How to Organize Seeds

Since I’ve started trying my hand at gardening I’ve collected quite a lot of seeds. It was beginning to feel overwhelming and I decided last year that I needed a way to organize them. I started researching ways that other people found helpful and man I’m glad I did! This is my favorite way that I have organized my seeds which is why I wanted to share it.

There are so many different ways to go about organizing seeds and tools to help you get it done. I started off just using sandwich bags until my collection started to grow. Ughh, I just love seeds! Now I’ve invested a little more into my seed stash by using the photo organizers from Michaels craft store. Wait for their sales, their much cheaper that way.

Why They Work

• Not all seed companies produce the same sized packets. The photo organizers are large enough to hold various brands.
• They keep the seeds dry. Before I started using this system I had left my seeds in open sandwich bags inside of a small tote and forgot about it on my patio. It ended up raining and you guessed it my seeds got wet. Now I don’t have to worry about that.
• The storage cases are easy to carry around. I like the fact that they are portable because sometimes I sit at my dining room table with them and sometimes I go out to the patio.
• There are sixteen photo organizers enclosed it one large case so that you really can categorize.

Break Down Organizing Seeds

This was a little overwhelming for me so I wanted to help give you ideas. First off do whatever works for you. I like to put my seeds in a pile in front of me and then because I purchased three organizing cases, I do three categories first (Food, Herbs/Medicinal, Flowers). Then because there are sixteen categories in each case (two rows of eight photo organizers) I break it down and organize further in a way that makes sense to me. If you only have one organizing case then you could use the two rows to create two categories. Maybe try consumables and non consumables.

Some Options to Organize Seeds

You can organize by family, for example alliums, brassicas, nightshades. Another way to do it would be organize by garden bed. This would mean keeping the seeds of the plants you grow together. If you had a medicinal garden or tea garden you could keep all those seeds in one container. Lastly you could organize by growing times.

My Sixteen Categories

1. Tomatoes and Eggplant
2. Peppers
3. Greens- Lettuces, Cabbage, Arugula
4. Greens- Swish chard, Spinach, Kale, Collards
5. Cucumbers and vining squashes
6. Melons
7. Beans
8. Beans
9. Zucchinis and other bushy squash varieties
10. Pumpkins and Gourds
11. Root vegetables- Beets and Turnips
12. Root vegetables- Radishes, Burdock, and Carrots
13. Peas
14. Corn
15. Onions,  Leeks, and Asparagus (Allium family)
16. Some Brassicas and extras- Kohlrabi, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Brussel sprouts, Okra, Celery, Strawberries

Why I Chose This Way To Organize Seeds

I organized in this fashion because of the seeds I’ve collected and the spacing I have. Some seeds like the beans are really large so they take up a lot of space and therefore I needed two of the photo organizers. In other cases I had a lot of something, for example my peppers. There are so many varieties. Originally I had peppers, tomatoes and eggplant all together but I had to expand out due to my growing collection.

As your seed collection grows it’s helpful to find a way to organize it all so you know where everything is located. I’d love to hear how you organize your seeds. Do you use this system, if so how do you categorize your seeds?