Topic: what to keep them in

[5rod]

HI ALL 
WHAT DO YOU ALL KEEP YOUR SPARE SEEDS IN.
AFTER PLACEING MY SEED ORDER THIS YEAR
NEED WAY FOR KEEPING SPARE  SEEDS FRESH.
THINKING OF TEST TUBES  ???. ANYTHINK ELSE
                                 

[manicscousers]

hiya, rod..we use vitamin and pill bottles, we put them little packs of things we get in some purchases, you know, got bead things in, keep stuff dry, anyway, put one of them in, keeps them fresh, some folk use paper bags,
we also keep all in a diy plastic box I nicked from hubby  ;D

[Pumper]

Camera film tubes. Air-tight, perfect size, and the lid comes off without any probs.

[Tee Gee]

This is how I keep mine;

[Barnowl]

I keep the seed packets in those zip up CD holders, unless they are big seeds like beans.

[Deb P]

Er, I have a very small seed collection (ahem!), kept in this mini filing cabinet in an unheated but frost free room. Self saved seeds go in little plastic self sealing bags, and I've designed my own seed packets from a Word programme for posher things like seed swaps....

[calendula]

I use a rather large filing cabinet as well - seems to get bigger every year  :o

[euronerd]

Does anybody use rice to absorb any unwanted moisture? The theory sounds good.  ;D

Geoff.

[calendula]

a little bit of silica will do ok as well but I keep mine indoors in a moderately warm room that is very dry - no probs

[manicscousers]

that's it, silica  ;D

[Garjan]

I put my self saved seeds in those small envelopes that stamp collectors use. Bought about 150 of them for 2 euro. You can write the variety on the envbelop itself.
For larger seeds I use regular envelops or film tubes.

All the envelops and the seed packets go with a small pack of silica into a filing drawer, alphabetized.
Dry and orderly: works for me.

[powerspade]

I bought some tidy  seed envelopes in "Partners Stationary " in Queen Street arcade in Cardiff.

[5rod]

          THATS  LOTS   
                5ROD ;D     

[flowerofshona2007]

Try going to your local camera shop and seeing if they have any film canisters they will let you have :)

[Cuke]

Ummm quick question, that all seems very complicated, am I missing something cos all mine are in an old cake tin, much like Tee Gee, kept in a cuboard in the kitchen...

On the subjects of seeds... How do you all build up such a collection? I mean are they all still plantable? I'm new to all this so I assumed once the planting dates had passed on the seed packets I might as well throw them away as the germination rates would get worse and worse...

[flowerofshona2007]

Well i have a packet of seed from 1993 !! and every year i test it and every year it germanates !! its always worth testing seed to see if it will germimate !

[Tee Gee]

Hi Cuke,

There is quite a lot of info on the net regarding seed viability and keeping times.

I had a quick look and found this one but I am sure there are more; http://tinyurl.com/yo8ku2

But what you will find is some are best renewed every year, Parsnips and Lettuce are two that come to mind.

[Garjan]

Hi Cuke
A lot of seeds will germinate even after the date mentioned on the packet. Just try and dismiss if they don't.

For building a large collection:
- save seeds from plants you grow your self,
- save seeds from plants someone else grows (I pick up overripe fruits/flowers from the collective compost heap at the site  :-[),
- save seeds from shop bought fruits and veg (esp. peppers and tomatoes are easy to save),
- ask seeds for birthdays,
- buy seeds as a souvenir when on holiday abroad,
- ask seeds as a souvenir from people going for a holiday in another country abroad
- buy seeds when your garden centre has an end of season sale,
- participate in seed swaps,
- find fascinating heritage stuff on the internet and turn yourself into a preservator of culinary culture or a guardian of biodiversity  ;).

And sometimes I do think I'm overdoing it a bit too.
But there are A4A-members with very much larger collections then I have. I remember a post by Jeanine in which she mentions over 40 varieties of pumpkins/squash!!

The point is, however, that the amount of varieties depends on personal choices (or obsessions) and does not necessarily relate to ones capabilities as a gardener.
I like to grow a few plants of many varieties. And some of them fail, due to wrong growing conditions or my bad gardening manners. Others like to grow trusted varieties with a reliable yield. It is up to you.

[calendula]

On the subjects of seeds... How do you all build up such a collection? I mean are they all still plantable? I'm new to all this so I assumed once the planting dates had passed on the seed packets I might as well throw them away as the germination rates would get worse and worse...

there are heritage seeds dating back to Victorian times that are still viable - you never know until you sow  ;D

[lottieowner]

All I have done is to sort them out into brassicas etc and put them in zip lock bags from ASDA.The whole thing in a big plastic box.
Got some more sseds from Real seeds today.Cant wait for the growing season to start :P  :P