How do you store and organise your seed collection? I've tried sorting them by type - eg all cabbages together, or alphabetically, or by sowing month, or by age of seed, by whether they're roots, shoots and salads, outdoor or greenhouse, and by indexing them in a book. Whichever way I do it, I still lose seeds, fail to sow them at the right time, or sow newer seeds before the older ones. In other words, I'm in a mess. Perhaps if I didn't buy so many seeds to start with things would be easier, but, as a compulsive seedaholic I can't stop myself. How can I cope?

I use a plastic organiser pouch with twelve divisions labelled monthly, and put the seeds in the appropriate pockets. Works well, as long as you remember to use it properly. Need to re-sort now though cos I have a load of seeds in a plastic tub in the kitchen.

Very large tins and chuck them in.Dont bother searching for seeds you know you've got, just go buy some more and get some more tins for the excess you just bought

seems to work

Thank you Rustylady & Pies for your advice.
I've tried something similar to Rustylady's monthly divisions but get totally confused when the seed packet says "Plant late spring" or "Early Autumn". What months are they?? Those packets get slung back in the box for later!!
Pies' version I can also relate too! Every December Festive season another tin of biscuits appears, is hastily emptied and refilled with the latest collection of seeds. They sit there until I have the time to amalgamate them into whatever system I'm using that year. Needless to say I never seem to find the time and the tins mount up until I'll soon need a system for organising biscuit tins!
Keep those ideas coming, please!

I did a very elaborate spreadsheet at the start of the year listing ALL seeds on the spreadsheet with expiry date, sow date, expected harvest date, sow medium, germination time, harvest weights blah blah blah blah
Didn't use it
Gonna try paper and pen this year

rough guide to seasons

march april may = spring
june july august = summer
september october november = autumn
december january feburary = winter

Hi to The Large One and thanks. My computer skills are not up to spread sheets but I have tried a card index - similar data as yours, filed alphabetically. It was fun writing out the cards but never got around to completing the followup results. That fizzled out too!

Thank you Pies! I shall revisit my biscuit tins and scribble some months on the packets. Think I'll take the first month of each season as the appropriate one as that gives me an extra couple of months to locate the packets.

I have a box that is divided into months . In theory the seeds go into the relevant month for sowing and each month the whole month gets transferred to another box . At the end of the month those that I've finished with go back in the big box and those that I can keep on sowing are then joined by the next months.........note the words in theory ..... Doesn't always work esp. when sowing early toms stc...

Urmmmmmm - I have an old plastic sweet box that all my seeds get stored in - no dividers or anything and, well, it works for me but then I like to have a regular mooch through the lot with a nice cuppa and a bicci to find that which needs planting and those which can wait

Reet
x

I keep them all together i na muddle in a box... Then look on here on the "what I did today" thread to see what people are sowing, then get mine out too! Simples

Grapes always know best!

3 shoes boxes
One of packets used
One with specific plants in (chillis usually)
One with the planned stuff to be sown - this is alphabetical

Originally Posted by veggiechicken

get totally confused when the seed packet says "Plant late spring" or "Early Autumn". What months are they?

That's more about your weather, in your area. Early autumn for me is late Oct, but for someone in Scotland it might mean ... July

Originally Posted by Two_Sheds

That's more about your weather, in your area. Early autumn for me is late Oct, but for someone in Scotland it might mean ... July

You obviously missed the "northerners" thread. Its been a big con all along they have nothing but gentle showers and lots of sunshine

Great tips on this thread. I have several different boxes in several different places - ie disorganised chaos. Everytime I get an overspill I start a new box and its all just ended up in a jumble!

In an effort to get organised I got one of those metal home filing system boxes from Argos, so that I can organise by months. Whether it will work I can't tell you yet but I like Binley's theory!