Seed Packet)
- Six Reasons to Love Botanical Interests Seeds
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I always warn folks at our annual Seed Exchange tht best way to store seeds for long-term is in glass jars – can still be a pretty neat display – most important is that moisture NOT get to them. Throw in a silica gel pacl or three in your box, at the least. In my local humid DC climate, paper storage will not always cut it.
Similarly, I use a shoebox, with seed packs in resealable sandwich bags. Veggie and herb seeds are sorted by type; flower and foliage seeds, by colour and height.
That said, I haven’t been keeping it in a cool, dark place, because the only such place in my apartment is the fridge, which is always really damp (and often overcrowded). If I do move them there (I probably should, eh?), I’ll need to forgo the the cardboard box in favour of an airtight/watertight plastic container.
1 more thing… the best luck I had this year was with the seeds from my 2007 cayenne pepper plants. They’d been “stored” inside the peppers they grew in, which I dried and hung for 18 months in my (warm, bright) kitchen (huh — maybe keeping them inside the fruit/pod helps, or maybe I was just really lucky).
I keep my seeds in the fridge too! Luckily it has a tray that pops out and can hold my 125+ seed packets…
I use a large old coffee tin for my seeds. I store them in the tin in their original packaging, little tins and jars (or whatever els I can lay my hands on).
And for some security I have a few silica packages in the large tin to catch any humidity when I open the it. As it can get quite humid here.
And then I store the large tin somewhere out of reach of the sun with a reasonable steady temperature.