Garden Seed Organization Tips

I am sure many of you have seeds from last year, and are eagerly buying more now or going through the seed catalogues, and adding to your collection.

Once you have the seeds how are you storing them?

Do you organize them? Do you keep notes on things to remember?  We all are different.  I have had a number of different methods of seed storage over the years, and I am modifying/changing again this year. 

Why does it matter how they are stored?  Can’t we just through them in a box and let them be till next year? The key reason is the germination rate of your seeds is definitely based on how they are stored and what type of vegetable/flower/fruit they are. Some seeds can be kept for over 5 years, some just under 5 years, some only 1 year.  Are they stored in a dry area? Are they away from the sun? Are the packages closed? What material are the seeds themselves stored within: paper, plastic?

Some things to keep in mind — keep your seeds stored for the best germination rates they can be.  Keep them in a cool, dry, low humidity, out of the sun location. Some people state they keep them in the refrigerator. I personally do not do this method, as refrigerators humidity levels are difficult to monitor and that just adds another curve ball into the situation (in my opinion). Freezing seeds can definitely kill many seed varieties as our home appliances have too many uncontrollable situations also. (So I just stay away from this method).

Two years ago I took my seeds and I filed them in a small divider box with cue cards of information, however, I found this method just didn’t work for me long-term.  The box was too small. It was hard to see what was what. It was difficult for me to make my notes and changes to the seed organization quickly and easily. So last year I changed to simple file folders. Why did I do this?

I have found I like to keep notes.  Over the top anal? Sure, you can say that. I admit I am anal retentive and like to be organized.  LOL. But seriously … I ALWAYS think I will remember things from year-to-year with the garden, only I am finding as my garden and homestead increases in size and tasks, I do tend to just forget things (no it is not just age related) and then I have to relook up things and I am just tired of that too.  So I wanted to keep my notes all in one place, easily accessible, and easy to make changes to.  So what did I come up with? 

Step 1:

When seeds arrive I put the year they were purchased on the packet.  This just allows me to always use the oldest seeds first.  If I have 2 packages of a particular lettuce the only way for me to remember when it was purchased is to go by the year.

Step 2:

My filing system.  First off, no more making special sized cards (aka waste of time). File folders can be bought cheaply. Regular printer paper just can be stuck inside the folder with my notes. No more make the recipe card fit the box.

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My Printed Seed Information Sheet

What type of information do I keep on my Seed Information Sheet?  I am sure everyone is different on what is important to them. For me I have the following categories on a printed sheet within each folder.

CATEGORY (EXAMPLE: “TOMATO”) –  (photo of the finished item added here too)

Name of Specific Tomato Seed (Example: Black from Tula)

WEEKS BEFORE FROST DATE

• (here I entered how many weeks before my last frost date I need to start my seedlings, eg. tomatoes I plant anywhere in the 6-8 weeks prior timeframe)

OPTIMAL SOIL GERMINATION TEMPERATURE

• (here I entered what the germination temperature is optimally, eg. tomatoes require a heat mat and grow light to germinate well, so I like this to be at least 65 degrees F to 85 degrees F (or 18 degrees C to 29 degrees C)

GERMINATION TIME

• (here I enter roughly when the germination should show a the seedling.  Eg. 8-10 days. This way when you go by your germination time you know if the planted seed is viable)

DESCRIPTION

• (here I enter where I purchased/swapped/received the seed, what type it is, eg. heirloom, open-pollinated, and I list the description of the end product, eg. colour, taste, history)

PLANTING INSTRUCTIONS

• (here I enter any special planting instructions, eg. how far should the seed should be under the dirt, is it a determinate or indeterminate tomato, does it require special fertilizer or type of dirt requirements, whatever planting notes you wish)

DAYS UNTIL HARVEST

• (here is a rough idea on the days till harvest. The days till harvest refer to after the seedling is planted within your garden … it doesn’t mean from the time you started the seed within your home.)

HARVESTING NOTES

• (here I enter any special notes I need to remember, eg. needs to be cut above the stem vs. pulling off the vine, or could be the stem needs to turn brown prior to take off the fruit)

SPECIAL NOTES

• (this is obvious as it is special notes, I also put the cost here per seed).

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Step 3:

• I take the printed sheet and put it inside the file folder with the seed packet(s). [remember seed packets have year already printed on the back that you did in a previous step].
• I put the name of the seed category and seed name on file folder. For example: TOMATO – Black Tula
• Each file folder has a sticker legend colour coded system so I know quickly and easily what should be started/planted when (eg. orange = 6 weeks prior to frost date, pink = 5 weeks prior to frost date, red = sow directly outside when soil warm enough) placed on the file folder itself.

As a sidenote: I have a calendar tracking the weeks for me from when I want to transplant my plants outside, eg. If I want to have everything planted by June 6 then I back up from there.  To start my tomatoes indoors as seedlings I need to plant them by April 4^th if I want them to be 8 weeks prior.

Add, change and alter any processes to work for you with your seed storage and organization method. The key is have fun!