How to Organize Your Seeds
Here are a few ways to organize your collection. Some of it will depend on the size of your collection. Some basic structures are:
1. Alphabetical - all types of seeds are in the same drawer(s) and organized alphabetically by common name. Ex. Beans, Cauliflower, Daisies.
Advantage:
|
Disadvantages:
|
2. Collection is separated into Vegetables, Flowers & Herbs --> plant family --> alphabetical
Downloads to dividers are available at Richmond Grows' "Create a library" page.
NOTE: Flowers and herbs are usually just alphabetically organized within collections.
Downloads to dividers are available at Richmond Grows' "Create a library" page.
NOTE: Flowers and herbs are usually just alphabetically organized within collections.
Advantages:
|
Disadvantages:
|
3. By seed saving level of difficulty & type of plant - Many libraries have seeds organized by "Vegetable, Flowers & Herbs" AND also identify the seed saving level on the cabinet drawer. The basic divisions are often: "super easy, easy & difficult", "easy, moderate & difficult" or "easy and difficult." Downloads to icons to label drawers as "super easy", "easy" and "difficult" are available at RichmondGrowsSeeds.org. Below you can see some images that show the organizational structure, such as the LCL Seed, Sprout & Share Library in Licking County, Ohio that has "easy" and "difficult" labels on drawers. Here is a helpful visual by Dalhousie University in Canada giving a visual of this organizational structure that is posted in their library. Cap Cod Food Hub Seed Library made this visual that helps to explain the seed saving levels for the three-tiered level.
Seed Library Containers
Seed libraries can be large or small, gorgeously hand-crafted to salvaged material and everything in-between. The containers are as diverse as the communities that house them. Find something that works for your community and your budget. See the Featured Libraries page for more images.