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How to keep your seeds organized
When I first started collecting seeds, I couldn't figure out how exactly to store them. I quickly started systems for seed organization according to categories.
Here are three simple ways to create "DIY seed organizers" and store the seeds that you purchase or harvest from your garden.
The first example is what I find to be the best seed organizer for our family.
1. The Seed Binder
Materials:
- Post-it tabs or binder dividers
- Baseball card protectors
- Large binder
- Sharpee / Pen
I printed out a front page to make it look "official" for this blog post.
Download one for yourself here! (You will have to write in your name with a pen to personalize it, though.)
If you look closely at the pictures, you will notice that my seed binder is divided into categories.
When I first began storing seeds in a binder, I decided on the following sections:
- Spring
- Summer
- Fall
- Legumes
- Herbs
- Flowers
Nowadays, I group my binder seeds according to plant families as well as the seasons:
Spring/Fall
- Amaranths
- Lettuces
- Umbelifers
- Brassicas
Summer
- Herbs
- Flowers
- Nightshades/Solanaceae
- Cucurbits
- Others like okra
Perennials
- Lovage
- Burdock
- Cardoon
- Asparagus
- And other things I like to experiment with like soapberries
Even if you don't know what seed grows successfully during which season in your yard, you can look at the seed packets and try it out in one season.
Some seeds may be planted in both spring and fall, but are more successful in the fall.
Examples of these are brassicas whose flowers we eat, such as cauliflowers and broccoli that are flower early when planted in the mid to late summer.
Another example is planting garlic in the fall rather than in spring.
The fall-planted garlic, which you harvest in the spring, will tend to have a bigger bulb than one planted in the spring and harvested in the summer.
In these cases, it is easy to move your seeds to the tab, which is their "better season" based on your growing experience.
2. The Seed Box
Materials:
- Box
- Coin Envelopes / Seed Packets
- Index Cards (optional)
I was blessed to receive an heirloom mahogany box from my mother-in-law.
We place seeds that we harvest from our garden in these sturdy coin envelopes from Amazon.
I try to label the seeds by the variety and note the harvest date on the upper right corner of the seed packet.
I've seen other friends store their seed packets in shoe boxes and sort them with labeled index card dividers. What ways have you found to help organize your seeds?
3. Jars
Ball jars that are dried and clean make great storage for bulk seeds. We also find these jars helpful when we have gathered seeds from the garden but have not yet tested them for germination.
When we find 90% germination, we then deem them worthy to be put into seed packets and sold in our online store.
If you decide to go the mason jar route, make sure to label your seeds.
4. Shoe Boxes
Since opening our Seed Shop, I've separated our personal seeds into a clear plastic shoe box with index cards as dividers. It's not the neatest way to store seeds but it is super easy and simple.
Of the four ideas above, which for you is the best garden seed organizer for you?
Tell us below and share some DIY seed organizers ideas of your own!
Dig Deeper
We love seeds so much that we've written a few more articles about them:
And we've opened up a Seed Shop to bring organic and heirloom seeds to you!
Comments 2
Those are awesome ideas! I really like the idea of the binder, as it seems like the most efficient. I currently have store-bought seed packets standing up in a berry basket in my garage, but I have a spare binder, so I think I will find some baseball card protectors and go for it!
I really like the binder idea. I have a thing for binders. ; )