[K.Mac]

I keep mine in an air tight plastic tote

[SpagsUnfiltered]

This one I am certainly interested in as I have read both pros and cons to freezing seeds vs packaging them vs sealing them in mylar.

[EmmaB]

I try to use the previous years seeds but for the left overs I first seal them in airtight food saver bags and then freeze them. All the ones I tried with this method have had about a 85% germination rate so far. Fingers crossed.

[Coby_SA]

Thank y’all for the information. It is indeed a very important skill.

God bless

[Dow-Farms]

I just dry them out then keep them in Mylar bags in a cool area. I’m experimenting with freeze drying them, I’ve watched videos where they say it works well but so far my first attempt was a flop.

[Jean]

Can you tell me why it was a flop? I was thinking of doing it too but don’t want to waste time if not a good idea!

[Dow-Farms]

I freeze dried some of my Anaheim seeds with a batch I was running then planted them in a empty raised bed for a test. It’s been 3 weeks and no germination yet. My Anaheims are usually up in about a week to 10 days. It was only a first try so I’m going to do some more tests before it gets cold here.

[NJ12]

Following

[KimC]

I follow the conventional wisdom of cool, dark and dry. I only refrigerate or freeze the seeds Danny recommends (which I believe are peas and corn). I purchased craft store photo organizer totes that have smaller containers inside that fit in a larger snap-closed tote with a handle. I labeled each small container for type/kind and keep it in the coolest room of the house in a dark area. That has worked well for me. I have some remaining seeds from 2018 that have done just fine, at least so far, but I do use the oldest seeds first whenever possible. For more bulky seeds, I inset a paper towel in a zip lock baggie just to help in case any humidity might be an issue. I also save all the moisture absorbers from my vitamins/supplement to use in baggies or jars with seeds, if needed. Larger quantities of seeds don’t work quite as well stored in the small tote containers due to size, but I still keep them cool, dark and dry. So far that has worked. The only seeds I’ve really had challenges keeping due to quantity have been beans and peas because they’re so bulky and take up so much space. All the others easily work in the totes. I have one tote for vegetables, one for overflow and flowers and a third to separate out herbs. It’s probably overkill, but it works for me.

[Wingard_MT]

I have the same (photo organizer totes that have smaller containers inside that fit in a larger snap-closed tote with a handle) and find them the ultimate solution for the seeds we save & acquire. The totes are kept in a dark, cool closet (60f) and when the seeds go in dry have not had any issues with moisture. 1 tote did crack so we had to replace it.

[Slim]

We keep ours in these photo totes also. Very nice to have them organized now. I had a friend give me these bags of green bean seeds, now have to figure out how to store all of these now. Good problem to have.

[Wingard_MT]

same👍

[Karla]

thank you everyone , this was very helpful and I feel better about using the freezer.

[JerseyGiantChick]

We pack seeds after the process in smaller zip bags, so if one gets bad it stays just one. At least you have time to handle on time.

[MulberryGardens-Christina]

I probably don’t do it right! I have a large clothing tote that is full of seeds in baggies…. smaller seeds get slots in 1 of 5 photo albums to keep them organized. Fruit seeds I put in the fridge.

[JerseyGiantChick]

You are doing just fine, just freeze seeds a couple off days to kill eggs and larvae.

[MulberryGardens-Christina]

Thanks. 🙂

[CentralTexasHomestead]

We have a file box for seeds.

[KramitDreams]

Our seed vault is how my great grandparents did it….in glass jars in our cool dark closet, we have concrete floors so they are cool and dark.

[Rosehaven]

We use paper coin envelopes, those about 2×5 inches. then sorted by type ( brassica, root, squash, flower, herb, etc) and thence into separate field cases. The field case is just the right size. The cases are in our main pantry, which is cool and dark.

[Bryan8farms]

I have tried the freezing method and none of my seeds germinated. I now keep them in paper towels folded up in a file box

[HomesteadJed]

Urban Farm Podcast E705 with guest Bill McDorman had an amazing episode on this.

Bill postulates that all the tables that state how long specific species of seeds last is based on an anecdotal study done in the 1800s. He also stated that the expiration date doesn’t show how old the seeds are, simply how long it’s been since that barrel of seeds passed a germ test. If they had a batch of seeds that was 20 years old, they could still put “2023 Season” on the packet if they test germinate 100 and 90 sprout etc. That knowledge blew my mind.

Bill stores his seed in clay pots, at room temp or slightly below. Some scientists recently resurrected a 2000 year old seed! Video search for ‘Masada Date Seeds Sarah Sallon.’ They were stored in clay pots in the basement of a fort.

With that knowledge in hand, I will boldly say that I store my seeds in paper lunch sacks at room temp in my living room because that’s all the further through processing they’ve made them this year. Maybe they make it to the basement, maybe they don’t.