Our Top 10 Tips for Storing Seeds

Remember, if you want to save your own seeds, you’ll need to plant open-pollinated varieties. Hybrid varieties will not come back true.

1. If you're saving and storing your own seed, storing seed properly begins with gathering and drying them. We dry seeds on newsprint or plain paperplates or papertowels. Spread your collected seeds on the newsprint and let them dry for a week or so. Write the name of the variety on the newsprint. Once the seeds are dry, we store them in paper envelopes labeled and dated. If we're keeping a garden journal (highly recommended) we record the name and date and any other pertinent information.
   
2. Keep seeds cool and dry. Humidity and warmth shorten a seed’s shelf life.
   
3. We keep seed packets in plastic food storage jars or Mason jars with tight-fitting lids.
   
4. We store seeds in the fridge. If we've had your seed storage jar outside, or out of the fridge for a while, we put the jar back in the fridge without the lid for an hour or so to let the moisture of the outside air dry out. 
   
5. Do not let your seeds freeze. Keep your seed-storage containers well away from the freezer section of your refrigerator.
   
6. Powdered milk will help keep the seeds dry. Wrap 2 heaping tablespoons of powdered milk in 3 or 4 layers of facial tissue, then put the milk packet inside the storage container with the seed packets. Or add a packet of silica gel. Replace every 6 months.
   
7. We store each year’s seeds together and date them. Because most seeds last about 3 years (though some only last a year), we'll know which seeds might be past its prime when planting season comes. We'll allow for this by planting extra or pre-sprouting.
   
8. When we’re ready to plant, we remove seed containers from the fridge and keep them closed until the seeds warm to room temperature. This helps prevent the moisture in the air condensing on the seeds, causing them to clump together, or worse break dormancy and sprout.
   
   
9. We pre-sprout our seeds, especially if they have been in storage more than a year. Preparation for this can be accomplished at storage time: If we dry our seeds on paper towels, the seeds will stick to the towels. We simply roll up the paper towels with the seeds in place. When we are ready to plant, we simply moisten the paper towel and place it in a platic bag or glass jar with a tight lid. If kept in a warm place the seeds will sprout in a day or two. Unroll the towel and tear or cut off pieces with sprouts attached and plant. You'll be able to seed which seeds are viable--they will have sprouted.
    
10. Even if you’re organized, and careful about labeling and storing your seeds, some seeds just will not germinate the following year. Stored sweet corn, in particular, has s low germination rate, and other seeds will only remain viable for a year or two (onions, for example).