Organizing Garden Seed Storage

Organizing Garden Seed Storage is fun and easy!

Over the past few years we’ve transitioned from row gardening to raised beds.  I think gardening is much easier and more enjoyable with raised beds.   I don’t have to rely so much on my husband to disc and till the soil.  Plus, it took some of the work load from him.
This year, I’m going to try square foot gardening in my raised beds.  I’m excited to also start some perennial plants like asparagus, strawberries, blueberries and lovage.   As I was laying out my garden plans for spring, I decided to organize my seed collection before I started buying more seeds.  I know there’s some controversy about the best way to store seeds.  Seed storage requires low temperatures, humidity and dim to no light.  Always store seeds from your best plants.  I don’t store seeds from hybrids as they are inferior plants and don’t usually reproduce well.  Learning how to store seeds makes you a sustainable gardener.

For 5+ years, I’ve stored my seeds in the freezer and have great success with this method. I was storing them in a mylar bag but this became very disorganized.  I never knew exactly which plants I needed to reorder.  So, I sorted all of my seeds and placed them in mason jars by like categories.  Then stuck a label on them.  Placing a cheesecloth sack of dried powdered milk or rice in the bottom of each jar is also a good to absorb any moisture.  Make sure your seeds are dry before long term storage.  If seeds sweat on the inside of the jar, they are too wet.  They must be dried further in order to be stored successfully. Damp seeds will mildew quickly.
I love opening my freezer and seeing my new organized seeds!!

Share with us how you organize your garden seed storage.

 
 

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