I've been harvesting some flower seeds, with more to come soon. I realize that various seeds require different storage needs...containers from hand-made envelopes to jars to plastic bags, etc..cool... damp... dry... dark ... light etc. But as a general rule (if there is such a thing)... what's the recommended climate to store them? [/i]
Cool and dry is more desirable than warm and moist. For every 9°F above freezing the storage life of seeds is reduced by one half. Storage temperature is one thing we can control. Moisture is a little harder to quantify and qualify but as moisture increases the storage life is reduced. I use old glass spice jars and sealable plastic bags. Date the bags and jars, keep a record of seeds stored and where and the quantity. The same log book should have the germination success or failure. Years later you will never remember what you did. My log book goes back to 1996. I leave the first 10 pages blank and fill in the contents as I go along. Jerry
So keeping them frozen, in an air-tight container is best? What if you don't have that kind of space in a freezer? Is it best to put them just in the refrigerator instead of in a cabinet at room temperature?
I have a couple of drawers in a second refrigerator devoted to seed storage. Works for me, however, I do not plant a veggie garden. Jerry
I can definitely make room in the 'fridge for my flower seeds. I'm going to pick up a notebook at lunchtime just to keep track of what I'm doing. Thanks for the info Jerry!
I always keep mine in a dark and cool place--in the coolest room in the house (that would be in the closet in the bedroom, in my case). But what I find most important is to keep them in paper bags or in paper envelopes to avoid the seeds becoming mouldy.
Hi Cheryl, I was at the library the other day looking for a weed ID book for our area, and in the section was a book solely about saving seeds. You might want to check your local branch and see if they would have one on the shelf. I found one in one of my seed catalogs also. It was called "Seed Sowing and Saving" by Carole B. Turner. I don't think this is the one I saw at the library, though. Maybe there are a couple different ones available. When we buy seeds in the fall for next spring sowing, we put them in an airtight tupperware in the bottom of our downstairs fridge.
Funny you should mention this. One of my projects yesterday was to get my seeds labeled, sorted and stored. They are in envelopes (easy to label). Then sorted by a couple different criteria and placed in zip lock baggies and then placed in a plastic container in the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.
