Now, it is time to go through my seeds and decide which need to be restocked or replaced (because of age). Fortunately, I have a system for storing and tracking them.
First, all the seeds are kept in capped vials with a number on the top. Yes, those are "specimen containers". I found them cheap 10 years ago somewhere. The tray makes for easy carrying and finding the numbered vials.
The seed tray is kept in a basement refrigerator that I also use as a root cellar and bulk frozen food storage. They last longer sealed and chilled... The open vials remind me that that seed is used up. The 0-99 series is for flowers and herbs, the 100+ series is for veggies.
Second, a list has the seed name and type, the year of purchase, and the vial number. I keep it on Excel because the columns are easy to manage. But I also print out 2 copies for safety. One stays in the seed tray, the other in a 3x5" card file (more on that below).
BTW, that's only 1/2 the list. I had to fold it to make it large enough to be readable here.
The smaller the seeds, generally the shorter they last. So I'll go through the list looking for ones that seem old or I don't like. For example, I'll be replacing all the corn (111-115) this year. The Bon Appetit is too old, and I didn't like the Golden Bantam. Far too starchy for me.
The third part of my system is calendar and a 3x5" card file. That is for specific weekly instructions for each crop. On the calendar, I simply find the average last frost date and write "0" on the closest weekend. Then going backwards I write -1, -2, -3..., etc for each weekend; forward from there it is of course 1, 2, 3... so I have "weeks til" and "weeks after" the average last frost date. Those are the basis for the card file instructions.
Each file card has a specific crop, a specific numbered week, and instructions for what to do with that crop that week.
Each week has it's own tab in the card file box. Week 0 might have individual cards for tomatoes, cabbage, leeks, radishes and cucumbers; week 2 might have cards for radishes, corn, broccoli, beans, and melons.
I have a separate series of cards for Spring planting and Fall planting (counted from average first frost date in October. Some crops have many cards for the same purpose (for succession planting of radishes every 2 weeks for example).
The cards are, of course, geared to my specific location (Southern MD USDA Zone 7A) and gardening habits (using protective covers outside on some crops). It may seem a bit complicated. Some people just remember this stuff easily, I don't. And some people trust their gardening by the weather each year, I don't. And some people don't like to keep records, I do. It works well for me.
If you have any questions about it, leave me a comment or email me: yardenman-2118 AT comcast DOT net. (replace the caps with the symbols)
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