Sorting/Storing Seeds

[KarenD]

Is it better to store seeds at room temp or in the refrigerator?

[KarenO]

Cool dark and dry is best. I store mine in a cupboard in a cool room.
KarenO

[KarenD]

Thank you so much!

[NarnianGarden]

Some of you guys are so organized. I wish I was that way too, but..

Most of my seed bags are stored in a jar which is kept in the fridge with humidity absorbers.

Some are in envelopes in room temperatures, and many swapped varieties are still in their original envelopes so I know where they came from.

The same goes for pepper and other vegetable varieties. Very untidy, but I know where everything is - and that is what counts, isn't it?

[Darren Abbey]

I've been keeping my seeds in little plastic vials. The containers are big enough for a reasonable amount of seeds, but aren't fragile or likely to tear (as paper or plastic baggies might). At some point, I picked up a surplus histology-slide cabinet (like this) which is the perfect size for holding rows of the vials. At this point, I want to get a couple more of the stackable cabinet modules to encompass all of my seed collection (as well as some room for expansion).

[KarenD]

Thank you everyone for your answers! All the information is greatly appreciated!

[tash11]

Originally Posted by KarenO

I use pocket style photo albums.
One for reds and pinks
one for yellows and GWR
one for stripes and bicolours
one for blacks
one for dwarfs
one for cherries
One for my own crosses sorted by generation
and so on....

Alphabetical is difficult if you continue to add to your collection.
I can find anything I am looking for quickly as long as I know what colour or basic type it is.
The binders store neatly.

KarenO

I just got over 100 this year (262 I think).

I keep them in a regular 3 ring binder with baseball/magic card 9 per page sleeves. I keep three tomatoes per page. So one per line. Farthest left is my personal seed, the other two are available for trade and have other little cards of more info/pics.

I keep the in alphabetical order. I have everything on an excel file and have info like DTM, color, size, year introduced, leaf, year seed was last saved, etc so I can sort and find what I want before even opening the books.

I find alphabetical easy because I can just add a new page to the book. I don't' care if there are a few blank spots and I never have to move more then two varieties (six pockets) per new tomato added (usually less then that).

For future my crosses they will probably have their own book as they won't have names yet. If I get to do the dwarf project then they might get their own book for simplicity.

I can make my 'to grow' list really easily on my computer, then put it in alphabetical order (with an extra row added to indicate how many seeds to plant) and then pulling the packet from the book and planting them is super fast. I don't have so search and search or anything, it's great.

(I am really not as organized as I sound in this post )

[Adriana]

I am disinclined to use ziplock bags. I have stored rice crackers in them a d find that they lose their crispness in about a week. They may be water proof but they are definitely not airtight.