Organising Seeds

[noviceveggrower]

Hi,
I was wondering how everyone organises their seeds. I was having 'help' from my daughter try to sort my seeds into a bigger box. I 'lost' my beetroot and she told me they were with the radish as they were both red. Logic there.
But that has got me thinking about the best way to sort the seeds in such a way that I get the max out of them.
So I was thinking either do it via type or do I put them in the monthly order so I can work out the best time to start them off.
Does anyone have a system or just bung them in a box?

[Noosner]

I sort mine into clear plastic boxes and write the first sowing months on the outside. It's a half organised system, as it ensures I don't forget to plant something but on the other hand is flexible and gives me the excuse to rummage through each box several times!

[Bigmallly]

I use this:
http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...tml#post935383

[Penellype]

I use small cardboard boxes (originally containing wrapped cakes) and store my seeds in planting order. I have one box for early planting and one for later planting, then as the seeds get sown they go into a section for "waiting to germinate" and when they germinate they are either put back in order for another sowing or moved to "finished this year".

I'm told I run my garden like a military operation...

[snakeshack]

Stored in sealed box in cupboard under stairs where it's cool , with large silica gel pack & filed in alphabetical order. I have a book where they are listed alphabetically along with expiry dates.if you turn the book over they are listed by month to sow, best of both worlds


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[Martin H]

I've got a cabinet with six drawers. I've got twelve cardboard dividers marked with a month.

Each packet of seeds starts off behind the divider marked with the earliest selling month.

Then at the end of every month I look at the seeds for the month gone by, anything that I haven't sowed or might sow again gets moved forward, anything that I have finished with for the year gets moved back to the first possible month.

So for example at the end of July all the beans will get moved to April (no more sowing this year), while all the lettuce will get moved forward to August (more chances to sow).

The month dividers get moved around between the six compartments of my cabinet according to how much space each one needs. March already needs a compartment to itself, soon April will need one too.

I wish I had somewhere cool to keep my seed cabinet, but at the moment it's in my study where I can see it. At least the temperature stays pretty constant which I guess is why I've not had any problems with viability.

[greenishfing]

In an effort to organise me (I think) my husband bought me a hinged box with 12 compartments (one for each month) and a clear lid to put my seeds in.

Not really practical as I sow next to nothing in the winter months but March and Aprils seeds won't fit in their holes.

At the beginning of the year it was reasonably tidy but now..............There are about 10 part packets in my handbag....in transit and the box is a jumbled up mess partly because I hate to throw empty packets away because if they prove to be an exceptionally good or bad variety I'd like to see what they were.

I'd like to be more organised and always start the year with good intentions, I think I'm too old to change now.

[Martin H]

Not really practical as I sow next to nothing in the winter months but March and Aprils seeds won't fit in their holes.

Make yourself 12 cardboard month dividers! Free yourself from the straitjacket of one-compartment-per-month!!

[Dorothy rouse]

I 'organised' all mine, as to when they should be sown, in a large tin container, no lid, all packets standing upright, so WAS easy to flick through. Any spares stored at the back. But now I gave done up in the allotment shed, some on the window sill ready to planted In modules at home, some still in the tin, in a vague order! Started off well.

[veggiechicken]

I have soooooooooo many seeds, lots are years out of date but I cannot bear to part with them.
My "method" is to put all seeds of a type, say cabbage, together in a ziplock bag. All brassica bags are stored in a plastic box. There is no attempt to keep them in sow by order.
If I read that its time to sow "cabbages" I pull out the bag and rummage through them until one (or six) take my fancy and sow a few of each.. Once sown, I put all the packets into a dated "Sown" bag. At the end of the year, they are merged back into the original ziplock bags.
Keeps me busy for hours

For the record, the VSP seeds are also stored in Ziplock bags, by type.

[sparrow100]

I store mine by plant group - brassicas, curcurbits etc, and also how I think, ie all salad stuff and weird bits that don't fit anywhere else. There's a separate spreadsheet with my planting times all worked out, which by now is being completely ignored.

[Small pumpkin]

I have 4 tins ( old Christmas biscuit tins) 1 tin is full of salad/lettuce these get planted when I like. The sowing guide on them get ignored. Tins 2&3 are all veg seeds, these are sorted into sowing month, type & finial destination of the crop ( tunnel, raised beds, sales( trying to get the garden to pay for all the nice things I keep buying for it)) Tin 4 has flower & herb seeds also sorted in the same way.

[Kirk]

Seems I am in the minority - Random, not even necessarily in the same place (plastic box).
If I had a conscience I suppose I should feel bad for being so poorly organised.
However as I don't I don't care.

[salilah]

I store mine by plant group - brassicas, curcurbits etc, and also how I think, ie all salad stuff and weird bits that don't fit anywhere else. There's a separate spreadsheet with my planting times all worked out, which by now is being completely ignored.

I'm pretty much the same - a tin for Salads, a tin for Toms / Chillis / Cucumbers / Melons, a big wine crate box with dividers for Beans / BB / Peas, another wine crate box with dividers for Beet / Chard, Winter Veg, Other

A spreadsheet has sowing times, but I gave up updating and just check it from time to time...

Also I follow (vaguely) biodynamic, and can only sow at weekends, so that usually dictates timing (other than Chillis which are 1 January!)

[WPG]

I'm not very organised with my seeds. The veg seeds live in a biscuit tin - big packets like peas and beans go at the bottom, then the others are sorted into brassicas, squashes, alliums, salads etc and held together with rubber bands.

Another biscuit tin for the flower seeds, not in any system. Then there's another tin with all the envelopes of self-collected seeds, and a shoe-box for the packets of green manures.

Finally, there's a tin with random packets of seeds (from the GYO mag or received as presents) which I'm not sure if I want to grow or not.