Lol, I totally did all those others as well and finally changed to the same idea as you came to! How funny. Great minds think alike! I actually have 4. One for Cole crops, one for summer crops and one for herb and one for flowers and non-edibles. Crazy seed lady here. But it does help in organization.
@@ReSprout amazing. How did you know I have a pile of boxes by the front door 😂 I was going to buy this overpriced library style card catalog for my seeds But then there is a divider issue and teal what about the big beans. Plus those things are to heavy to haul outside to my planting area. I think a combo of boxes. Some of my seed packets are super small so the photo box will keep them organized. The big box for the beans 😊 I have soo many seeds. I don’t have a space to garden 🪴 😱 I am literally planting up the walls 😊
@@diversitylove5460 Right as I was filming that I had happened to order a bunch of stuff off of Amazon (like, a lot, LOL). But who wants the box? You just want the thing inside, right? So Santa mailman comes, you say, "Oooh goodie!", tear open your present, and go play with your new toy, leaving said package refuse at the door. It is a shameful practice my household engages in. 🤣🤣
@@ReSprout Oh, m'dears! Get the tape and the glue off those Amazon boxes, and any ink that isn't black (which almost certainly is soy-based and safely biodegradable these days) and compost this stuff! Or, use it to cover fallow beds in the wintertime so you don't "wake up" to weeds in the springtime. One gardening friend uses cardboard boxes she obtains from the dollar store to lay down on her flower and shrubbery beds, and then she mulches over the top of the cardboard with plenty of dead leaves every autumn. Cardboard, as long as it's not colored or shiny, is very valuable to gardeners and it's far better either to compost it or to use it directly on garden beds than to let it go into land fills.
@@bhalliwell2191 Don't worry I do recycle it! I used to use cardboard in the garden too but read some horror stories about "forever chemicals" in paper products so I'm currently on hold with paper/cardboard in the garden until I do some more research on that.
My current seed organization are in the photoboxes. And they are organized by organized by vegetables, herbs,Flowers, and runners. But I might reorganize them. Things need to be planted between between hot summer crops and cool weather crops
Very cool video! I bought some off the shelf systems I am playing with, but neither holds all of my seeds in one place, and I haven’t even done much seed harvesting yet lol
I store unopened packets of seeds in a gallon glass jar for future use in an extra refrigerator and throw in those moisture absorbing packets as well. This is my long term storage solution.
If you're worried about "seed crapping" do what I do - use ziplock bags from ebay or aliexpress. Put the seeds in those bags and then put that bag back in the original packet for all the details. Problem solved.
Former Tupperware Lady here. I am using an old Modular Mates Memory box. It is black and has a gray lid. The insert has snap in dividers with labels. I never really used it for photos, but my seeds are organized! I have them in snack size storage bags if they will fit, and I used blank address labels on the bags with info about the seeds. All stuff I had at home, no need to buy anything. One day, I will need another one of those boxes, lol.
Oh! I just googled those boxes! (This is where I wish TH-cam allowed people to upload photos sometimes.) That looks like a very nice version of my crack box! Great minds think alike. 😉
Great, you just confirmed my thoughts on the seed box. Been on Internet and they all looked too small: decided on large plastic containers but then had doubts. Not any more, thank you. Liked & subscribed.
How do YOU store your seeds? And what are your favorite varieties you always keep in your seed box? Let us all know! Also, if you're looking for a way to track your seeds, I just came out with possibly the NERDIEST garden planning video ever! Spoiler alert: it involves a spreadsheet. 🤓 🤣 th-cam.com/video/DFLbrwSwgaM/w-d-xo.html
Hi April!! I was so excited to see your video this am.. yes, i have boxes in a corner near my door waiting for garden use..you are too funny with all of your everyday life comments. Just love that about you, it makes me feel inspired to hear someone so down to earth and relatable. I too have tried different versions of seed storage and had no idea about the mouse thing. Yikes, thank you for sharing that tip. So looking forward to seeing your next video..you are bar none my favorite to watch because you make everything so fun, inspiring and easy to understand! Have a great day 😊
You are so nice Elizabeth! For what it's worth, mice aren't a foregone conclusion for everyone. I suppose it depends where you live. Around here, though, if you leave unprotected food type items in far off places in your home (closets, basements), you're just asking for trouble. I keep a lot of my bulk food storage in my basement, but I know I can't leave anything in boxes or bags down there. Pasta boxes or bags of rice will get get destroyed. I haven't had issues in years though. Once I moved everything into jars and brought the pasta upstairs to the kitchen I think they realized there was nothing left for them and moved on to greener pastures!
Nice! I love the planting guide on the top of the box. I am using a 4 shelf tote. Each shelf has 4 plastic holders that serve as dividers for seed categories. One shelf has spring/fall crops (greens, brassicas, peas and carrots, and radishes. then summer crops (tomatoes, peppers, small bean packets, and cucumbers), then flowers herbs, and miscellaneous seeds, and the last shelf which is the largest, has those larger seed packets like beans and other small gardening supplies. I have way too many seeds, I'm trying to narrow down my favorite varieties of everything.
Oh, I'd love to see a picture of that! That sounds intense. I'm not sure I am envisioning it right. Tag me on Instagram if you're on there! @askresprout 😀
I love your clear box and divider idea! Clever and inexpensive! Currently using a trusty shoe box with my seed bags standing up in it. Works great! But i think I'll upgrade to this method now 😁 thank you! ❤️
We’re in Brisbane, I’ve just joined you and I’m SO GLAD you’ve answered ALL my questions! I’ve just started gardening more herbs and veggies as I’m not well with fatigue (long COVID, 11 weeks now) so gardening is all I can do for now. I’ll certainly look for your website too, thanks you so very much! Keep up the fantastic work!
If you're gonna build a binder for small numbers of seeds, you might wanna go for trading card protectors. Those have 9 pockets, so you'll get to store many more seeds per page c:
LOL this is sooo relatable! I did the drawers to binder to photo organizer. loving the photo organizer atm. However, my bigger seeds such as corn, peas, etc do not fit. SO they are currently all together in a mylar bag (in their original packs) for protection. Just need an idea for this without buying another photo organizer.
I've graduated to the large plastic tote with seed packets in ziplocks, in the basement. Except for 2 packets left in the fridge that I keep forgetting are in there and spend too much time hunting for😁
I have my packets of seeds in a in a binder but I bought baseball card plastic inserts and I put the seeds in each one where I can see them front and back
I use a larger sterilite clip box and over sided index card to separate seed types, so I can write notes, planting dates, transplanting dates etc on them. Favorite tomato is the sungold (Fedco) and the mandrang moon and Goldie from Hudson Valley Seed. Thank you for your awesome tips, and your card is fantastic!
Thanks for keeping it real. I think everyone who grows a lot year after year ends up here. Those photo boxes are cute but impractical (who wants to open a bin? A smaller bun? And then the packet???). I'm currently upgrading to a seed dresser since self collected seeds have pushed me beyond the capacity of boxes😂
OMG A SEED DRESSER?! That's insane LOL! I have a farmer friend that uses multiple plastic drawers, but I chalked that up to the fact that she farms like, you know, 3 acres. 🤣
@@ReSprout To be fair only the too two drawers have seeds.😋 The rest contain other seed starting supplies. We have 1 acre and live off of our land, plus I sell plant starts...so yeah LOTS of seed!
Brilliant ideas 💡 I’ve just got an allotment so my seeds have massively increased & all over the place… like you said boxes everywhere 🤣 so this is going to be a game changer 🤩 thanks for sharing 🙏🏻 like your seed choices too & the list on the box- that’s a really good tip 👍🏻
I only just did this a couple of weeks ago. I went against the popular trend of using photo organiser boxes, which I was going to do originally but hesitated because I thought I might be constrained by the number of boxes in the set, and any bulky seed packets. In the end I bought a tub very similar to the one you have used. I still like the photo organisers (so neat and uniform, I'm a huge fan of uniform) but I think I needed something that could expand and change according to how my collection changes. And I do have quite a lot of bulk/bulky seed, so I needed something that would work for those as well. The tub I chose has an organiser tray in the top. I chose this so that I could keep pencils, sharpies, labels, spare seed packets, small notepads etc with the seeds. Paperclips are very handy for closing any seed packets that you have to fold down, and they don't add too much bulk. I have small bulldog clips for bulkier packets. After I bought the first tub, I went back and bought two tubs that are the same size, but without the organiser tray - one for bulk seeds (eg green manure - mustard, buckwheat, lentils etc) and the other one so I can split my collection into edible vs flowers, because I immediately realised the first tub was chock full with some left over 😬😂 So now I have three tubs - edible, flowers, and green manure/bulk. I might end up with a fourth because I'm thinking that I'd like to split off Australian natives into their own tub. I have a narrow set of unused shelves in my wardrobe (intended for shoes, I suppose) that are the perfect size to put these tubs into. It is dark and probably the most stable place in the house in terms of temperature. I had previously been storing my seeds in various containers that were then stacked in a box, so there was always a lot of rummaging around to pull out what I needed (often at the bottom). Now I can just go to my shelves and pull out the appropriate tub, so that's a much better setup. It's neat, easy to get to, easy to see what I have, and doesn't matter if some seeds are in thin packets and some are in bulky paper sacks or even jars. I can also carry the whole tub with me if I want to go and do some planting, and I have labels, pencils, notepad handy that way. I'm really happy with this DIY solution, for basically all the same reasons you have listed, and was pleasantly surprised to see someone else using virtually the same idea as I had settled on :)
I know, I really liked the IDEA of the photo organizers. I love the categorization of it all and the cute little interior boxes and the suitcase handle. It's just ADORABLE! That's my jam! After looking at my seed collection though, I knew it wouldn't work. I'm so glad you're saying you have multiple tubs! Because as I was filming this video, I was thinking to myself, man, I could really use another box, this one is getting really cramped. And I thought that sounded a little crazy, two tubs. Glad to know I will be in good company. 😅
I think I will use metal boxes in the garden/allotment because of the 🐭 They get through the plastic. At home I have so many boxes with seeds I might have to organize them following your example.
Yeah, the mice are a real issue! I know that TECHNICALLY the mice can get through the plastic (I've heard they can gnaw through concrete!), but I think with mice it's all about reducing the low-hanging fruit. Open boxes are EASY for mice, whereas a closed plastic box, a lazy mouse might move along to the next easy pickins, LOL
MY 'pile of boxes' is on the living room couch (3 piece sectional) with all the clean laundry......couch has N E V E R been sat on!! and it's for sale btw LOL
I keep my seeds in the fridge in the door (should put them in the back maybe) . I been organizing them in Sandwich baggies (bc some escape from the original package. Then I have a bit larger sandwich bag to organize them into groups - sweet peppers, hot peppers, dwarf tomatoes, tomatoes, squashes, etc was hoping to get a more visual method but w the sandwhich bag way, I can put a lot of seeds on one shelf on the door of the fridge
I like the grouping idea! Just make sure the bags are absolutely 100% closed. Refrigerators can be humid and humidity is bad for seeds (unless you want them to grow LOL). 😉
Thank you, I'm using a big giant storage container...and my seeds are a giant mess....I'll do like you and smaller container but few storage containers
(Sorry to be late to this party!) Current seed storage method is those cardboard photo storage boxes which come with eight dividers in a strap inside them; we always have to make more dividers because eight just aren't enough for my purposes. At present the seed stash runs to eight or nine boxes and some of those are packed fairly tightly. (Perfectly ridiculous, I know.) To keep seeds from getting away from their packets, I used to double-tape them: one strip of ordinary "cellophane" tape on the packet itself, just barely overlapping the original adhesive, and then after closing the flap, another one to keep the flap in place. If the seeds are small enough to slip out the side openings between the top (folded) edge of the packet and the sides of the flap, then I make sure to extend the tape around to the front. Packets get set in sideways, sitting on the long edges of the envelopes because they're too tall for the height of the boxes. (Why, yes: taller, narrower boxes would be the sensible answer, but I have these, and I am a garden seed junkie: I don't resist the opportunity to "refresh" a type of seed which often doesn't need refreshing, or to "refresh" a type of seed which does need refreshing, or to try something new, and given a choice I'll choose seeds over a storage method re-do. That worked for a while, but eventually I had seeds running crazy---and loose in the storage box. Finally figured out that what had happened was, the clear windows in the packet (so you can see the seeds---necessary? Not to my mind, but...) of a certain seed company weren't staying glued to the packet body around the edges of the window and the seeds were getting out. Found out the hard way how similar American Purple Top Rutabaga seeds are in appearance to some of the kale varieties' seeds. Corralled them, though, in a zip-lock sandwich bag, and then never did sow them in a hodge-podge, grab-bag, take-your-gardening-chances kind of way. May still do; there's a note in the zip-lock bag, along with the almost-empty seed packets. Naming a few favorite varieties.... Bleu de Solaise (or "Blue Solaise" or "Blue of Solaise" or "Solaise Blue" if your seed packets are labeled in English) and Carentan leeks, both old varieties from Normandy, and I like these because a) I can leave them in-ground through the winter and harvest as I need them and b) they do well in my growing conditions. I tried "American Flag" and "Musselburgh Giant," and while the two French varieties were still going gangbusters, the other two died, I swear just to spite me. (Could they be Francophobes, maybe?) "Bleu de Solaise" was the first leek variety I ever grew from seed, so I'm a bit sentimental about it, in addition to its excellent performance in my growing conditions. Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard, performs like a champ and has successfully stood through Zone 6 winters for me although some years we've had to share with chipmunks and rabbits; any other white-stemmed chard is happily harvested; Ruby Red or Vulcan chard gets planted for the visual effect, and will be shared with neighbors although I, personally, don't do well with "greens" that aren't green, not sure why this is. Garlic, a softneck called "Inchelium Red" which isn't supposed to do well in my climate, but which is certainly doing well enough, and anyway softneck varieties have longer storage lives than do the hardneck ones. I'm sentimental about this crop, too. I am wild about lacinato kale or dinosaur kale or Tuscan kale which years ago I read is actually a non-heading cabbage but I don't really know---or care. Yummy stuff! Any of the golden beets, no matter how it's labeled or what, specifically, it is: Detroit Golden, Touchstone, "Golden Beet," whatever: love golden/yellow beets. Haven't found a *favorite* summer squash, yet, nor a *favorite* winter squash, although I like both. Runner beans, both scarlet ones and white ones (Greek Gigantes beans) are on the gotta have list Calypso beans are my very favorite common bean, and right behind Calypso (a.k.a. Yin-Yang or Orca bean) is the borlotti "Cranberry" or "Lingua di Fuoco" ("Tongue of Fire")bean By the way: mice can chew through just about anything including thin metal. Plastic won't stop them; they'll chew the plastic insulation off electrical wires because their teeth grow constantly and are kept to manageable lengths by chewing. They find food, they go after it. Keep them out of your house (I know: easier said than done. We've been there and had to deal with that.) I've rattled on...plenty long. Much gardening love from Ohio!
Oh hello my friend! I hadn't heard from you in a while. Hope you're doing well! Lacinato kale is a big favorite of mine, too, and I'm gonna have to try your leek variety-I've been looking for a good one for awhile! Overwintering is a nice bonus since I'm often too preoccupied to get everything in by the frost.
@@ReSprout Hello to you, too. And thank you for the good wishes, which I wholeheartedly return! I've been around, but you'll have noticed that when I comment I tend to rattle on at some length and in some detail. Often, that means that having said whatever I've said, I'm out of things to say unless I start talking about myself, personally, and I've been assured by, oh, any number of people in real, live person, that I am a crashing bore (because they're not into gardening and because I can talk the leg off a cast iron stove. At least, I hope that's the reason.) And information about me, apart from gardening things, just isn't pertinent, so for the most part I've been quiet. That, and the fact that I didn't find new videos from you, which isn't to say they weren't there, only that I didn't find them. Those Normandy leeks, those may do well for me because they're in a kind of micro-climate, with a large cinder block wall of an old, old five-car garage at the bottom end of the garden to store and/or reflect heat from the sun; a neighbor's heated workshop to one long side of the garden; and another commercial type building (in the process of being converted into I-don't-know-what at this point, but a heated building nonetheless) and I'm reckoning those buildings and maybe some escaping heat from the house ameliorate the temperature just one or two degrees Centigrade, which isn't much by human standards but which can make all the difference to a plant. Or, they just might be tougher and more resilient than old boots. Which leek varieties have you tried, so far? I need to sprinkle hot red pepper powder or flakes on my overwintering crops: the bunnies and chipmunks, for sure, and maybe some other critters, have eaten my gauras down to *nothing* and they go after my leeks, my Swiss chard, and anything else that's green and in the garden over the snowy or very cold months. And *this* winter, we're supposed to get colder temperatures than average, and more snow than average....
@@bhalliwell2191 "Often, that means that having said whatever I've said, I'm out of things to say..." 🤣🤣 I cannot stop laughing at this, Bhalliwell. No truer thing has been said. There are certainly some people I know of that need to understand this human truth and not keep REPEATING themselves. LOL!! On the leeks, I think the only one I've tried is Bandit. I do have Evergreen Bunching Onions in my garden, which is a perennial, and I tend to substitute that in recipes if I need leeks because they're so large. Have you tried cold frames for your chipmunk issue? They add some heat but also pest protection!
@@ReSprout "...some people... need to understand this human truth and not keep REPEATING themselves. LOL!!" Oh, my friend: you're hard on us oldsters who *understand* but who are starting to experience some short-term memory loss, and who find we repeat ourselves.😊 A thousand pardons if I've been guilty of this! 🤥 Elsewhere, in comments I've left on various gardening channels, I've explained more than once that "I'm less than a mile as the crow flies from the Lake Erie shoreline," because being that close to the Lake affects my first and last frost dates (postponing both) as well as ameliorating ambient temperatures: a few degrees cooler in the summer, and a few degrees warmer in the winter. But then, there is that infamous Lake Effect, messing up all sorts of plans or contributing more of what we were going to be getting coming up from the Texas panhandle as whatever other weather system heading our way moves across the Great Lakes. (But I love it. I truly do.) So, I often mention it. Oh, I've been wanting a cold frame (or two!) in *the worst way!* Hoping finally to get one built this 2023 season, although I said that last season and the season before that and the season before *that.* Just received Jack First's book on hot beds, and without access to clean manure (horse, one hopes, wishes and presumes) I'm wondering if there's a way to make a hot bed that will produce gentle heat all winter long, without manure but with other organic matter. Several of the critters who either live within the kitchen garden enclosure or who find their way in to visit it, are perfectly capable of burrowing or tunneling, and they do, so if they were very determined or very desperate for food/water (from their fresh food), they could still get into a cold frame with or without a hot bed inside it. Not sure how small mesh has to be to stop mice or chipmunks, but in the end I can only do the best I can do, right?
I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. Had problem with too many seed packets laying around, now you helped solve it. Does buying seeds from the other side of the US make a difference? Currently, living in Southern California
I'm not sure, to be honest. It just so happens the place I buy from is on my side of the country. Generally, if you can, it's good to get locally adapted varieties, but that can be tough. For me, organic seed is top priority. Availability, too!
I saw a tip to use washi tape for resealing seed packets because it's meant to be restickable (I don't think that's an actual word haha). I bought some in January and so far it's working really well.
I use paper bags that I label for categories like peppers, tomatoes, melons, etc and keep it in a big box. Thankfully I keep it in my house and the house cats are serious mouse hunters so mice don't last long once they get in the house. I've been thinking about getting a plastic tote and just moving the brown paper bags over to it.
When I was making my compost bins, I learned that mice can chew through CONCRETE! Isn't that crazy?!? Once I heard that, I said, ok, I'm fine with just upgrading to the plastic box and lid, cuz there's only so far I'm willing to go here. So far no issues, but definitely if they come back, I'm gonna have to find some sort of metal box!
Oh metal! That sounds like a great idea! Does it have a lid? Just don't let the mice get to it! Man, I was never so pissed as when I went to go get my peanut seeds (WHICH ARE NOT CHEAP!) and found empty packets. SMH
@@ReSprout I would feel the same way. Cheeky little mice! Yeah the tin has a lid which will help. I just started collecting seeds so your video came at a great time. Thanks!
@@kevinandjessl.3820 Oh great! I'm trying to be better about timing my videos. I'm still new at this and I'll harvest something, decide I want to do a video on it, and then take a month to do the video, which is, of course now, too late for it to help anyone. Hoping to be better about that this year! 😇
Can you email me at hello@resprout.com from the email address you'd like to subscribe from? I don't see any recent new subscribers on my end that haven't gotten their charts but I can manually add you to the list!
Maybe you are looking at my spreadsheet garden planner? That does cost money, but the PDF download of the spacing and germination rates and everything is free! Try this link: resprout.com/planting-guide/
Omg!!!!😂😂😂😂 the way i screamed when she mentioned the boxes by the front door!! Like how does she know?!!!!!!😂😂😂
Us too! 🤣
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I KNEW I WASN'T THE ONLY ONE!!!
Lol, I totally did all those others as well and finally changed to the same idea as you came to! How funny. Great minds think alike! I actually have 4. One for Cole crops, one for summer crops and one for herb and one for flowers and non-edibles. Crazy seed lady here. But it does help in organization.
This video made me realize I need another box! Glad to know I'm not the only one!
@@ReSprout amazing. How did you know I have a pile of boxes by the front door 😂
I was going to buy this overpriced library style
card catalog for my seeds
But then there is a divider issue and teal what about the big beans. Plus those things are to heavy to haul outside to my planting area.
I think a combo of boxes. Some of my seed packets are super small so the photo box will keep them organized. The big box for the beans 😊
I have soo many seeds. I don’t have a space to garden 🪴 😱
I am literally planting up the walls 😊
@@diversitylove5460 Right as I was filming that I had happened to order a bunch of stuff off of Amazon (like, a lot, LOL). But who wants the box? You just want the thing inside, right? So Santa mailman comes, you say, "Oooh goodie!", tear open your present, and go play with your new toy, leaving said package refuse at the door. It is a shameful practice my household engages in. 🤣🤣
@@ReSprout Oh, m'dears! Get the tape and the glue off those Amazon boxes, and any ink that isn't black (which almost certainly is soy-based and safely biodegradable these days) and compost this stuff! Or, use it to cover fallow beds in the wintertime so you don't "wake up" to weeds in the springtime. One gardening friend uses cardboard boxes she obtains from the dollar store to lay down on her flower and shrubbery beds, and then she mulches over the top of the cardboard with plenty of dead leaves every autumn.
Cardboard, as long as it's not colored or shiny, is very valuable to gardeners and it's far better either to compost it or to use it directly on garden beds than to let it go into land fills.
@@bhalliwell2191 Don't worry I do recycle it! I used to use cardboard in the garden too but read some horror stories about "forever chemicals" in paper products so I'm currently on hold with paper/cardboard in the garden until I do some more research on that.
i love how i started watching this expecting to have to buy something unique... and its a tub with organizers. i love it :D
LOL! It's funny, I've TRIED all those other organizers. Sometimes (often really!), the simplest solution is the best.
My current seed organization are in the photoboxes. And they are organized by organized by vegetables, herbs,Flowers, and runners. But I might reorganize them. Things need to be planted between between hot summer crops and cool weather crops
Very cool video! I bought some off the shelf systems I am playing with, but neither holds all of my seeds in one place, and I haven’t even done much seed harvesting yet lol
I store unopened packets of seeds in a gallon glass jar for future use in an extra refrigerator and throw in those moisture absorbing packets as well. This is my long term storage solution.
It's superb idea. Your video is very important to our life. So I think to watch your every video .
If you're worried about "seed crapping" do what I do - use ziplock bags from ebay or aliexpress. Put the seeds in those bags and then put that bag back in the original packet for all the details. Problem solved.
That would work too!
Very nice! I do love my seed "briefcases" lol, but I also use a larger container for bulk and saved seeds! Thanks for sharing!
Haha! They ARE adorable! Especially the color coded ones. I feel like a little kid at Christmas with a box of toys. ;-)
Just transitioned to the photo box. I’m very happy so far as it beats my assortment of plastic sandwich bags everywhere! 0:08
Yeah there's definitely some drawbacks to the bags!
Thank you so much for sharing! I am new to your channel and gardening. This was very helpful!
You r such a sweetheart to share your successes. Thank you so much !!!
You are so welcome!
Former Tupperware Lady here. I am using an old Modular Mates Memory box. It is black and has a gray lid. The insert has snap in dividers with labels. I never really used it for photos, but my seeds are organized! I have them in snack size storage bags if they will fit, and I used blank address labels on the bags with info about the seeds. All stuff I had at home, no need to buy anything. One day, I will need another one of those boxes, lol.
Oh! I just googled those boxes! (This is where I wish TH-cam allowed people to upload photos sometimes.) That looks like a very nice version of my crack box! Great minds think alike. 😉
Mason jars are great for anything your selling. I love setting fresh picked seed out on a dry sunny day. It make the drying process much simpler.
I love mason jars too!
Great, you just confirmed my thoughts on the seed box. Been on Internet and they all looked too small: decided on large plastic containers but then had doubts. Not any more, thank you. Liked & subscribed.
They look SO CUTE! I really wanted to love it, but it just didn't work for my situation. Glad the video helped!
Great video. Love the planting guide on top for easy to read reference. That's a game changer!!
Right?! I use that thing all the time.
How do YOU store your seeds? And what are your favorite varieties you always keep in your seed box? Let us all know! Also, if you're looking for a way to track your seeds, I just came out with possibly the NERDIEST garden planning video ever! Spoiler alert: it involves a spreadsheet. 🤓 🤣 th-cam.com/video/DFLbrwSwgaM/w-d-xo.html
Hi April!! I was so excited to see your video this am.. yes, i have boxes in a corner near my door waiting for garden use..you are too funny with all of your everyday life comments. Just love that about you, it makes me feel inspired to hear someone so down to earth and relatable. I too have tried different versions of seed storage and had no idea about the mouse thing. Yikes, thank you for sharing that tip. So looking forward to seeing your next video..you are bar none my favorite to watch because you make everything so fun, inspiring and easy to understand! Have a great day 😊
You are so nice Elizabeth! For what it's worth, mice aren't a foregone conclusion for everyone. I suppose it depends where you live. Around here, though, if you leave unprotected food type items in far off places in your home (closets, basements), you're just asking for trouble. I keep a lot of my bulk food storage in my basement, but I know I can't leave anything in boxes or bags down there. Pasta boxes or bags of rice will get get destroyed. I haven't had issues in years though. Once I moved everything into jars and brought the pasta upstairs to the kitchen I think they realized there was nothing left for them and moved on to greener pastures!
Nice! I love the planting guide on the top of the box. I am using a 4 shelf tote. Each shelf has 4 plastic holders that serve as dividers for seed categories. One shelf has spring/fall crops (greens, brassicas, peas and carrots, and radishes. then summer crops (tomatoes, peppers, small bean packets, and cucumbers), then flowers herbs, and miscellaneous seeds, and the last shelf which is the largest, has those larger seed packets like beans and other small gardening supplies. I have way too many seeds, I'm trying to narrow down my favorite varieties of everything.
Oh, I'd love to see a picture of that! That sounds intense. I'm not sure I am envisioning it right. Tag me on Instagram if you're on there! @askresprout 😀
I love your clear box and divider idea! Clever and inexpensive! Currently using a trusty shoe box with my seed bags standing up in it. Works great! But i think I'll upgrade to this method now 😁 thank you! ❤️
Yes, the cardboard box is a classic! I did that for a long time!
We’re in Brisbane, I’ve just joined you and I’m SO GLAD you’ve answered ALL my questions! I’ve just started gardening more herbs and veggies as I’m not well with fatigue (long COVID, 11 weeks now) so gardening is all I can do for now. I’ll certainly look for your website too, thanks you so very much! Keep up the fantastic work!
Thanks @cc83jc85! I'm so glad I was able to help you!
If you're gonna build a binder for small numbers of seeds, you might wanna go for trading card protectors. Those have 9 pockets, so you'll get to store many more seeds per page c:
That's a great idea! I didn't stay with that system for too long, so didn't delve further into it, but great tip for those that do.
LOL this is sooo relatable! I did the drawers to binder to photo organizer. loving the photo organizer atm. However, my bigger seeds such as corn, peas, etc do not fit. SO they are currently all together in a mylar bag (in their original packs) for protection. Just need an idea for this without buying another photo organizer.
There is another commenter further down on this video who has a DRESSER! 😱
I'm very happy with my photo case organizer. I do not buy bulk seeds, but I do find your crack box very ingenious.
Everyone needs a crack box. 🤣
@@ReSprout Indeed! Happy gardening.
I've graduated to the large plastic tote with seed packets in ziplocks, in the basement. Except for 2 packets left in the fridge that I keep forgetting are in there and spend too much time hunting for😁
Yeah, I have a feeling I'm going to have to buy another tote soon. I have a serious seed affliction, LOL!
I have my packets of seeds in a in a binder but I bought baseball card plastic inserts and I put the seeds in each one where I can see them front and back
I've seen those before! That would work really well too if you have a binder system.
So glad to see you are back!
Thank you Nai! I had a rough year last year. I'm hoping to be more regular this year. 😇
@@ReSprout hope everything is much better! 🤗
Thank you so much - now I know whats the best seed storage for me ♥️🙏 Greetings from Winter in Germany
So glad this helped! I know I struggled for awhile.
Thanks for that ideas...help that will help my seeds organizer...😁😁😁🌿
Well thankfully I have you and just use a ziplock bag! Lol. Just one of the perks of being family that I am soooo grateful for!
That's like the seed "cloud-storage"! ;-)
Love this video. I tend to use locally adapted varieties of tomatoes and to plant tropical plants.
I am so jealous of you Carlos! I would love to do more tropical! Gotta get that greenhouse... 🧐
@@ReSprout I wish I could grow some apples and pears… 😀
@@HablemosDelHuerto OMG is it that hot in P.R.??!! That's insane! It's funny, I always thought of apples as something that could grow everywhere, too.
@@HablemosDelHuerto Maybe I can squeeze some in this year! I'm still working on my garden plan!
I use a larger sterilite clip box and over sided index card to separate seed types, so I can write notes, planting dates, transplanting dates etc on them. Favorite tomato is the sungold (Fedco) and the mandrang moon and Goldie from Hudson Valley Seed. Thank you for your awesome tips, and your card is fantastic!
Yeah, I'm thinking I need to get a bigger box myself! Or maybe another one? That's seems crazy, but I suppose if the shoe fits... 🤣
Great video! Entertaining and informative!
Currently I use a box. I have been using brown lunch bags for seeds I save, but they are huge. So, I will be checking out those packets!
They're cheap and definitely worth it! I use them a lot!
@@ReSprout They are on their way already! LOL
@@jodiej321 Woohoo! 🙌
So much information thank you April
I try! I try! :-•
Thanks for keeping it real. I think everyone who grows a lot year after year ends up here. Those photo boxes are cute but impractical (who wants to open a bin? A smaller bun? And then the packet???). I'm currently upgrading to a seed dresser since self collected seeds have pushed me beyond the capacity of boxes😂
OMG A SEED DRESSER?! That's insane LOL! I have a farmer friend that uses multiple plastic drawers, but I chalked that up to the fact that she farms like, you know, 3 acres. 🤣
@@ReSprout To be fair only the too two drawers have seeds.😋 The rest contain other seed starting supplies. We have 1 acre and live off of our land, plus I sell plant starts...so yeah LOTS of seed!
@@sarahashley13 I do have to say, though... a piece of furniture is sounding more and more attractive... 🤔
Brilliant ideas 💡 I’ve just got an allotment so my seeds have massively increased & all over the place… like you said boxes everywhere 🤣 so this is going to be a game changer 🤩 thanks for sharing 🙏🏻 like your seed choices too & the list on the box- that’s a really good tip 👍🏻
Yeah I try to stick to organic as much as I can. High Mowing Seeds is my favorite but I also buy Territorial, Johnny’s and Burpee’s.
I only just did this a couple of weeks ago. I went against the popular trend of using photo organiser boxes, which I was going to do originally but hesitated because I thought I might be constrained by the number of boxes in the set, and any bulky seed packets. In the end I bought a tub very similar to the one you have used. I still like the photo organisers (so neat and uniform, I'm a huge fan of uniform) but I think I needed something that could expand and change according to how my collection changes. And I do have quite a lot of bulk/bulky seed, so I needed something that would work for those as well.
The tub I chose has an organiser tray in the top. I chose this so that I could keep pencils, sharpies, labels, spare seed packets, small notepads etc with the seeds. Paperclips are very handy for closing any seed packets that you have to fold down, and they don't add too much bulk. I have small bulldog clips for bulkier packets.
After I bought the first tub, I went back and bought two tubs that are the same size, but without the organiser tray - one for bulk seeds (eg green manure - mustard, buckwheat, lentils etc) and the other one so I can split my collection into edible vs flowers, because I immediately realised the first tub was chock full with some left over 😬😂 So now I have three tubs - edible, flowers, and green manure/bulk. I might end up with a fourth because I'm thinking that I'd like to split off Australian natives into their own tub.
I have a narrow set of unused shelves in my wardrobe (intended for shoes, I suppose) that are the perfect size to put these tubs into. It is dark and probably the most stable place in the house in terms of temperature. I had previously been storing my seeds in various containers that were then stacked in a box, so there was always a lot of rummaging around to pull out what I needed (often at the bottom). Now I can just go to my shelves and pull out the appropriate tub, so that's a much better setup. It's neat, easy to get to, easy to see what I have, and doesn't matter if some seeds are in thin packets and some are in bulky paper sacks or even jars. I can also carry the whole tub with me if I want to go and do some planting, and I have labels, pencils, notepad handy that way.
I'm really happy with this DIY solution, for basically all the same reasons you have listed, and was pleasantly surprised to see someone else using virtually the same idea as I had settled on :)
I know, I really liked the IDEA of the photo organizers. I love the categorization of it all and the cute little interior boxes and the suitcase handle. It's just ADORABLE! That's my jam! After looking at my seed collection though, I knew it wouldn't work. I'm so glad you're saying you have multiple tubs! Because as I was filming this video, I was thinking to myself, man, I could really use another box, this one is getting really cramped. And I thought that sounded a little crazy, two tubs. Glad to know I will be in good company. 😅
I think I will use metal boxes in the garden/allotment because of the 🐭 They get through the plastic. At home I have so many boxes with seeds I might have to organize them following your example.
Yeah, the mice are a real issue! I know that TECHNICALLY the mice can get through the plastic (I've heard they can gnaw through concrete!), but I think with mice it's all about reducing the low-hanging fruit. Open boxes are EASY for mice, whereas a closed plastic box, a lazy mouse might move along to the next easy pickins, LOL
This is an awesome idea ! Thank you!
Glad it helped!
Very informative video!
Great... video and YOU crack me up!
😁
What seed company sells those seeds in brown bags? I like those!
Most of my seeds come from High Mowing Seeds. If you buy the beans in large quantity, they come in those packs.
MY 'pile of boxes' is on the living room couch (3 piece sectional) with all the clean laundry......couch has N E V E R been sat on!! and it's for sale btw LOL
🤣🤣🤣🤣 BUT WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO PUT YOUR BOXES AND LAUNDRY THEN?!?! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
I keep my seeds in the fridge in the door (should put them in the back maybe) . I been organizing them in Sandwich baggies (bc some escape from the original package. Then I have a bit larger sandwich bag to organize them into groups - sweet peppers, hot peppers, dwarf tomatoes, tomatoes, squashes, etc was hoping to get a more visual method but w the sandwhich bag way, I can put a lot of seeds on one shelf on the door of the fridge
I like the grouping idea! Just make sure the bags are absolutely 100% closed. Refrigerators can be humid and humidity is bad for seeds (unless you want them to grow LOL). 😉
good idea👍👍
Thank you, I'm using a big giant storage container...and my seeds are a giant mess....I'll do like you and smaller container but few storage containers
That's a great idea! You could split them up by season or crop type. I know myself I could have a whole box just for beans and whole one for greens.
@@ReSprout yes, indeed
Thank you!!! SUBSCRIBED!!!! 👍 👍
Welcome! :-D
(Sorry to be late to this party!)
Current seed storage method is those cardboard photo storage boxes which come with eight dividers in a strap inside them; we always have to make more dividers because eight just aren't enough for my purposes. At present the seed stash runs to eight or nine boxes and some of those are packed fairly tightly. (Perfectly ridiculous, I know.)
To keep seeds from getting away from their packets, I used to double-tape them: one strip of ordinary "cellophane" tape on the packet itself, just barely overlapping the original adhesive, and then after closing the flap, another one to keep the flap in place. If the seeds are small enough to slip out the side openings between the top (folded) edge of the packet and the sides of the flap, then I make sure to extend the tape around to the front.
Packets get set in sideways, sitting on the long edges of the envelopes because they're too tall for the height of the boxes. (Why, yes: taller, narrower boxes would be the sensible answer, but I have these, and I am a garden seed junkie: I don't resist the opportunity to "refresh" a type of seed which often doesn't need refreshing, or to "refresh" a type of seed which does need refreshing, or to try something new, and given a choice I'll choose seeds over a storage method re-do.
That worked for a while, but eventually I had seeds running crazy---and loose in the storage box. Finally figured out that what had happened was, the clear windows in the packet (so you can see the seeds---necessary? Not to my mind, but...) of a certain seed company weren't staying glued to the packet body around the edges of the window and the seeds were getting out. Found out the hard way how similar American Purple Top Rutabaga seeds are in appearance to some of the kale varieties' seeds. Corralled them, though, in a zip-lock sandwich bag, and then never did sow them in a hodge-podge, grab-bag, take-your-gardening-chances kind of way. May still do; there's a note in the zip-lock bag, along with the almost-empty seed packets.
Naming a few favorite varieties.... Bleu de Solaise (or "Blue Solaise" or "Blue of Solaise" or "Solaise Blue" if your seed packets are labeled in English) and Carentan leeks, both old varieties from Normandy, and I like these because a) I can leave them in-ground through the winter and harvest as I need them and b) they do well in my growing conditions. I tried "American Flag" and "Musselburgh Giant," and while the two French varieties were still going gangbusters, the other two died, I swear just to spite me. (Could they be Francophobes, maybe?)
"Bleu de Solaise" was the first leek variety I ever grew from seed, so I'm a bit sentimental about it, in addition to its excellent performance in my growing conditions.
Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard, performs like a champ and has successfully stood through Zone 6 winters for me although some years we've had to share with chipmunks and rabbits; any other white-stemmed chard is happily harvested; Ruby Red or Vulcan chard gets planted for the visual effect, and will be shared with neighbors although I, personally, don't do well with "greens" that aren't green, not sure why this is.
Garlic, a softneck called "Inchelium Red" which isn't supposed to do well in my climate, but which is certainly doing well enough, and anyway softneck varieties have longer storage lives than do the hardneck ones. I'm sentimental about this crop, too.
I am wild about lacinato kale or dinosaur kale or Tuscan kale which years ago I read is actually a non-heading cabbage but I don't really know---or care. Yummy stuff!
Any of the golden beets, no matter how it's labeled or what, specifically, it is: Detroit Golden, Touchstone, "Golden Beet," whatever: love golden/yellow beets.
Haven't found a *favorite* summer squash, yet, nor a *favorite* winter squash, although I like both.
Runner beans, both scarlet ones and white ones (Greek Gigantes beans) are on the gotta have list
Calypso beans are my very favorite common bean, and right behind Calypso (a.k.a. Yin-Yang or Orca bean) is the borlotti "Cranberry" or "Lingua di Fuoco" ("Tongue of Fire")bean
By the way: mice can chew through just about anything including thin metal. Plastic won't stop them; they'll chew the plastic insulation off electrical wires because their teeth grow constantly and are kept to manageable lengths by chewing. They find food, they go after it. Keep them out of your house (I know: easier said than done. We've been there and had to deal with that.)
I've rattled on...plenty long.
Much gardening love from Ohio!
Oh hello my friend! I hadn't heard from you in a while. Hope you're doing well! Lacinato kale is a big favorite of mine, too, and I'm gonna have to try your leek variety-I've been looking for a good one for awhile! Overwintering is a nice bonus since I'm often too preoccupied to get everything in by the frost.
@@ReSprout Hello to you, too. And thank you for the good wishes, which I wholeheartedly return!
I've been around, but you'll have noticed that when I comment I tend to rattle on at some length and in some detail. Often, that means that having said whatever I've said, I'm out of things to say unless I start talking about myself, personally, and I've been assured by, oh, any number of people in real, live person, that I am a crashing bore (because they're not into gardening and because I can talk the leg off a cast iron stove. At least, I hope that's the reason.) And information about me, apart from gardening things, just isn't pertinent, so for the most part I've been quiet. That, and the fact that I didn't find new videos from you, which isn't to say they weren't there, only that I didn't find them.
Those Normandy leeks, those may do well for me because they're in a kind of micro-climate, with a large cinder block wall of an old, old five-car garage at the bottom end of the garden to store and/or reflect heat from the sun; a neighbor's heated workshop to one long side of the garden; and another commercial type building (in the process of being converted into I-don't-know-what at this point, but a heated building nonetheless) and I'm reckoning those buildings and maybe some escaping heat from the house ameliorate the temperature just one or two degrees Centigrade, which isn't much by human standards but which can make all the difference to a plant.
Or, they just might be tougher and more resilient than old boots.
Which leek varieties have you tried, so far?
I need to sprinkle hot red pepper powder or flakes on my overwintering crops: the bunnies and chipmunks, for sure, and maybe some other critters, have eaten my gauras down to *nothing* and they go after my leeks, my Swiss chard, and anything else that's green and in the garden over the snowy or very cold months. And *this* winter, we're supposed to get colder temperatures than average, and more snow than average....
@@bhalliwell2191 "Often, that means that having said whatever I've said, I'm out of things to say..." 🤣🤣 I cannot stop laughing at this, Bhalliwell. No truer thing has been said. There are certainly some people I know of that need to understand this human truth and not keep REPEATING themselves. LOL!! On the leeks, I think the only one I've tried is Bandit. I do have Evergreen Bunching Onions in my garden, which is a perennial, and I tend to substitute that in recipes if I need leeks because they're so large. Have you tried cold frames for your chipmunk issue? They add some heat but also pest protection!
@@ReSprout "...some people... need to understand this human truth and not keep REPEATING themselves. LOL!!"
Oh, my friend: you're hard on us oldsters who *understand* but who are starting to experience some short-term memory loss, and who find we repeat ourselves.😊 A thousand pardons if I've been guilty of this! 🤥
Elsewhere, in comments I've left on various gardening channels, I've explained more than once that "I'm less than a mile as the crow flies from the Lake Erie shoreline," because being that close to the Lake affects my first and last frost dates (postponing both) as well as ameliorating ambient temperatures: a few degrees cooler in the summer, and a few degrees warmer in the winter. But then, there is that infamous Lake Effect, messing up all sorts of plans or contributing more of what we were going to be getting coming up from the Texas panhandle as whatever other weather system heading our way moves across the Great Lakes. (But I love it. I truly do.)
So, I often mention it.
Oh, I've been wanting a cold frame (or two!) in *the worst way!* Hoping finally to get one built this 2023 season, although I said that last season and the season before that and the season before *that.*
Just received Jack First's book on hot beds, and without access to clean manure (horse, one hopes, wishes and presumes) I'm wondering if there's a way to make a hot bed that will produce gentle heat all winter long, without manure but with other organic matter.
Several of the critters who either live within the kitchen garden enclosure or who find their way in to visit it, are perfectly capable of burrowing or tunneling, and they do, so if they were very determined or very desperate for food/water (from their fresh food), they could still get into a cold frame with or without a hot bed inside it. Not sure how small mesh has to be to stop mice or chipmunks, but in the end I can only do the best I can do, right?
@@bhalliwell2191 Haha, isn't that the story for all gardeners? I MEANT to do that this year. I've been trying to redo my cold frames for YEARS. :-)
Do you have a video demonstration of your method to germinate old seeds? The ones 3 years old?
I don't do anything special. I just oversow them, guessing that the success rate will be lower. Hope that helps!
@@ReSprout ok. That's what I do. I just wnated to know if there was another way😉
I enjoyed learning about your favorite seeds. I'm wondering if those may do well in my area - what zone and region are you located in?
Hi Paula! I'm in Zone 7A in New York in the US.
@@ReSprout Thanks!
I appreciate you sharing your knowledge. Had problem with too many seed packets laying around, now you helped solve it. Does buying seeds from the other side of the US make a difference? Currently, living in Southern California
I'm not sure, to be honest. It just so happens the place I buy from is on my side of the country. Generally, if you can, it's good to get locally adapted varieties, but that can be tough. For me, organic seed is top priority. Availability, too!
you had me at "y'all dont pretend you have a whole pile of boxes by your front door"
Damn Amazon Prime. 🤣
@@ReSprout i know! silly everything comes in its own box, usually oversized..
@@sascha1167 Amen! I feel the pain of our first world problems. 🤣
@@ReSprout oh my god you are so funny. and you pegged it.
@@sascha1167 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Great video! You certainly gained a new subscriber in me. I look forward to enjoying your content and learning from you.
Awesome, thank you! Welcome aboard!
I saw a tip to use washi tape for resealing seed packets because it's meant to be restickable (I don't think that's an actual word haha). I bought some in January and so far it's working really well.
Oh, that's a good tip! Most of mine DO restick, but the ones that don't a real PITA.
I use paper bags that I label for categories like peppers, tomatoes, melons, etc and keep it in a big box. Thankfully I keep it in my house and the house cats are serious mouse hunters so mice don't last long once they get in the house. I've been thinking about getting a plastic tote and just moving the brown paper bags over to it.
Man I can’t tell you how many times I wished I wasn’t allergic to cats! Much more useful than my 5 lb. yorkshire terrier. 😂
Does the 4x6 photo box fit standard packets from bakers creek? What about trueleaf?
Great until you get pantry moths. Then you’ll need a weather proof stage box. But that is soooo helpful!
Do they go after seeds too?! SMH. I got them once in my pantry a few years ago. DISGUSTING. 🤮 I may need to upgrade the bin then. Thanks for the tip!
I bought a wooden box and made little dividers. It's getting a little out of control, so will be growing into a bigger home soon....
You can never have too many seeds!! ;-)
I just put mine in the freezer. would be great if you could put a link to the company that you buy seeds from. great video!
Oh! You're right! I put the links to the individual seeds but not to the company I mainly buy from. Done! 😃
You had me at "crapping seeds"! You could be my daughter
Seeds should not crap. 🤣
Went to link cannot find growing guide??? Menu does not have a search!
Hi Judy, here's the link-resprout.com/planting-guide/. You can find it in the description, too.
👍
I'd sharpy the name of the large packets on the top so u dnt have to ruffle through them to see what they are.
Good idea!
oh man i hear you on mice. i had an old tub i through them in. all my seed saving for 2 years got eaten by mice. sigh....
Determined mice can chew through plastic. If you can find a metal tin large enough, that will better protect your seeds from mice.
When I was making my compost bins, I learned that mice can chew through CONCRETE! Isn't that crazy?!? Once I heard that, I said, ok, I'm fine with just upgrading to the plastic box and lid, cuz there's only so far I'm willing to go here. So far no issues, but definitely if they come back, I'm gonna have to find some sort of metal box!
@@ReSprout Concrete? That is crazy!
My friends think I’m weird because I have thousands of seeds. Very proud of my collection, but it’s time to update my storage system
There's worse things you could collect! 🤣
I have a small garden & have 3 small photo boxes, 4 bigger boxes for micro greens & grains. 😂
Wow, so one photo box was never going to work anyways! That's crazy! ❤️
Great ideas! I definitely need to improve my storage. Currently I’m just using a good ole Quality Streets chocolate tin lol 🌱
Oh metal! That sounds like a great idea! Does it have a lid? Just don't let the mice get to it! Man, I was never so pissed as when I went to go get my peanut seeds (WHICH ARE NOT CHEAP!) and found empty packets. SMH
@@ReSprout I would feel the same way. Cheeky little mice! Yeah the tin has a lid which will help. I just started collecting seeds so your video came at a great time. Thanks!
@@kevinandjessl.3820 Oh great! I'm trying to be better about timing my videos. I'm still new at this and I'll harvest something, decide I want to do a video on it, and then take a month to do the video, which is, of course now, too late for it to help anyone. Hoping to be better about that this year! 😇
@@kevinandjessl.3820 "Cheeky" - that is a KIND word. LOL 🤣
Signed up, but no reply email OR chart sent.
Can you email me at hello@resprout.com from the email address you'd like to subscribe from? I don't see any recent new subscribers on my end that haven't gotten their charts but I can manually add you to the list!
Do you have a favorite cauliflower?
Hi Anna, I plant Goodman, but I'd tried something new! Here's my list of plants/seeds I'm currently planting-resprout.com/whats-in-my-garden/.
Mine looks like that but all Cannabis seeds lol
🤣
You said free copy, WHY do I have to pay on the site.
Maybe you are looking at my spreadsheet garden planner? That does cost money, but the PDF download of the spacing and germination rates and everything is free! Try this link: resprout.com/planting-guide/
Wanted to watch this, but I'm not sitting through 3.5 minute ads at the beginning. Sorry.