[roro]

Pretty simple.. This isn't all of them, because they wouldn't all fit on the chair.. lol But this is how I store my seeds.. Just pop them in the deep freezer & they're all organized & ready to go.

I duct taped the box to hold the flaps down and also duct taped the corners on both top & bottom, because boxes take a lot of wear & tear & it helps protect them a bit... The sides, too.. Didn't want to grab the box & have it rip open from the sides & my seeds spill everywhere.

This way makes it easy (for me) to keep my seeds organized & know where everything goes & keeps me from digging through zillions of packages to find one type of seed. Also makes doing inventory very easy.

I used to have a huge ziplock big bag that I put all these in, but my seeds won't fit in there anymore.. So I had to get a box. lol

Just to show you how much you can stuff in one of those ziplock baggies, here's a picture of all my beans & peas (except my adzuki beans, as they're in a tub) laid out:

And here's my peppers:

That's a lot of stuff in one baggie! lol

Hope this helps someone! : :thumb:

 

[oktx]

Looks nice. Thanks for sharing! :

 

[Sierra Dave]

Some clarification please...

Whats the difference between storing seeds in the freezer versus the fridge?

I would be worried that moisture in the seeds would ice and then damage the genetic material....

But then, plants grow outside and have been doing so through winters uncounted. Maybe there's nothing to worry about.



Sierra Dave

 

[SgtBooker44]

Awesome,

I really need a better system to organize mine.

Doesn't freezing kinda suspend them?

 

[Swampwood]

How long are they good for frozen?

 

[Cryptkeeper]

saveing them in plastic bags isnt a good idea.

here is a book that will tell you everything you want to know

http://www.survivalistboards.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=489

 

[roro]

Looks nice. Thanks for sharing! :

thank you! and you're welcome!

Whats the difference between storing seeds in the freezer versus the fridge?

I would be worried that moisture in the seeds would ice and then damage the genetic material....

But then, plants grow outside and have been doing so through winters uncounted. Maybe there's nothing to worry about.



Sierra Dave

what's the difference between storing a raw steak in the freezer vs the fridge? obviously you can store a raw steak in the freezer for a longer period of time! same thing with seeds!

Awesome,

I really need a better system to organize mine.

Doesn't freezing kinda suspend them?

Yes.

How long are they good for frozen?

years & years! i just sprouted 10 seeds that i had since 2007 & every one of them came up just fine. :thumb:

saveing them in plastic bags isnt a good idea.

here is a book that will tell you everything you want to know

http://www.survivalistboards.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=489

hehe i know, i know.. i've read that a thousand times since i've been here. everybody says saving seeds in plastic is bad, but I've been doing it since 2007 & have had no bad results thus far. - not to say that i won't eventually, but, i mainly store my seeds this way, because it is very easy to organize them & find them when i need something, because you can SEE them.. also, that's how most people's seeds come, when you trade and when you order them from places like ebay. only a few vendors don't use plastic bags..

plastic also helps keep water & stuff off of the seeds.. say you're sitting down & have a pack of seeds laying out that you're planting & you have a drink on the table also.. you accidentally somehow knock your drink over & the paper packets get all soggy and your seeds get wet and now you have to plant the whole pack of seed... or what if you are outside & someone accidentally wet the package with the hose or something & all your seed get wet?... basically all i am trying to say is what if something happens and your seeds get wet for whatever reason it may be... and what if there's like 3000 seeds in the package? what a waste that would be! if you had stored your seeds in plastic, you could just wipe the outside of the packet off & no harm done. lol

however, i have recently designed my own little seed packets, which i print off & cut out.. i have just been trading so much the past few weeks since i've designed them that i haven't had the time to put any of my own seeds that are currently being stored in plastic in the new paper packets. every time i cut new ones out & put them together, i have an email for a new trade & have to package up the seeds and mail them out! lol i will eventually have time to put them all in paper, though... i may wait until i have pictures of all the stuff, so i can put the pictures on the seed packets, so that i can still "see" them.

also, people do store their seeds and food in mylar, and mylar is a type of plastic... i realize they have different coatings that make them not have static, but i mean it's plastic. so storing your seeds in some kinds of plastic can be good.

"Mylar is often used to generically refer to polyester film or plastic sheet. However, it is a registered trademark owned by Dupont Tejjin Films for a specific family of plastic sheet products made from the resin Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET). The true generic term for this material is Polyester Film or Plastic Sheet.

Polyester Film/Plastic Sheet is manufactured in a range of different styles, finishes and thicknesses.

There are numerous applications for Polyester Film/Plastic Sheet." Source.

i also realize you can store your seeds in air tight glass containers. however, that is not very practical for me, because 1.) have so many different kinds of seeds, i'd have to spend hundreds of dollars on containers, 2.) i have to go through my seeds almost daily, because i trade them so much, and ziploc bags are just easier and more convenient for me, because they are opened and closed so easily & they last a long time..

if you want to store your seeds in a different way, then knock yourself out. i just posted how i store mine, because it's very convenient for me & i thought it may help some other people out there get better organized, too.

i will read the book you posted the link to, though, so thank you for that.

i also don't mean to sound snotty or anything like that.. just have to take into consideration that i may have already realized it might not "the BEST" storage method, but it's the easiest way that i have found (so far), because of what i do (trade seeds). :thumb:

 

[Levant]

Has anyone tried vacuum packing seeds, with or without oxygen absorbers? In my emergency preparedness plans, the availability of seeds to provide food over the long haul is the thing I worry about most.

 

[composter]

saveing them in plastic bags isnt a good idea.

here is a book that will tell you everything you want to know

http://www.survivalistboards.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=489

"Note that this document is for tree seeds."

 

[roro]

Has anyone tried vacuum packing seeds, with or without oxygen absorbers? In my emergency preparedness plans, the availability of seeds to provide food over the long haul is the thing I worry about most.

I have not tried this, yet.. But you will have to have a way to re-pack them every time you open them, unless you plan on making individual packets of seed, with o2 absorbers in each one. Like those daily vitamin packs, except with an o2 absorber.

You can always plant heirloom/open pollinated & just save seed for the next year. Fresh seeds are always better anyhow. :thumb:

"Note that this document is for tree seeds."

LOL I noticed that, but I still found it useful... For trees!



===


I forgot to mention in my initial post that I used the box, because I had one.. I didn't think of using one of those plastic tubs, but I haven't gotten to where I need one of those, yet. I suppose they would work better, since they have a lid, but my ghettofied little seed box works fine for now.

 

[Chrysalis]

Thanks for sharing Roro, that looks very nice! Mine are in a jumble in my cold pantry, when I get a deep freeze I will use your advice.

 

[crazympgirlx9]

Ohhh...I was supposed to freeze my seeds? Crap, I suck at this. So, what if I had seeds from last year and I didn't freeze them-do I need to get new ones?

 

[Conrad_Turbo]

Freezing the seeds will allow them to survive longer than if they were in a cool place? I'd suspect the freezing to cause some damage to some types of seeds?

 

[roro]

Ohhh...I was supposed to freeze my seeds? Crap, I suck at this. So, what if I had seeds from last year and I didn't freeze them-do I need to get new ones?

lol you don't suck! you just didn't know! in regards to getting new ones, i'm sure yours are just fine! the only seeds i can think of off the top of my head that are good to get every year would be:

onions
parsnips
celeriac/celery root

you can always start freezing them now. no harm done!

i've heard of people having 20 year old tomato seeds sprout, and there was no special care given to the seeds.. just some their grandma had stored somewhere or something like that... so i'm sure your seeds are fine. one season won't hurt them.

Freezing the seeds will allow them to survive longer than if they were in a cool place? I'd suspect the freezing to cause some damage to some types of seeds?

Yeah, I was worried about that, too.. But so far, so good. None of the seeds have been damaged thus far (that I can tell).. Even the warmer weather ones, like my casabanana meloncoton & eggplants. I've had my Japanese Black Trifele tomatoes for several years & they've been in the freezer, too... I set 10 out to pre sprout & they all came up just fine.

 

[manowarfan1]

Great thread, especially helpful to a newb like me (to survival, most forms of gardening etc). I know you stated that something like a mason jar wouldn't be practical as you have all kinds of different seeds, so space would be an issue. I was wondering if something like baby food jars would do the trick. They're pretty plentiful if you know anyone who has an infant as the little ones go through the food pretty fast

I don't know if you can vacuum seal that size of jar, I don't yet have a food sealer or anything yet. First I will start collecting some mason/bell jars and lids, hopefully accumulate some viable food and seeds, then get a sealer machine.

Any thoughts on if baby food jars would work for smaller seeds or those which you don't have a huge quantity of?

Thanks
Jeff in Colorado

 

[roro]

Great thread, especially helpful to a newb like me (to survival, most forms of gardening etc). I know you stated that something like a mason jar wouldn't be practical as you have all kinds of different seeds, so space would be an issue. I was wondering if something like baby food jars would do the trick. They're pretty plentiful if you know anyone who has an infant as the little ones go through the food pretty fast

I don't know if you can vacuum seal that size of jar, I don't yet have a food sealer or anything yet. First I will start collecting some mason/bell jars and lids, hopefully accumulate some viable food and seeds, then get a sealer machine.

Any thoughts on if baby food jars would work for smaller seeds or those which you don't have a huge quantity of?

Thanks
Jeff in Colorado

Jars would be fine.. Baby food jars would be good for things like tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, etc.

I guess it just depends on what all you want to grow.. If you only want to eat the same 20 things for the rest of your life, then having 20 baby or mason jars is really not that bad. You can always find room for a small amount of them! But I know that I have a lot of various kinds of herbs, probably close to 200 kinds of heirloom tomatoes... etc.. I can't see myself putting 200 kinds of tomato seeds each in a separate baby food jar & looking for a place to store them. There's cherry tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, red, white, black, green, yellow, orange, purple, pink, bi color, striped, etc kind of tomatoes... Each needs to be separated... If you just had roma tomatoes and that's all you wanted to grow forever and the only kind of tomato you had, then a baby food jar would be perfect (unless you live in an area where there's earthquakes). If you like and want variety, jars just end up taking up too much space, but that is just my opinion. If it works for you and is what you want to store your seeds in, then go for it! There's nothing wrong with it. I just don't find it practical for my needs, but it may be exactly the ticket for you. :thumb:

 

[REDDOG46]

Oh great, now I have something else to keep track of, like the information and ideas

 

[TNPetite.45]

What is the info on the typed papers down in your seed pkts - is it planting info or is it information about that particular type of seed or just your notes or are these the envelopes you made that you were referring to?

 

[Cami]

I have always frozen my seeds in plastic ziplock bags. Last year I used seeds that were over 10 years old. So far, I've never had any problems.

 

[icanne]

I love this idea! Currently I have a total off 144 different varieties/types of seeds...First I had them broken down by company...then I tried by types such as herbs or vegetables...I love the idea of your seed box..now I want to go and organize mine right now!