Organizing the home seed bank

Dear Readers,

I don’t claim to be an expert on this subject, but I do have some thoughts. Bountiful Gardens in Willits CA http://www.bountifulgardens.org/catalog.html recomends storing your home saved seeds in recycled glass jars, which was what I was planning on doing. (You can request their free, and infomative catalog by e-mail) But then we had an evacuation scare and I was really glad my seeds were not in bulky, heavy, space taking jars.

The sky has been providing us with way more than our fair share of rain. (12 inches above average last time I checked) Along about new years, the river was rising and we were told to prepare for evacuation. I ran around the house with plastic bags, collecting the seeds from various drawers, padded envelopes, piles, and boxes.

Right at that moment I knew I needed to get more organized – not just think about it.
I also knew that jars were not the way to go. Between forest fires and the river threatening to flood, we typically have several evacuation scares a year. I wanted my seeds easy to move, compact, and light weight.

Things calmed down for a bit and one of the round robins I participate in arrived. The seeds inside the box were seperated into catagories. Each category was securly zippered into its own reclosable bag and labeled: Veggies, annuals, wild flowers, etc. Ahha! This will work well.

I am now sorting through my seeds. I have two different plastic lidded containers one small and one larger. The smaller one will hold my personal seeds – those seeds I am saving to grow myself. The larger box will hold the seeds I save, trade for, or purchase that are in excess of my own personal needs. These are the seeds I use to trade with, sometimes give away, and that I use to make donations to community gardens and other projects.

My catagories mirror the catagories listed in the key for my seed list – back of border, middle of border, front of border; as well as separate sections for winter greens, winter squash, etc. I am still in progress with the organization. I spend about 30 minutes at it a day. However, I already have discovered a few things I have way more than I need both for myself and my usual trades, shares, and donations . . .

Stay tuned, I feel a seed give away coming on . . .

Harvest