The Best Seed Organizer & Seed Storage Solution

I may have a little problem with seeds. I tend to hoard them. I'll start planning the garden and going through seed catalogs and buying all of the things. Then, I have a massive seed stash with no rhyme or reason and forget what I have. Thankfully, I've found a solution and the best seed organizer I could find.

I've tried several different options over the years as far as figuring out how to keep my seeds so I can find them and actually know what I have. My garden planner helps keep inventory, as long as I keep it updated. But, I'd grab a cardboard box and find random seeds I'd saved or purchased and not even know where they came from.

I needed a solution, so last year I found some tin boxes that fit some seed packets and made a cute little seed box to make my own seed organizer. It worked ok, but I had to sort through it like a file box and the seeds packets didn't fit quite right as the boxes were too wide. I knew I needed to find a better way.

I've seen people use mason jars for seed storage. As well as putting their seeds in a photo album or even using an old recipe box, shoe boxes, random cardboard boxes, or even plastic bags. Glass jars take up too much room if you are an avid gardener and have a lot of seeds like me. Recipe boxes are about like what I had last year, and I didn't want to sort them in a photo album and have to flip through it.

The Best Seed Organizer

A couple of years ago, I saw the idea of using photo storage boxes to organize your seeds. Since I'm not a huge fan of plastic, I avoided the idea. But, let's face it, plastic is in our lives whether we like it or not.

This photo organizer is made out of plastic, but it should last for years and years and it really is a great way to store seeds because it fits the packets of seeds perfectly. It's also full of airtight containers which can help improve the germination rate of the seeds.

The organizer contains 16 individual plastic containers on the inside that are made to fit 4X6 photographs. This is the perfect size for most seed packets. In fact, even my large packets from my friend Bonnie over at Kitchen Botanicals fit just fine.

You can, of course, use the boxes to organize your own seeds that you've saved from your garden as well. You can put them in ziplock bags, but they don't fit very well in these boxes. So, you can find a template online for seed envelopes, or I just buy these paper envelopes and they fit perfectly inside these boxes.

How to Organize Seeds

While I was able to organize my garden seeds fairly well in the 16 containers, ideally I'll buy another one so that I have two. I love that I can use the individual boxes to organize each individual seed type, but for anyone that keeps a lot of seeds, you'll need at least a couple of seed storage containers to fit everything well. Regardless, I really think this is the best seed storage solution I've found so far.

First, I sorted the different types of seeds into individual boxes. Such as onions, peppers, tomatoes, etc. When I realized I had more varieties than I did boxes, I combined a few things. For example, all of my herbs ended up in a single box, my brassicas, flower seeds, and a few other things got combined.

Once I get another container, I'll have room for each type of vegetable and be able to separate herbs a little more, separate my flowers, and have room to keep each variety in a separate container. For now, what I did works.

These boxes fit the seed packets well, but bulkier seeds like corn, peas, and beans take up quite a bit of space. I don't have a lot of corn or pea varieties, but I do have several bean varieties. I separated my beans into bush beans and pole beans and had plenty of room. I'm just mentioning it because you may have too many packets to fit in a single box.

Then, I went through and labeled the individual containers with what was in them using the labels the container came with. Next, I added the planting times for some of the seeds I will start indoors such as onions, peppers, and tomatoes.

After I had them all sorted, I placed them in the box based on their planting time. So onions went first because those are the first seeds we start indoors. Beans and corn were last because those are the last things we plant outdoors. Another great idea would be to place the containers in alphabetical order, but you organize them however it works for you.

Once I've started the seeds in the boxes, I'll flip it upside down to remind myself I've already completed that task as well as write it down in my garden journal.

When I go to purchase seeds, I'll flip them back over and check the inventory so I can plan accordingly so I don't wind up with 4 packets of basil seed like I had when I sorted them.

How to Store Seeds

Once you have your seeds sorted into the new containers, how do you store them for the best results?

A lot of avid gardeners recommend storing seeds in the refrigerator. This is a great suggestion, but not practical or necessary. Most of us have far too many seeds to store in our refrigerators, even if we have them in a nice, compact box. Whether it's the best place or not, it's just impractical.

I do have a few seeds that require cold stratification to germinate, but I simply place those seed packets in the door of the refrigerator until I'm ready to plant them. It's a small amount, not the entire collection, so they take up virtually no space.

To properly store seeds, you really just need to make sure they're in a dry, cool, dark place. I don't recommend placing them out in your shed, but you don't have to keep them in the fridge, either.

A closet is a great option for storing seeds. A cabinet or basement are also great places to store your seeds. Just make sure the temperature is fairly consistent year-round and they're out of direct sunlight.

Moisture can really cut down on the viability of your seeds as well, so make sure you are storing your seeds in an airtight container. These seeds are cased within a case, so moisture isn't a big concern, but you can throw a few silica gel packets inside the large container to help prevent any moisture from getting in the individual containers as a precaution.

Long-term Seed Viability

When storing seeds, seed viability over the years is a concern. Seeds are typically labeled for the year they were packed for. So, what's the expiration date of the seeds? It actually varies quite a bit for each individual seed type.

While storing your seeds in optimal conditions helps, since seeds are made up of organic material they will eventually break down. The time it takes for the material to break down is going to differ for each crop type and germination rates will slowly dwindle for each type.

Some seeds, such as onions and pepper seeds, don't keep much longer than a year or two past their packed by date. While other seeds, such as radish and lettuce seeds can keep as long as 5-6 years.

This isn't to say that you can't have pepper seeds that are three years old that germinate. You will, but the rates they germinate will decrease each year if there are any left at all.

It's best to keep your old seeds at the top of your containers, so you get to those first and put new seeds below them. Be sure to always date any seeds you save the year you save them and make sure they're completely dry before storing them.

You can easily test for germination at home to see if old seeds will sprout and even determine the rate at which they germinate by planting a few. If none, or very few, sprout, purchase fresh, organic seeds from a company you trust.

Seed organization and storage used to be a hassle for me. But this solution seems to keep things in order and I'm not purchasing tons of packets of seeds that I really don't need. It also helps me keep track of what I need to save from my own garden so I'm not needing to purchase seeds unless I desire to try out a new variety.

That is unless I accidentally hit the quantity button a few too many times. Alas, this solution is working great for me and I have plenty of room on a closet shelf to keep my seeds out of reach of littles and out of the sun, heat, and moisture.