Hey there! I am a proud librarian (though I've never shhh-ed anyone). Well done with the cataloging but I do suggest separators between different things a la there are carrots and they should be separated with a card from the chards or whatnot :) I remember those cabinets, they're in great demand as a decorative item these days.
As a grownup nerd, this combines some real true loves and memories!! I was a library kid, very familiar with the Dewey Decimal system... add that to that AMAZING collection of seeds AND Kevin and Jacques working together?! Heaven!! I could watch you guys trying to organize seeds all day!! Thank you!!
Following the seed catalogue organization would also be a good idea. Someone spent a lot of time working it out and then you would also have an index if you kept the catalogue around. This looks great 👍
@@epichomesteading normally it’s not a consideration but since you’re literally storing the entire catalog 😋. Since you both put the packet away together, you now both have a good feel for where you put things. The important part is you can find them later 👍
I went to college in the early 90s when card catalogues and computer databases were both in existence. No one was using the CC anymore, but they hadn't gotten rid of them yet because no one wanted them. I think of how many went to landfills and are now such a retro collectable. It looks beautiful!
Maybe, as a series idea, you can have a chef/home cook show different dishes and recipes of a edible they grew. That way you can give gardeners ideas of what to do with the less common vegetables they grew like eggplants, endives, kohlrabi, pumpkin etc.
that would be great! often i can only find a few ways to prepare things, and i have food allergies :( so if they all use the same ingredients.... well id LOVE to find some ways to prepare basil that isnt pesto, and doesnt involve garlic
@@fabricdragon I LOVE cooking so everytime the guys mention veggies they grow but don't eat often, I get worked up because I have ideas of what they can do haha. BTW for basil, maybe you can use basil for chimichurri (without garlic) or throw it in a noodle soup dish like a quick pho? They usually call for Thai basil in pho, but honestly it works the same.
I have a ton of extra seeds but not nearly as many of you. I’m a local master gardener and we had a seed exchange with each other. I ended up with more seeds than I had before the exchange. Can’t wait to plant some of them in the spring. I keep mine in my cabinet. I think you should keep the edibles together and the ornamentals together.
I love to organize & would’ve done pretty much what you did, but would definitely want to find card dividers for more specific separations and would want all to be in alphabetical order within each letter. Organizing is work, but saves so much time in the long run!
I have a humble seed collection and I keep them in two old drawers from a wooden sewing table. They are long and skinny making it easy to flip the packets. I use one for food, one for flowers and I use cardstock and labels to keep them organized. Card catalog is such a fun way to store a very large seed collection!
This combines two of my hyper-fixations: Gardening and Spreadsheets/Organizing. I originally thought it should be organized by family like allium, cucurbit, etc, which is how I do mine. You have so many seeds that this alphabetical system makes more sense. Love it.
Personally I separate seeds into categories like Alliums, Brassicas, Corn, Cucurbits, Fabaceae/Leguminosae, Herbs, Roots, Solanaceae etc. That way I don't have to think about how individual names and types fit into the alphabet as much and I know many of the seeds in each section are likely to be grown at similar times of year.
There is no right or wrong way to categorize, it's really just best to do it whatever way is easiest for you. Sometimes I like drawing cute pictures to help me visualize some things faster than reading words, but I know that's not something everyone is really into. I visited a shop a few years ago that had a free seed library with a very fascinating way to categorize their plants--they used binomial nomenclature in alphabetical order, because they wanted to encourage gardeners (and local horticulture college students) to learn the scientific names of the plants and understand each plant family...of course if you didn't know what you were looking for, you could just google it or ask the front desk for help. At first, that might seem impossible to understand, but it's a lot easier than it sounds, and not too hard too difficult to remember, since everything is in latin.
Oh, this is great suggestion! Because some plants are called different in different languages, so scientific name will standardise them. Also can sound cool and nerdy using those Latin names 🤓
That's a beautiful piece of history. You just inspired me to look at my oak CD storage cabinet drawers differently. You know, a DVD or blu ray storage system would allow use of those plastic photo storage containers that you highlighted in an older video. I'd even consider hiring a carpenter to customize the library catalog and combine drawers so they were twice as deep. The creative wheels are turning..
I have a wall of my garden label's where I start seeds in the laundry. I put brasicas on hooks as well as root crops on a hook and climber's on a hook. BUT..I did make seperate hooks for individual plants that have lots of varieties like tomatoe' carrot' potatoe' pumpkin etc. I tried doing season's but different zone's in Australia meant I could grow some seeds (from other states) all year round being a warmer climate. There is no right or wrong way' do what makes sense to you....happy gardening Rozzie from Brisbane Australia...
Definitely Epic seed collection and Amazing storage! Would you consider putting heavy-duty wheels underneath the cabinet so you could move it around as the weather changes? Or, if not directly into the cabinet, make a custom furniture dolly for the cabinet to permanently sit on? Your seed organization makes perfect sense to me. Great video! Thanks for sharing it with us.
I loved this video! I organize my seeds several times a year. And sometimes I organize them just to destress. And the card catalog storage is wonderful! I miss the smell of them! I know that sounds weird lol. You guys combined my love of seed organizing with my love of public libraries. Good job!
Omg! Those card catalog files are so cool. When I worked at Southern Exposure seed company we just made a numbering system for the seeds because we were putting orders together so numbers made sense. For personal seed saving I'd probably just make a drawer for each letter as well as a drawer for things that have many varieties if there are a lot of packets. Make a drawer for each letter even if there are no seed packets in there now. You will invariably run into a veggie, herb or flower that you don't know yet that will need to go in there. If you have enough drawers you can have misc drawers too. Very satisfying project.
Love the new seed storage. Plenty of drawers. Agree that as many have said it doesn't matter how you categorize as long as it works for you. I've been teased all my life for being so organized. So what. At least I can find things.
Boy this brings back memories. I worked in a college as library assistant, 45 years ago!!! Did a lot of filing and putting cards in one of those cabinet s. I can see where they'd be perfect for seed packets. Once they are opened will they go back into the drawer? If yes you might want to keep a basket with the tools you use to reseal the packets. Set it on top so it's always handy. Otherwise you'll end up with multiple seeds rolling around in the drawers. FYI, 3x5 cards or next bigger ones cut to size can be used as dividers. So much fun! For an old lady 😉 , I like old medicine bottles to put my seeds in. I get plenty of empty ones! 😂😊💙🌷
I mean this in the best way I swear... but I'm watching you guys with all the seeds filling this beautiful library catalog from my childhood, and it just feels like you are waving your massive garden junk in my face.
I think it will be much easier if u put one ‘plant’ per box, for example onion. And in that box u can make sub-section of fav variety, giant variety,dwarf,new variety etc. that way u can track your fav variety easier, and the must-tried-this-year variety.
I spent most of yesterday on the Botanical Interests website deciding what seeds to order. And of course spent more money than a normal person would on seeds alone😬 Can’t wait for them to come in and get them started! Just being on the website and planning out my garden made me absolutely giddy🥰
I recently did a long overdue organization of my seed collection and we basically ended up organizing seeds by herbs/flowers/fruit together and vegetables separate. The system y'all did is intuitive and totally makes sense for the collection y'all have! I'm just thinking of the flowers that are also edible and could be neglected as edible while in the mostly ornemental category such as nasturtiums, calendula, pansies and sunflowers to name some.
Another gardening librarian (and Birdies Bed addict) here to say good job and thank you!!! If you wanted to solve the problem of having your greens spread all across the alphabet, you could stick an index card in the "G" drawer with a written list of all of the greens in the rest of the card catalog. That would save you the trouble of doubling up.
Also in terms of storage for the seeds, would you be able to put something white and/or shiny on it? Like those things you put in your car under the windshield to keep your car from heating up (Found out they're called sunshades who knew? With it being old an all I understand not wanting to use anything that might affect the wood or finish like glue or tape, but maybe you have a heavy decoration piece or weight you can put on top to make sure the sunshade doesn't move around or cause problems. Hope this helps!
i love old library card catalogs! great score. after a few months of using this set up, perhaps do an update video? i'm interested in seeing how your choices play out for you. will you discover it worked perfectly, or will you find that all alliums, or all greens, etc should have gone together? also, i don't know if outside, even just for spring, is the best idea. there is so much temperature & humidity changes between day & night, & those are all paper envelopes, sitting in wood drawers.
This thing is going to transition & evolve as much as your gardens will. May I suggest: Continue on your current quest, as is. You will have to work with the file system to make best for you. Product boxes can become dividers. A lot of that is card stock weight. I opened a new brand of tea today & noted that the inside of the box is white. You'll need a template: seed packet, make the divider taller. You can also make cards to direct you to other drawers, e.g. If Swiss chard seeds are placed in the S drawer, but Jaques 's brain always goes to Greens to find those seeds ... then a card could be placed. Choose which drawer/category to put the seed then a card in the other place, Swiss chard - see: insert correct drawer. Buy raiding your recycle bin, you can perfect a system in an inexpensive way.
Oh boy! How great it would be to have such a wonderful seed company at my fingertips! I use photo box organizers and works well for me. I only take out the box I am planting and the rest stay protected indoors. It certainly saved my seed packets from accidental watering! I organized mine as : root crops, top crops sorted into sub categories of greens, herbs, and every thing else. Flowers have a box of their own.
Perfect for the seeds I saw on another website another TH-cam page with the lady collects antiques, and she also gardens. I told her that we perfect for her seeds now her cabinet was much smaller than this one but the idea is still the same good one guys.🌱🌱
Great organizer!! I definitely agree with raising up the drawer. Rats and mice can gnaw steel, so the wood will be no problem. I like the edible flower (even though there are edible flowers) and flower split. In addition, I think for the organization, I would have gone by type like beans, tomatoes, allium, roots, etc, and then within the draws, do alphabetically. Smaller groups like herbs will just stay together in a single draw. For flowers, I would have grouped them by color. How about storing in the shed?
Also, I organize my seeds by when they need to be started or planted, and separate ornamental from food crops. It keeps me sane when I have to start seeds!
That card catalog is a cool way to organize your seeds! I don't alphabetize my seeds. I organize them by the dates when I need to start them indoors or plant them outside. Then I just go for that group of seeds on that day and I have everything I need to plant at that time. That might not work when you have a bajillion seeds, though.
I loved watching this and backseat driving with my opinions. I would have generated a database to catalog the seeds and the categories so that I could pull all of a type, like “root” veggies or say “winter” veggies while I was planning; and just leave the alphabetical system for the catalog itself. Really enjoyed watching, thank you so much for sharing this process!
I tracked my seeds packages in Coda (excel like system) and stored the packages in binders with photo sleeves. I actually break them down to multiple levels or categories. The first level follows the rotation rules: legumes, roots, leaf, fruit + herb + flowers. Then within each first level, I have another level of categories. For example: fruit will have tomato, pepper, eggplant, corn, okra, ... Then for tomatoes, they will be categorized into determined and undetermined; then cherry, beefsteak, and sauce... My professional job is working with data, so classification and facets are my bread and butter. It's also helpful when I search my database (Coda) to find the right seeds to plan at a certain time of the year (spring, summer, ...) or when I need to rotate crops on a bed, ... or plan on adding crops based on the hardware (trellis) I have remaining, number of days I have left in the season...
A "D" vegetable - Dasheen. I was disappointed that you didn't break the B veggies up the way the old phone book did: Ba - Bl and Bo - By. Oh well. I still love the reuse of the card catalog as a seed library. Very nice.
Absolutely great idea!! Are you storing it outdoors or in a conditioned space? Only issue I see would be heavy rain and wind, or high humidity. Could compromise the seeds... Thanks for sharing!!! Howdy from Texas 🤠
My neighbor has one of those and I think someone offered her $1200.00 for it. Of course she said H to the no. Her grammy was a librarian and she was gifted one as a retiring parting gift. It looks exactly like that one. Sweet I wish I could get one. Happy gardening guys!
…..And where’s the parsley????😉 Great, enviable find….love those vintage library drawers and yours is in such good shape. Hopefully you can find a consistent environment (no humidity) so the wood doesn’t swell and make the drawers hard to open. Good filing system..I have 3 photo boxes… veggies, herbs, flowers. It does train you to remember what is considered a veggie verses a herb. Until I started growing it, I didn’t realize that celery is a herb in the parsley family.
I store by year purchased first and then edible/ornamental. This way I know I'm using my older seeds first. I love the cabinet... throwback from my high school days!
What I did with my seeds is assigned a letter to a group of plants (T for tomatoes or B for brassica etc) it doesn't have to be the same letter of the group of plants, but it helps to remember, and then in a Google sheet I assigned a number to each variety (A 01 beefsteak tomato) and I still have free letters... the only problem is that you kind of have to check the document to find something, I also put that "code " on the seed package and on the tag of my seedlings so I don't have to write all those long names Saludos from La Paz México !
My seeds were so all over the place, I ended up organizing by non-fruit, fruiting, tubers, and non-edibles. That seems to work for me. I originally did cold, hot and time of planting, but that was too confusing, especially since I grow lots of things whenever I feel like growing them. So by type (non-fruit, fruit, underground) works for me. Like I think non-fruit and fruit require different types of care and sun, for example.
I’ve got my seeds sorted by family, (nightshades, umbellifers etc). It helps to distribute them evenly as it seems there’s always a big group per family! Also helps me learn/remember the families 😉 For example, I had no idea that lettuce and sunflowers were related 🤯
Now that you have your own seed company and since you mentioned the freezer wasn't the best for storage, I was wondering, could you answer or make a video about seeds that may benefit from temporarily storing in the freezer or fridge short term, because they require cold stratification or vernalization period for germination and production. I know you live in a warmer zone and I live in zone 12b and I often wonder what plants need this cold or would benefit from it, and if there are plants I really can't grow in average temps of between 70-87°F(in summer it can get as high as 90° and winters only gets as low as 69°). Or maybe what plants that are annual for lower grow zones may be perennials in higher zones, or if perennials in lower zones can be grown as annuals in my zone, maybe during winter months such as brassicas(could there be other issues, such as the shorter days that make it not worth it?), or just things that won't come back next summer if they didn't get proper winterization. Where I live I don't generally see a lot of variety of plants and seeds for sale, but I would think our climate would be conducive for growing things, and I can't believe how hard it is to find information on my tropical zone 12b. I don't have a proper space for gardening yet, but plan to hopefully in the near future, and I would love to grow different things I don't normally see here, but obviously I don't want to waste my time and money on things that definitely won't work for my area.
I have been looking for a card holder for the longest time for this use! I live in Maine and have found a couple here and there in Massachucetts but nothing closer. I like the way it looks and stores the seeds. I am going to New York next week so I'll be on the hunt!
As a giant vegetable enthusiast, I think you'd enjoy the Annapolis (Nova Scotia) giant pumpkin events such as the pumpkin boat race. The participants carve the pumpkins, put them in the water, get in them, and paddle them to the finish line.
Question I thought most seeds had about a years expiration date do you have to buy all new seeds and reorganize every year or am I wrong and they last longer?
You could 3D print some dividers fairly quickly and easily for further organization. There's the added benefit that you can use PLA a plant biopolymer,. Also, you can custom label them by produce or whatever your desire.
This is why my local store was out of most of there BI seeds LOL. I’ve been using a storage cabinet similar to this for years but, I wish I could find one like this . Congratulations on buying BI.
i'm going to start looking for one of these card catalog drawer sets. i use something similar, small clear plastic drawers meant for art supplies. i only have about 17 drawers though
Since these drawers aren't sealed and you'll be leaving the card catalogue outside this spring, why not pop a little zeolite pack or silica gel pack into some of those drawers? Silica gel can actually dry seeds out too much in some cases, but since this is outside, they should work fine. I think you can get 50 of 'em for around $5. In a pinch, rice can help, but it's more effective in a smaller container, as is powdered milk (placed in an envelope).
I never throw away old seeds. Ever. If I don't use them all in one year, I will plant some the following year with the newer ones. I have planted 3 and 4 year old open packs of seeds even if they are just thrown on a compost pile to see if they grow, or in small pots to give away to friends and neighbors if they germinate. Last year The former librarian in me is seriously coveting that card catalog.
Fun video and I love that drawer system. I recently made 2 spreadsheets to catalog my veggies and flowers. For the most part it is alphabetical by type. I did put my greens as one category and my squash as one category. I think how you sorted them is great.
with seeds that many, i would invest in a fridge and put it all there. you won't be able to use them all. you're gonna be throwing your money away if you keep them like that. i have seeds that are 10 years old that still germinate while stored in the fridge.
Rocks from the ocean floor are super interesting geologically. Everything from basic b basalt to chemically deposited limestone and chert to funky hydrothermal vent rocks to blueschist and greenstones formed at subduction zones. Lots of really cool rocks geologically. I wonder if they have a mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) sample. In geochemistry, MORB is used as a baseline for chemical comparison with other mafic (basalt like) rocks. Nothing to do with gardening, just figured I would give my 2 cents as a former geology student. I love the use of that old card catalogue. A great way to recycle it.
I have all my seeds organized by plant family- (nightshades, legumes, cucurbits) that way you know that everything in that family, for the most part, has similar growing condition expectations. Everything is then alphabetized by type and then variety, so Cucumber- marketmore, Cucumber- spacemaster, Cucumber- sumpter, etc. I find it really easy to navigate that way.
Have you considered having a PQR or OPQR drawer? Also, I have one of these old cars catalogs and I keep it in my basement on an old deconstructed Staples desk and it's cool and dry. (I don't use it for seeds but nevertheless, it's cool and dry.) Not sure if you have basements where you are though.
Hey Kevin, if you guys grow the same variety of a few species of self-fertilizing plants in semi-isolation for a few successive generations and keep planting the newly acquired heirloom seeds; I absolutely would love to run some genetic analysis of successive generations. And you have a large variety of similar plants that could be compared. I know peas are all self fertile, which is why Mendel used them. But you may have some suggestions. Cheers.
I store mine in a lidded cake tin, divided with dividers labeled NOW, SOON, LATER, FINISHED for season. I don't buy or store collected flower seeds, just herbs and vegetables.
Cool wish I owned a seed company one thought have draws to pop in upcoming plantings for beds ,season, once planted put back in main draw, divided maybe for open packets?
I have a similar whether, I can grow all year round, so it is important for me to group my seeds by cold or hot wether, than I sort them alphabetically. When you go to seed, it is less important if they are vegetables or flowers.
I'm the type of person that would plan this system out for weeks, to make sure that it is the most optimal for me. Probably create a digital database as well to point me to what is where, and how many I have.I do think however, for this type of thing the YOLO method can suffice, since you can easily change it up if you run into issues. This concept does give me inspiration for when I emigrate in a few years. I still need to think of a method to sort my seeds in the meantime. I currently keep them in the fridge in ziplock bags, so moisture can't get to them. They are just in an unsorted pile for now.
I organized my seeds in a photo organizer by when I start indoors and/or plant outdoors. Of course, tomatoes, peppers, onions, beans ... have their own boxes ...
I love this so much. No, you guys didn't go too far. This is perfect! I can't wait to see Epic P.G. Onion next year. I recently bought the lemon spice jalapenos from botanical interests and they just germinated a few days ago. I'm also excited to try them. They were a favorite of a lot of gardeners I follow.
Moonflowers might make a good trap crop for hornworms. I remember my aunt would get hornworms on her moon flowers too. Plant them away from your tomatoes.
Would be cute to have a Little Free Seed Library out in front of your home to share seeds. :) It could also be a combo with books and you could encourage folks to share garden-themed books.
that card catalog system is pretty awesome! the organizing itself gave me hives (i just get overwhelmed and can't think.) anyway, GREAT JOB, super idea. i think it all makes good sense. alphabetical unless LOTS of that type, or super huge seeds. you're also reminding me i have some moonflower i wanna try.... need to see if it is still good.
As a professional organizer with OCD you killin' me! lolol But what a haul of seeds and the cabinet is awesome! I have photo boxes. I have six now BEFORE my new orders! lol Veg. Herbs and Flowers split and then some of those split for their own bow, example Tomatoes gets one whole box. lolol
@@epichomesteading lol no worries! I wish I lived closer! I'd come and help! hahaha....No, of course, you guys do it the way it makes sense to YOU! If you use someone else's plan it can make it more difficult and therefore, not effecient for YOU! I just had to elbow you a little! lolol ;)
I wonder if some silica packets would help keep seeds dry. Also check out Jess from roots n refuge farm...she says always try old seeds. There's a BBC episode I think on extremely old seeds being grown in the middle east. Maybe give the old seeds to your community garden friends. Sow more thickly to make up for less good germination rates!
Very cool seed storage! I found a seed packet from 1995 in a random box in my shed last year. Planted them as an experiment and probably had at least90% germination rate. Still have the same parsley growing today in 9b.
I love the old library seed storage method. I don't think at all gone too far. I am actually looking for one myself. I can't help but think of how miserable the Dewey system was in school. Perfect up-cycling! Question for you: Since you now own botanical interest, what did you do other brand of seeds you supported in the past?
Have you ever planted Moon Flowes before? I had mine in a planter in early spring before the heat started. It grew about 10 feet tall never did get a flower. Couldn't figure out what I did wrong.
This was hilarious to watch 😂 not sure I've ever seen you guys so unsure about your decisions. I too have had these same quandaries when trying to organize my seeds, however I don't have as many seeds as you guys do. All of us seed collectors are out here drooling over your collection
You should get 3/4 inch leather straps going from the side of the cabinet on the left to the side of the cabinet on the right. Screw in some snaps on each side and then you can have the leather band keep all the drawers closed so no animals or earthquakes will open the drawers. Plus it would look very artisan.
I never thought I'd find it entertaining to watch a couple of guys organise seeds. Yet, here I am enjoying this video. I'm glad you could repurpose those library card organisers so they don't just end up in landfill.
Sorry for our triggering organization methodology...it's a bit advanced, I know 😜
I swear every time Jaques comes in with a new suggestion... 😬
I thought it was a test to uncover the OCD among us.
Daikon
I like it
Chefs kiss 👌 Picasso
Seeing such an abundance of seed packets tickles a very primitive part of my brain.
I love this comment so much❤😉
😂😂😂
Hey there! I am a proud librarian (though I've never shhh-ed anyone). Well done with the cataloging but I do suggest separators between different things a la there are carrots and they should be separated with a card from the chards or whatnot :) I remember those cabinets, they're in great demand as a decorative item these days.
As a grownup nerd, this combines some real true loves and memories!! I was a library kid, very familiar with the Dewey Decimal system... add that to that AMAZING collection of seeds AND Kevin and Jacques working together?! Heaven!! I could watch you guys trying to organize seeds all day!! Thank you!!
Me too. I lived in a very small town and the library into early 80's used this system.
As a librarian I found this to be another incredibly entertaining video. I am so glad you two somehow met. Also, we don't shush people anymore! 😂
HAHAH you should, for old time's sake
Following the seed catalogue organization would also be a good idea. Someone spent a lot of time working it out and then you would also have an index if you kept the catalogue around.
This looks great 👍
Oh, I LOVE that idea!
That would have been smart...LOL
I was thinking the same thing, an index! An example would be zucchini, under “Z” or under “S” for squash. This is were an index could be very useful!
@@epichomesteading normally it’s not a consideration but since you’re literally storing the entire catalog 😋.
Since you both put the packet away together, you now both have a good feel for where you put things. The important part is you can find them later 👍
No D!? I am shocked! Dandelion and Dill! I am very jealous of your seed storage. You have not gone far at all. Love this! 😍💖
I went to college in the early 90s when card catalogues and computer databases were both in existence. No one was using the CC anymore, but they hadn't gotten rid of them yet because no one wanted them. I think of how many went to landfills and are now such a retro collectable. It looks beautiful!
My sister-in-law keeps sewing supplies in hers.
Maybe, as a series idea, you can have a chef/home cook show different dishes and recipes of a edible they grew. That way you can give gardeners ideas of what to do with the less common vegetables they grew like eggplants, endives, kohlrabi, pumpkin etc.
Genius...
I really love this
that would be great! often i can only find a few ways to prepare things, and i have food allergies :( so if they all use the same ingredients.... well
id LOVE to find some ways to prepare basil that isnt pesto, and doesnt involve garlic
@@fabricdragon I LOVE cooking so everytime the guys mention veggies they grow but don't eat often, I get worked up because I have ideas of what they can do haha. BTW for basil, maybe you can use basil for chimichurri (without garlic) or throw it in a noodle soup dish like a quick pho? They usually call for Thai basil in pho, but honestly it works the same.
Endive is amazing raw! Chop it up and mix it in with mashed potatoes and bacon bits +some gravy😋
I have a ton of extra seeds but not nearly as many of you. I’m a local master gardener and we had a seed exchange with each other. I ended up with more seeds than I had before the exchange. Can’t wait to plant some of them in the spring. I keep mine in my cabinet.
I think you should keep the edibles together and the ornamentals together.
I also divide my seeds between edibles and ornamentals. Happy gardening!
if you have seeds that you don't want you could donate them to your local library as they might have a seed swap catalogue.
I love to organize & would’ve done pretty much what you did, but would definitely want to find card dividers for more specific separations and would want all to be in alphabetical order within each letter. Organizing is work, but saves so much time in the long run!
That seed storage is so Aesthetically pleasing what a beautiful work of art✨️🌱 much love guys keep on growing
I have a humble seed collection and I keep them in two old drawers from a wooden sewing table. They are long and skinny making it easy to flip the packets. I use one for food, one for flowers and I use cardstock and labels to keep them organized. Card catalog is such a fun way to store a very large seed collection!
I’m a gardening librarian, and I love this!!! Smart move to space ‘em out. Shifting is the worst.
Yes!!!!
This combines two of my hyper-fixations: Gardening and Spreadsheets/Organizing.
I originally thought it should be organized by family like allium, cucurbit, etc, which is how I do mine. You have so many seeds that this alphabetical system makes more sense. Love it.
Jacques starting to think my way @15:00, it's heating up.
Nightshades would be an interesting group - tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, tobacco, petunias
Same! This is how I do mine as well. And I also do my carrots separately, but all the other roots go in together lol.
Personally I separate seeds into categories like Alliums, Brassicas, Corn, Cucurbits, Fabaceae/Leguminosae, Herbs, Roots, Solanaceae etc.
That way I don't have to think about how individual names and types fit into the alphabet as much and I know many of the seeds in each section are likely to be grown at similar times of year.
There is no right or wrong way to categorize, it's really just best to do it whatever way is easiest for you. Sometimes I like drawing cute pictures to help me visualize some things faster than reading words, but I know that's not something everyone is really into.
I visited a shop a few years ago that had a free seed library with a very fascinating way to categorize their plants--they used binomial nomenclature in alphabetical order, because they wanted to encourage gardeners (and local horticulture college students) to learn the scientific names of the plants and understand each plant family...of course if you didn't know what you were looking for, you could just google it or ask the front desk for help. At first, that might seem impossible to understand, but it's a lot easier than it sounds, and not too hard too difficult to remember, since everything is in latin.
That’s actually a genius idea! I bet it makes planting easier too because most plants in the game family get planted around the same time! Epic tip 😉
Oh, this is great suggestion! Because some plants are called different in different languages, so scientific name will standardise them.
Also can sound cool and nerdy using those Latin names 🤓
That's a beautiful piece of history. You just inspired me to look at my oak CD storage cabinet drawers differently. You know, a DVD or blu ray storage system would allow use of those plastic photo storage containers that you highlighted in an older video.
I'd even consider hiring a carpenter to customize the library catalog and combine drawers so they were twice as deep.
The creative wheels are turning..
Great idea!
I have a wall of my garden label's where I start seeds in the laundry. I put brasicas on hooks as well as root crops on a hook and climber's on a hook. BUT..I did make seperate hooks for individual plants that have lots of varieties like tomatoe' carrot' potatoe' pumpkin etc. I tried doing season's but different zone's in Australia meant I could grow some seeds (from other states) all year round being a warmer climate. There is no right or wrong way' do what makes sense to you....happy gardening Rozzie from Brisbane Australia...
Definitely Epic seed collection and Amazing storage!
Would you consider putting heavy-duty wheels underneath the cabinet so you could move it around as the weather changes? Or, if not directly into the cabinet, make a custom furniture dolly for the cabinet to permanently sit on?
Your seed organization makes perfect sense to me.
Great video! Thanks for sharing it with us.
I would...this is a great idea!
I loved this video! I organize my seeds several times a year. And sometimes I organize them just to destress. And the card catalog storage is wonderful! I miss the smell of them! I know that sounds weird lol. You guys combined my love of seed organizing with my love of public libraries. Good job!
Omg! Those card catalog files are so cool. When I worked at Southern Exposure seed company we just made a numbering system for the seeds because we were putting orders together so numbers made sense. For personal seed saving I'd probably just make a drawer for each letter as well as a drawer for things that have many varieties if there are a lot of packets. Make a drawer for each letter even if there are no seed packets in there now. You will invariably run into a veggie, herb or flower that you don't know yet that will need to go in there. If you have enough drawers you can have misc drawers too. Very satisfying project.
Love the new seed storage. Plenty of drawers. Agree that as many have said it doesn't matter how you categorize as long as it works for you. I've been teased all my life for being so organized. So what. At least I can find things.
Boy this brings back memories. I worked in a college as library assistant, 45 years ago!!! Did a lot of filing and putting cards in one of those cabinet s. I can see where they'd be perfect for seed packets. Once they are opened will they go back into the drawer? If yes you might want to keep a basket with the tools you use to reseal the packets. Set it on top so it's always handy. Otherwise you'll end up with multiple seeds rolling around in the drawers. FYI, 3x5 cards or next bigger ones cut to size can be used as dividers. So much fun! For an old lady 😉 , I like old medicine bottles to put my seeds in. I get plenty of empty ones! 😂😊💙🌷
Good for fisherman too, I put my small hooks and leads in them.
I mean this in the best way I swear... but I'm watching you guys with all the seeds filling this beautiful library catalog from my childhood, and it just feels like you are waving your massive garden junk in my face.
LOL our massive garden junk
I love that old library card catalog to use to organize your seeds great idea!
I think it will be much easier if u put one ‘plant’ per box, for example onion. And in that box u can make sub-section of fav variety, giant variety,dwarf,new variety etc. that way u can track your fav variety easier, and the must-tried-this-year variety.
I spent most of yesterday on the Botanical Interests website deciding what seeds to order. And of course spent more money than a normal person would on seeds alone😬 Can’t wait for them to come in and get them started! Just being on the website and planning out my garden made me absolutely giddy🥰
I recently did a long overdue organization of my seed collection and we basically ended up organizing seeds by herbs/flowers/fruit together and vegetables separate. The system y'all did is intuitive and totally makes sense for the collection y'all have!
I'm just thinking of the flowers that are also edible and could be neglected as edible while in the mostly ornemental category such as nasturtiums, calendula, pansies and sunflowers to name some.
Another gardening librarian (and Birdies Bed addict) here to say good job and thank you!!! If you wanted to solve the problem of having your greens spread all across the alphabet, you could stick an index card in the "G" drawer with a written list of all of the greens in the rest of the card catalog. That would save you the trouble of doubling up.
So much fun! Perhaps seeing if stand/base is available so the lower drawers are easier to access.
Yes, there are bases. Check library supply vendors.
Also in terms of storage for the seeds, would you be able to put something white and/or shiny on it? Like those things you put in your car under the windshield to keep your car from heating up (Found out they're called sunshades who knew? With it being old an all I understand not wanting to use anything that might affect the wood or finish like glue or tape, but maybe you have a heavy decoration piece or weight you can put on top to make sure the sunshade doesn't move around or cause problems. Hope this helps!
i love old library card catalogs! great score. after a few months of using this set up, perhaps do an update video? i'm interested in seeing how your choices play out for you. will you discover it worked perfectly, or will you find that all alliums, or all greens, etc should have gone together? also, i don't know if outside, even just for spring, is the best idea. there is so much temperature & humidity changes between day & night, & those are all paper envelopes, sitting in wood drawers.
This thing is going to transition & evolve as much as your gardens will. May I suggest: Continue on your current quest, as is. You will have to work with the file system to make best for you. Product boxes can become dividers. A lot of that is card stock weight. I opened a new brand of tea today & noted that the inside of the box is white. You'll need a template: seed packet, make the divider taller. You can also make cards to direct you to other drawers, e.g. If Swiss chard seeds are placed in the S drawer, but Jaques 's brain always goes to Greens to find those seeds ... then a card could be placed. Choose which drawer/category to put the seed then a card in the other place, Swiss chard - see: insert correct drawer. Buy raiding your recycle bin, you can perfect a system in an inexpensive way.
Yep this plan makes sense!
Oh boy! How great it would be to have such a wonderful seed company at my fingertips! I use photo box organizers and works well for me. I only take out the box I am planting and the rest stay protected indoors. It certainly saved my seed packets from accidental watering! I organized mine as : root crops, top crops sorted into sub categories of greens, herbs, and every thing else. Flowers have a box of their own.
I've been hoping to come across a card catalog for ages now, sweet find!
Perfect for the seeds I saw on another website another TH-cam page with the lady collects antiques, and she also gardens. I told her that we perfect for her seeds now her cabinet was much smaller than this one but the idea is still the same good one guys.🌱🌱
Who else wants to buy a seed company after watching all those seed packets go into his personal collection 😂
Great organizer!! I definitely agree with raising up the drawer. Rats and mice can gnaw steel, so the wood will be no problem. I like the edible flower (even though there are edible flowers) and flower split. In addition, I think for the organization, I would have gone by type like beans, tomatoes, allium, roots, etc, and then within the draws, do alphabetically. Smaller groups like herbs will just stay together in a single draw. For flowers, I would have grouped them by color. How about storing in the shed?
I would store it inside the home. I would worry about mice.
My gardener and librarian heart loves this! My library uses an old card catalog like this to hold seeds for our seed library!
Also, I organize my seeds by when they need to be started or planted, and separate ornamental from food crops. It keeps me sane when I have to start seeds!
That card catalog is a cool way to organize your seeds! I don't alphabetize my seeds. I organize them by the dates when I need to start them indoors or plant them outside. Then I just go for that group of seeds on that day and I have everything I need to plant at that time. That might not work when you have a bajillion seeds, though.
Love this organization system! Thanks for sharing 🌻
I loved watching this and backseat driving with my opinions. I would have generated a database to catalog the seeds and the categories so that I could pull all of a type, like “root” veggies or say “winter” veggies while I was planning; and just leave the alphabetical system for the catalog itself. Really enjoyed watching, thank you so much for sharing this process!
I tracked my seeds packages in Coda (excel like system) and stored the packages in binders with photo sleeves. I actually break them down to multiple levels or categories. The first level follows the rotation rules: legumes, roots, leaf, fruit + herb + flowers. Then within each first level, I have another level of categories. For example: fruit will have tomato, pepper, eggplant, corn, okra, ... Then for tomatoes, they will be categorized into determined and undetermined; then cherry, beefsteak, and sauce... My professional job is working with data, so classification and facets are my bread and butter. It's also helpful when I search my database (Coda) to find the right seeds to plan at a certain time of the year (spring, summer, ...) or when I need to rotate crops on a bed, ... or plan on adding crops based on the hardware (trellis) I have remaining, number of days I have left in the season...
A "D" vegetable - Dasheen. I was disappointed that you didn't break the B veggies up the way the old phone book did: Ba - Bl and Bo - By. Oh well. I still love the reuse of the card catalog as a seed library. Very nice.
Absolutely great idea!! Are you storing it outdoors or in a conditioned space? Only issue I see would be heavy rain and wind, or high humidity. Could compromise the seeds... Thanks for sharing!!! Howdy from Texas 🤠
My neighbor has one of those and I think someone offered her $1200.00 for it. Of course she said H to the no. Her grammy was a librarian and she was gifted one as a retiring parting gift. It looks exactly like that one. Sweet I wish I could get one. Happy gardening guys!
…..And where’s the parsley????😉
Great, enviable find….love those vintage library drawers and yours is in such good shape. Hopefully you can find a consistent environment (no humidity) so the wood doesn’t swell and make the drawers hard to open. Good filing system..I have 3 photo boxes… veggies, herbs, flowers. It does train you to remember what is considered a veggie verses a herb. Until I started growing it, I didn’t realize that celery is a herb in the parsley family.
I store by year purchased first and then edible/ornamental. This way I know I'm using my older seeds first. I love the cabinet... throwback from my high school days!
What I did with my seeds is assigned a letter to a group of plants (T for tomatoes or B for brassica etc) it doesn't have to be the same letter of the group of plants, but it helps to remember, and then in a Google sheet I assigned a number to each variety (A 01 beefsteak tomato) and I still have free letters... the only problem is that you kind of have to check the document to find something, I also put that "code " on the seed package and on the tag of my seedlings so I don't have to write all those long names
Saludos from La Paz México !
Kevin's face when he says incredulously, "Onion!?!" Hahaha. Come on Jacque!
What do you do when the seed packages are larger than the catalog drawer?
My seeds were so all over the place, I ended up organizing by non-fruit, fruiting, tubers, and non-edibles. That seems to work for me. I originally did cold, hot and time of planting, but that was too confusing, especially since I grow lots of things whenever I feel like growing them. So by type (non-fruit, fruit, underground) works for me. Like I think non-fruit and fruit require different types of care and sun, for example.
I really like it. I have seeds in envelopes inside a seed tin. This brings back memories of being a HUGE 🤓 nerd in the 80's
I’ve got my seeds sorted by family, (nightshades, umbellifers etc). It helps to distribute them evenly as it seems there’s always a big group per family! Also helps me learn/remember the families 😉 For example, I had no idea that lettuce and sunflowers were related 🤯
Now that you have your own seed company and since you mentioned the freezer wasn't the best for storage, I was wondering, could you answer or make a video about seeds that may benefit from temporarily storing in the freezer or fridge short term, because they require cold stratification or vernalization period for germination and production. I know you live in a warmer zone and I live in zone 12b and I often wonder what plants need this cold or would benefit from it, and if there are plants I really can't grow in average temps of between 70-87°F(in summer it can get as high as 90° and winters only gets as low as 69°).
Or maybe what plants that are annual for lower grow zones may be perennials in higher zones, or if perennials in lower zones can be grown as annuals in my zone, maybe during winter months such as brassicas(could there be other issues, such as the shorter days that make it not worth it?), or just things that won't come back next summer if they didn't get proper winterization.
Where I live I don't generally see a lot of variety of plants and seeds for sale, but I would think our climate would be conducive for growing things, and I can't believe how hard it is to find information on my tropical zone 12b. I don't have a proper space for gardening yet, but plan to hopefully in the near future, and I would love to grow different things I don't normally see here, but obviously I don't want to waste my time and money on things that definitely won't work for my area.
Maybe it can be a video about growing in year round mild/warm climates that don't have a true winter. Zones 9 and up?
I have been looking for a card holder for the longest time for this use! I live in Maine and have found a couple here and there in Massachucetts but nothing closer. I like the way it looks and stores the seeds. I am going to New York next week so I'll be on the hunt!
Jarrahdale pumpkins are absolutely delicious! They’re rich, sweet, smooth and creamy, perfect for roasting, baking or pureeing. I love growing them
As a giant vegetable enthusiast, I think you'd enjoy the Annapolis (Nova Scotia) giant pumpkin events such as the pumpkin boat race. The participants carve the pumpkins, put them in the water, get in them, and paddle them to the finish line.
Question I thought most seeds had about a years expiration date do you have to buy all new seeds and reorganize every year or am I wrong and they last longer?
You could 3D print some dividers fairly quickly and easily for further organization. There's the added benefit that you can use PLA a plant biopolymer,. Also, you can custom label them by produce or whatever your desire.
Great video, just curious if you had seeds for Diakon would that go under R for radish as it's a type of radish, and what about dill?
This is why my local store was out of most of there BI seeds LOL. I’ve been using a storage cabinet similar to this for years but, I wish I could find one like this . Congratulations on buying BI.
I have several of these cabinets, some metal some wood.. love them! I store my seeds in a vintage Colman ice chest from my younger days..😊
Such a good way to organize! Love the look ❤
i'm going to start looking for one of these card catalog drawer sets. i use something similar, small clear plastic drawers meant for art supplies. i only have about 17 drawers though
Since these drawers aren't sealed and you'll be leaving the card catalogue outside this spring, why not pop a little zeolite pack or silica gel pack into some of those drawers? Silica gel can actually dry seeds out too much in some cases, but since this is outside, they should work fine. I think you can get 50 of 'em for around $5. In a pinch, rice can help, but it's more effective in a smaller container, as is powdered milk (placed in an envelope).
Large collection, may want to consider a vault with your new company to store at correct temp and humidity, but for homestead this is superior 👏 😎
I never throw away old seeds. Ever. If I don't use them all in one year, I will plant some the following year with the newer ones. I have planted 3 and 4 year old open packs of seeds even if they are just thrown on a compost pile to see if they grow, or in small pots to give away to friends and neighbors if they germinate. Last year The former librarian in me is seriously coveting that card catalog.
Love this. I would have to have all my root veg together under R for root. And I'm also trying the Numex Lemon Jalapeno for the first time this year!
I have been obsessed with your channel! I am in zone 5b, starting seeds indoors in a couple weeks!
Is this a scam?
Fun video and I love that drawer system. I recently made 2 spreadsheets to catalog my veggies and flowers. For the most part it is alphabetical by type. I did put my greens as one category and my squash as one category. I think how you sorted them is great.
with seeds that many, i would invest in a fridge and put it all there. you won't be able to use them all. you're gonna be throwing your money away if you keep them like that. i have seeds that are 10 years old that still germinate while stored in the fridge.
Rocks from the ocean floor are super interesting geologically. Everything from basic b basalt to chemically deposited limestone and chert to funky hydrothermal vent rocks to blueschist and greenstones formed at subduction zones. Lots of really cool rocks geologically. I wonder if they have a mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) sample. In geochemistry, MORB is used as a baseline for chemical comparison with other mafic (basalt like) rocks.
Nothing to do with gardening, just figured I would give my 2 cents as a former geology student. I love the use of that old card catalogue. A great way to recycle it.
Another great hang out video! As soon as ya'll pulled out the seeds it sent me back to my days of collecting MTG cards.
I have all my seeds organized by plant family- (nightshades, legumes, cucurbits) that way you know that everything in that family, for the most part, has similar growing condition expectations. Everything is then alphabetized by type and then variety, so Cucumber- marketmore, Cucumber- spacemaster, Cucumber- sumpter, etc. I find it really easy to navigate that way.
Have you considered having a PQR or OPQR drawer? Also, I have one of these old cars catalogs and I keep it in my basement on an old deconstructed Staples desk and it's cool and dry. (I don't use it for seeds but nevertheless, it's cool and dry.) Not sure if you have basements where you are though.
FYI, Dewey Decimal used in public and school libraries. Colleges and universities typically use Library of Congress cataloging.
Hey Kevin, if you guys grow the same variety of a few species of self-fertilizing plants in semi-isolation for a few successive generations and keep planting the newly acquired heirloom seeds; I absolutely would love to run some genetic analysis of successive generations. And you have a large variety of similar plants that could be compared. I know peas are all self fertile, which is why Mendel used them. But you may have some suggestions. Cheers.
I store mine in a lidded cake tin, divided with dividers labeled NOW, SOON, LATER, FINISHED for season. I don't buy or store collected flower seeds, just herbs and vegetables.
Cool wish I owned a seed company one thought have draws to pop in upcoming plantings for beds ,season, once planted put back in main draw, divided maybe for open packets?
I have a similar whether, I can grow all year round, so it is important for me to group my seeds by cold or hot wether, than I sort them alphabetically. When you go to seed, it is less important if they are vegetables or flowers.
You can put an index card where you would look in A for example for alliums, and the card lists where you can find all of them in the other drawers.
I'm the type of person that would plan this system out for weeks, to make sure that it is the most optimal for me. Probably create a digital database as well to point me to what is where, and how many I have.I do think however, for this type of thing the YOLO method can suffice, since you can easily change it up if you run into issues.
This concept does give me inspiration for when I emigrate in a few years. I still need to think of a method to sort my seeds in the meantime. I currently keep them in the fridge in ziplock bags, so moisture can't get to them. They are just in an unsorted pile for now.
I organized my seeds in a photo organizer by when I start indoors and/or plant outdoors. Of course, tomatoes, peppers, onions, beans ... have their own boxes ...
I love this so much. No, you guys didn't go too far. This is perfect! I can't wait to see Epic P.G. Onion next year. I recently bought the lemon spice jalapenos from botanical interests and they just germinated a few days ago. I'm also excited to try them. They were a favorite of a lot of gardeners I follow.
Moonflowers might make a good trap crop for hornworms. I remember my aunt would get hornworms on her moon flowers too. Plant them away from your tomatoes.
Would be cute to have a Little Free Seed Library out in front of your home to share seeds. :) It could also be a combo with books and you could encourage folks to share garden-themed books.
Very appealing. Love the cabinet and the organising. Have fun trying to grow all the new varieties.
that card catalog system is pretty awesome! the organizing itself gave me hives (i just get overwhelmed and can't think.) anyway, GREAT JOB, super idea. i think it all makes good sense. alphabetical unless LOTS of that type, or super huge seeds. you're also reminding me i have some moonflower i wanna try.... need to see if it is still good.
It looks like it was more and better organized in the boxes they came in than at the end in the library! 🤣😂🤣😂
As a professional organizer with OCD you killin' me! lolol But what a haul of seeds and the cabinet is awesome! I have photo boxes. I have six now BEFORE my new orders! lol Veg. Herbs and Flowers split and then some of those split for their own bow, example Tomatoes gets one whole box. lolol
I have no doubt we triggered some organizers in the comments! I wish I had your skills
@@epichomesteading lol no worries! I wish I lived closer! I'd come and help! hahaha....No, of course, you guys do it the way it makes sense to YOU! If you use someone else's plan it can make it more difficult and therefore, not effecient for YOU! I just had to elbow you a little! lolol ;)
Ah, a WISE organizer! People keep trying to organize me according to their preferences, and I cant find anything!
I wonder if some silica packets would help keep seeds dry. Also check out Jess from roots n refuge farm...she says always try old seeds. There's a BBC episode I think on extremely old seeds being grown in the middle east. Maybe give the old seeds to your community garden friends. Sow more thickly to make up for less good germination rates!
Very cool seed storage!
I found a seed packet from 1995 in a random box in my shed last year. Planted them as an experiment and probably had at least90% germination rate. Still have the same parsley growing today in 9b.
I love the old library seed storage method. I don't think at all gone too far. I am actually looking for one myself. I can't help but think of how miserable the Dewey system was in school. Perfect up-cycling!
Question for you: Since you now own botanical interest, what did you do other brand of seeds you supported in the past?
I still have all the old brands as well!
Have you ever planted Moon Flowes before? I had mine in a planter in early spring before the heat started. It grew about 10 feet tall never did get a flower. Couldn't figure out what I did wrong.
I haven't yet!
This was hilarious to watch 😂 not sure I've ever seen you guys so unsure about your decisions. I too have had these same quandaries when trying to organize my seeds, however I don't have as many seeds as you guys do. All of us seed collectors are out here drooling over your collection
You should get 3/4 inch leather straps going from the side of the cabinet on the left to the side of the cabinet on the right. Screw in some snaps on each side and then you can have the leather band keep all the drawers closed so no animals or earthquakes will open the drawers. Plus it would look very artisan.
Omg this video makes my heart happy! Plants & organization!!!
I never thought I'd find it entertaining to watch a couple of guys organise seeds. Yet, here I am enjoying this video.
I'm glad you could repurpose those library card organisers so they don't just end up in landfill.
love it. Only thing I thought of is, I thought seeds were only good for one year. How often will you need to go through clean out?
1+ years, esp. w/ good storage, and they don't go instantly bad, they decrease in germination over time