The Best Ways to Organize Your Seed Library

At some point in your gardening journey, you're going to run into a problem: where to store all your seeds. At first, a box or stack will do, but eventually, you'll realize you need some sort of comprehensive organization system. Storage is important because it also affects the viability of your seeds.

Once a year, you'll want to go through your seeds and audit them, to get an inventory and ensure they're all still viable. Vegetable and flower seeds have guidelines for how long they're viable. You'll want to sort your seeds and make sure you're clearing out those past their expiration dates. While it's not a foregone conclusion that older seeds won't germinate, it's a definite possiblity. Other factors can affect the viability of your seeds, too, including moisture, exposure to light and temperature. Increasingly, I'm seeing seed companies ship seeds in foil-lined packages for this reason. How you choose to store your seeds becomes a real factor in how long the seeds are good for, and that translates to germination rates.

Storage system option #1: Photo boxes

One of the most popular ways I see gardeners keep their seeds organized are these photo storage boxes. Seed packets are roughly the same size as photo prints, and one container holds many 4x6 airtight subcontainers.

Pros: You can easily keep all your tomatoes together, all your peppers in another subcontainer, all your herbs together, etc. They're kept away from air exposure, and the light is blocked by the outside container.

Cons: Your organization is limited to these 16 subcontainers. If you have a 17th category, you need another box. Also, if your tomato seeds don't fit into one subcontainer, you have to overflow to a second. Personally, I find these cumbersome for just thumbing through your seeds.

Storage system option #2: Binders

For many years, gardeners have used these binders, slipping seed packets into the clear pockets just like people used to with CDs.

Pros: They are largely expandable and easy to reorganize by inserting new pages just where you need them. It's easy to access your seeds and flip through to find what you need. A solid colored binder to contain all of the pages would keep most light out.

Cons: The clear sleeves are open, so you're not really keeping all air and moisture out, and you can lose seeds by just holding the binder upside down. Some pages become bulky due to seed packets.

Storage system option #3: this seed-saver kit 60 Slots Seed Storage Organizer $18.99 at Amazon Shop Now Shop Now $18.99 at Amazon

If you are saving seeds on your own, this seed-saver briefcasefeels like a real pro solution: It's a light-safe case with 60 seed-saving vials inside and airtight storage.

Pros: Skip the envelopes that don't want to reseal, and store your seeds in vials and reorganize at will. The case feels safe and durable.

Cons: If you have more seeds than will fit in a vial or seeds too large for a vial (I'm thinking of large beans or corn, peas, etc.), this isn't a great solution. And as with with other solutions, if you need 61 vials instead of 60, you need a new case.

Storage system option #4: storage boxes

Me? I keep things simple. These ArtBins are light, easy to organize within, and come with dividers. The handles mean I can grab and go, and they stack. I keep seeds stored in light-safe, lined envelopes.

Pros: They're cheap, simple, and easy to expand (just keep stuffing more in until you really need a new case).

Cons: They're not light-safe unless you're using those light-safe envelopes.

Each winter, make sure to audit your seeds

If you're not careful, you'll just continue to accumulate seeds and grow your library-but seeds don't last forever. They belong in the ground, not in your personal library. So each November, I take all my storage boxes out and go through all my seeds, vegetable by vegetable, flower by flower, herb by herb. Combine seed packets if you have multiples, and make sure all envelopes are well-sealed. Here's what else I'm looking for.

Are the seeds still viable?

It can be heartbreaking to toss out seeds, but the reality is that all seeds have a viability window. For instance, alliums (onions) are just viable for one year. Now, you can still try to throw some into some soil to germinate to test them; these are just guidelines. But you don't want to get stuck in spring with seeds that won't grow or only do so sporadically, so test or toss. Beyond viability dates, I'm also checking to ensure the package is in good shape, there's no mold or dampness, and the seeds look OK. A growing number of seed purveyors are sending seeds in resealable packages, and that's been very helpful for seed health.

Did you like the seeds?

I always have way too many pea, tomato, lettuce and pepper seeds, because there are so many varieties and I impulse-buy. If I love the variety-great, I keep the seeds. But if I tried a variety and didn't love it, it's time to pass the seeds on. If I haven't used the seeds and it's been more than a year or two, I make myself remove the seed package and prepare to give it away.

What do I need/not need?

Soon I'll be ordering seeds for the spring-and before I start spending money again, it's helpful to know what I have in stock. Just like going through your closet is a good reminder of how many pairs of jeans you have, this process reminds you that you won't need to, for instance, order sunflowers this year if you're sitting on a lot of seeds already. The crucial part of this process is to remember that the presence of an envelope doesn't mean much. There might be two seeds inside-you want to actually count them. Log your findings in your garden journal for when it's time to order.

Pass on the seeds you weeded out

Seeds belong in the soil, not in a box, so if it's not going to be your garden, give the seeds to someone else. Find your local seed library, or start one, or list the seeds in a local Buy Nothing or similar giveaway group.