CONTAINERS FOR SAVING YOUR SEEDS

[Helen J. Foss]

Last year I came upon the ideal solution for saving all my various seeds (I collect just about everything). The Dollar ($1.00) store sells packets of 100 2x2 inch and 2x3 inch little plastic bags (miniature Zip Lock type) which I have found are great for saving and mailing seeds all over the place. They are $1.00 a package and as long as the seeds are really dry when you put them in the packets, they keep really well. The 2x2 holds more seeds than you could ever use in 4 or 5 years. Good luck Helen

[animaux]

Good tip, but one caveat: Make sure all seeds are completely dry, and I mean completely. If not, any tiny amount of moisture in a sealed plastic bag can cause them to develop fungus and the seed will no longer be viable. I also use small plastic bags, but I leave the bags open and standing on end. I only seal them for sending them to people and by then the seeds are dry.

[B & J]

Excellent advice! I tried storing seeds in sealed bags and found viability was greatly reduced. After that initial experience I now keep seeds in an open, cool place and share them via mail in sealed plastic bags but make sure they're in paper containers when I share them with friends who do not plan to sow them immediately.

John

[animaux]

I'm thinking of making some of my own small seed packets. They are easy to make. When I first made one I used a commercial seed packet and unraveled it to make a pattern, then I folded and used glue stick glue. The cheap copier paper is good for this.

V

[Grandpa]

[Françoise]

Hi,

I make my own envelopes. I use old seeds' catalogues with nice flowers' p= ictures. I also use the old calendar with pictures on them. This way I can different= iate my seeds from the bought one.

Fran=E7oise.

[Madgardener]

I make my own envelopes. I use old seeds' catalogues with nice flowers' pictures. I also use the old calendar with pictures on them. This way I can differentiate my seeds from the bought one.

Françoise.

[Madgardener]

I make my own envelopes. I use old seeds' catalogues with nice flowers' pictures. I also use the old calendar with pictures on them. This way I can differentiate my seeds from the bought one.

Françoise.

[Pen]

I had an infestation of beetles or weevils that had burrowed into my Black Valentine bean seeds. These little critters chewed through plastic bags and infested other bean seeds but they couldn't chew through paper envelopes. I now trade beans in paper envelopes or store them in glass jars.

Reclosable plastic bags are great for everything else. If only there was a easy way to label everything...

[B & J]

Get a fine point permanent Sharpie marker. They're cheap and last a long time. They work on plastic bags, paper, and plastic and aluminum blind stakes. The writing is not permanent where it receives a lot of sun, but it's easy to solve that problem with pot plants. Shove the marked stake into the soil along the edge of the pot so that just the tip of the stake is visible.

I learned that trick because our neighbor's dog had the bad habit of pulling out the stakes from my started potted shrub cuttings. She couldn't get the stakes out without getting a mouth full of dirt, and as a bonus the writing didn't fade. :) BTW, I also do this along the edges of my raised vegetable beds when I have several varieties of the same vegetable and need a way to identify where I planted each.

John

John