Repost from Seed Saving: Do you ever admitt?

15 years ago

I posted this is seed saving but Remy suggested posting here...

Do you ever admitt how many seeds you have?

I just finished entering all my seeds into a spreadsheet and I guess I wasn't paying attention as I was going along... (3 nights). I just sorted and put everything in alphabetical order and am SHOCKED on what line number I'm on.

People looked at me weird when I used to say I had about 100 seed packs.... phew!.. that was THEN!

Anyway, do you ever admitt how many seed packs you have? What is the reaction?

Andrea

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Comments (25)

agirlsgirl
15 years ago
Nope! Wont count them to find out either...lol..guess I am just in denial! ;)
dorisl
15 years ago
hehehe No way Im counting the packs, but Ill count boxes.....not huge boxes mind you, just recycled boxes of varying sizes.

I have one box of edibles (mostly last years)

another box that nicely fits all the commercial sizeish seed packs(mostly last years)

And another box that fits the regular envy size packs(mostly last years)

and another box full of fresh 08 seeds that I snagged
and another box full of fresh 08 seeds that I snagged
And a small box full of seed packs that need to be filed in the above 2 boxes
And a smaller box where Im collecting packs for one of the big swaps.....

And a small tea box full of seeds that are absolute MUST HAVES for next year, not that any in the other boxes arent, ya know.....but, just saying....

prolly have some odd ones in my pocket, or in my backpack, and some in the car, and maybe some in DH's car, and his pocket.......
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Christina, Different types of seeds are viable for different periods of time. Properly-dried broccoli and cauliflower seeds are generally highly viable for about 5 years whereas carrot seed is generally only highly viable for about three years. The two main enemies of seed viability when storing seeds are high humidity and high temperature. One way to store them is in freezers. They need to be inside airtight containers. All the major seed banks in the world store their seeds in cold storage units. You also can store seeds in foil pouches, paper packets, zip-lock bags (you can get tiny ones in the bead/craft aisle at wal-Mart), plastic lids with tight containers, etc. If not stored in a freezer, they should be stored in a room or closet where they are exposed to fairly constant temperatures. You don't want to store them in an uninsulated garage, garden shed, attic, etc. where they'll be very hot in summer and very cold in winter. If storing them inside, an interior closet or pantry is often a good storage area. If you have a dry cellar or root cellar, it would be an ideal place for seed storage but make sure the seeds are in airtight and roden-proof containers. You also can place packets of silica in your seed containers to absorb moisture and help protect the seeds from excess humidity. Seeds are not good today but then suddenly bad tomorrow. Instead, the seeds lose their vigor slowly over a period of time If your seeds are dried down to 8% moisture content and then sealed into airtight containers and stored in a freezer, they will maintain their normal or typical viability for ten times as long as seeds not stored long-term in a freezer. I don't keep my seeds in the freezer. I just keep them in paper envelopes placed inside zip-lock bags and stored in a plasic storage crate with a locking lid. Most of the time, the storage crate is in my root cellar with my stored veggies and home-preserved food. If you don't have room in the freezer or don't want to store your seeds there, a refrigerator works too. When removing seeds from a freezer or refrigerator so that you can open the container and use some of them, first remove the container from cold storage and let it sit all day long or overnight so the seeds can completely reach room termperature before you open the airtight seed packet. This lessens the likelihood that moisture will condense on the seeds as they thaw which can cause them to germinate prematurely. I generally try to use seeds before they are six years old or older but sometimes you can get seeds that are 6-10 years old to germinate fairly easily, and real seed pros can often germinate older ones. I don't think I've ever tried to germinate seeds older than 8 or 10 years in age. One thing you need to consider with seed packets is that they have to meet federal germination standards because every seed likely will not germinate. The germination rate is expressed as a percentage and varies from variety to variety. For example, the minimal federal germination rate for commercially-sold carrot seed is 55%, so you're unlikely to get 1500 carrots even if you plant 1500 seeds. The worst germination you can expect from fresh seed packed for the current year's use is, therefore, 55% for carrots, although often you'll find a particular batch of seeds has a much higher germinationrate than that---it is just the 55% is the minimum allowed. For cucumbers, the Federal Germination Standard for seed sold commercially is 80%. When planting, you can use the Fenderal Germination Standard for any given variety as an aid in figuring out how many seeds to plant in order to get X number of plants. You also can choose smaller packets of seed. One retailer who specializes in smaller quantities of seed is Pinetree Garden Seeds (www.superseeds.com) and some other seed companies sell 'mini' or 'sampler' packs that contain smaller quantities of seeds. If you collect and save your own seed from open-pollinated varieties, the most important thing is to make sure it has reached the proper degree of dryness before storing it. Otherwise you may end up with moldy, ruint seed. Dawn
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Hi Andrea, First off, no, lol. I don't want people thinking I'm crazier than I am! Second, not many people visit over here. You should re-post on the conversation side of the seed exchange. There's always fun/interesting seed discussions over there : ) Remy Here is a link that might be useful: Seed Exchange Forum Conversation Side
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token28001
15 years ago
I haven't counted. I don't intend to count until I'm planting them out either in containers this winter or direct sowing. I KNOW that I have used two packs of 200 count plastic baggies. And then some. And of course the traded envies. And the commercial seeds. And well, I have too much. Thinking about slimming it down.
kms4me
15 years ago
I started keeping track last year, though I've been trading for several years. I knew I had a lot, was shocked at how many... It's info I share with NO ONE, not my best friends, my husband. Let's just imagine that I have a large dining room buffet, with five big drawers (it almost touches the floor) and where there used to be table clothes and napkins, serving bowls and flatware, vases and table decorations, well... They aren't there now. If the buffet ever got wet, I think a jungle of epic proportions might sprout.

Kate
ladycraft
15 years ago
I'm a newbie to this. I didn't have seeds to trade but have recieved 3 freebie envies and was amazed how many I had the other day when I listed them. So I totally understand how you could get a great collection. Good Job there are just some things you don't need to share with others!!
remy_gw
15 years ago
Hi Andrea,
See I told you : )
On the original post, I said I don't tell anyone for fear of being though of as crazier than I aready am, lol.
My husband is aware of the collection. He doesn't know how much it contains, though he will tell you too many, lol.
I have a set of boxes:
Flowers collected from my garden
Flowers from other gardeners
Flowers from commercial sources
Tomatoes
Beans and Peas
All other Veggies

So you can see I have way too many!
Remy
jaleeisa
15 years ago
Newp... don't count, won't count, refuse to acknowledge that I keep having to buy more and more stuff to keep it organized, refuse to acknowledge when DH and kids comment about my "unborn jungle" taking over cooking, eating, studying and sleeping spaces! :P

Not gonna..

Hi, I'm Kathy, an unrepentant seedaholic, and you would be? :P

Kathy
appaloosa909
Original Author
15 years ago
I have 2 large tupperware bread containers that are so full the seeds "pop" up when you open them..... I think kms4me and her buffet and Remys 6 boxes may trump me...

Thank God I'm not alone with the seed hoarding.....

:D

Andrea
appaloosa909
Original Author
15 years ago
My name is Andrea and I to am a seedaholic and hoarder....

:)
flwrs4ever
15 years ago
My name is Kym, and I am the best at enabling...andddd I ...um...ah....have so many seeds...I had to get a book shelf to keep them all on..and then I had a friend tell me she was throwing out seeds, and i couldnt bear it..so I have more on the way...

Yes, I am addicted..BIG TIME, and it is all Angies fault..LOL J>K....but it doesnt help to have such great enabling friends...there are many more...

Dont count them, it would take too long...just enjoy them, and know it is better then other addictions. thats my story and i am sticking to it..LOL

Kym ( the master enabler)
angelady777 (Angela) - Zone 6
15 years ago
Ha!!! This is so funny! I am trying to control myself, but it looks like I may be joining the ranks of those that have posted on this thread. It's like seeing into the future. LOL

Blessings,
Angela
medontdo
15 years ago
LOL i am just laughing, ok i never tell anyone, the ONLY person who knows is my son, tabor, and that's because he shares in my addiction, slightly, LOL
i have a 5 drawer wicker thingi i got from aldi's, and two of them are full of seeds, vege's, and flower's, and wild seeds, we have to go thru them once i finish up with my marriage thing. MEN!!!! LOL tabor and i are gonna go thru them and get what we wanted out of them and mix them into little packets of what we are going to plant into certain sfg boxes. and then the others we are going to mx for the flower gardens and such, and then we are going to make the packets, whats left we are going to give away. orrrr...sasbe, although after reading this, i found the one trade i had left to do!! Hey Tom!! i knew there was one person, but i lost all my email, so i'll be getting that taken care of!! i promise :') Geeze i'm surprised you didn't hollar at me!!
~Medo
bigred
15 years ago
Ya'll come back when you can beat me.....I have refrigerator my hub's bought me second hand,just for my seeds,crammed "FULL",boxes,lg plastic ice cream buckets,plastic shoe boxes,1 gal. size zip lock bags(arranged by month they sew inside under light on heat mat,WS or direct sew up until May...the shelves are full,the drawers are full even the shelves on the door is full.....and I'm still trolling the seed exchange forums and cackle like a fiend when a new catalog arrives.

Peggy
angelady777 (Angela) - Zone 6
15 years ago
Okay,.... I think you win... LOL... WoWWee! :-D

Blessings,
Angela
trudi_d
15 years ago
It's not how many you have, it's what you do with them that counts ;-)
appaloosa909
Original Author
15 years ago
I think a refridgerator trumps the buffet and 6 boxes... Bigred wins...

Master seed hoarder :)
mnwsgal
15 years ago
"It's not the size that matters...."
token28001
15 years ago
medontdo: I thought I was supposed to be getting something from you, but I've been busy with work the past month. I finally got all my seeds sorted according to flower/shrub/tree/veggies. Now, I need to resort them according to wintersowing/direct sowing/spring sowing. So there's that.

No worries. I know you well enough to know what I need will come to me.

by the way, do you have any pennyroyal? I can't find mine. :(
bigred
15 years ago
YAY! I WIN! What do I get? More Seeds,I hope?....LOL

Trudi,
I use what I can and trade the rest. Ok,I'll admit...I do sell some at farmers market.....so I can buy more seeds and plants....bwa...ha...ha....ha.

Like I tell the hub's....I could be wasting all his money on nekkid dancing guys..*BSG*

Peggy
chrizty
15 years ago
lol if i counted i would tell. but i cant keep up with myself lol i know i have over 100.
i use to keep boxes n boxes full but anymore i try to keep what im going to plant or hope to plant lol i have lots of hopes!
i have a huge notbook holder thing i use those baseball card holders in it for my seeds. ive been putting then in abc order for easy findings. still have a few envys full i need to go through. my seeds for tradeing are in a basket.
bigred
15 years ago
and yet...here I am,trolling several seed trading forums w/ Germania seed catalog in my lap w/ yellow hi-light marker....most of the pages are almost entirely yellow hi-lighted....LOL.

Good thing I'm in charge of paying the bills so hub's doesn't see cc statements.....but I do recoup my money plus profit during market season...so there..*G*
kilngod
15 years ago
I do not have as much as Peggy, (thank you for making me seem moderate!). Thought I was a freak when I planted just over 100 things two years ago. That was, until last year, when I planted over 500....and that wasn't all the seed kinds I had.

Sheesh, if I counted now, I would have to confront the fact that I could not possibly plant everything. And that would mean I shouldn't trade.

I ain't riskin' it.

(I've done much better at un-chaffing seeds right away, and getting them sorted, labeled, bagged and filed though. That's a big improvement!)

--Tina
chrizty
15 years ago
lol well i thought i was getting good at keeping my limit down! till peggy reminded me of a order i need to send in n tina do all the seeds not yet packed up count?? lol
gjcore
13 years ago
what an amusing old thread :-)
graanieb
13 years ago
Sure is GJ...good you brought it back.

What seeds I have left now are a full gallon zip lock bag each of flowers, veggies n herbs and about half a gallon of seeds for swapping, fridge crisper almost full...all awaiting on spring.

Bea

Repost from Seed Saving: Do you ever admitt?

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