Finally, someone has totally discussed how to store seeds and plan sowing them all in one video. I've had 2 photo storage containers, one for flowers and one for veges, for 2 years and have been wracking my brain on how to best use and organize them. I will start your system right after Christmas. Thank you, Bri! Have a wonderful holiday

@Blossomandbranch

5 ай бұрын

So glad it was helpful for you!! Hope you have a very merry Christmas!!! ❤️❤️

@jackielambert7980

5 ай бұрын

Ditto!

@helenlatimer9230

4 ай бұрын

Absolutely agree 👍🏻 thank you so much Bri ! 😊😊😊

I like the binder idea to keep the important info right with the seeds, that’s a great idea. It should be noted that keeping the seeds dry should be prioritized before the cold. If you put seeds from tender things in the freezer with too much moisture the cells will burst and they won’t germinate (master gardener info). I keep mine in the cool basement near the de-humidifier that runs daily and I have 5-8 year old seeds that still germinate. For most people, their fridge is much too humid for seed storage. Thanks for the info, happy new year!

@lckychrmsrr

18 күн бұрын

Yup, dry and DARK as well. Since most of us aren't creating seed vaults for end of the world scenarios, we don't need to fuss with keeping all our seeds cold/frozen. Protecting them from moisture and light are the keys. Stratification is a whole other thing.

You are so generous with all your content! Your expertise, your work ethic and sustainable approach are so inspiring, whilst others may be selling very little or build a brand on pretty pictures mostly. Super grateful! ✨️🧡

Thank you for the binder idea! I hadn’t thought of printing off the info sheets from Johnny’s. Last year was my first year starting my flower farm. I don’t have a green house. I started everything with winter sowing in milk jugs and gallon ziploc bags. I started putting them out in January and kept on adding until mid April. It worked! God is good!

I would totally pay for a PDF of some/all of this amazing planner. Anyone else? 😊 It might need a little audio commentaries on the side for each page where there are scribbles recounting the lessons learnt from experiements and tips. Totally golden material! 😍

Cellphones not only listen to our conversations, they listen to our thoughts! 😂 Just today I though about the way to organize my seeds, I didnt search up for it, didn't watch any videos and here it is! Just what I needed! Im going to order a box like that and will save the video to go back to. Thank you!

I've been farming and gardening for years and never seen the photo box catalog by weeks. Direct sow and transplant. Brilliant! I'm doing it. There always so much to learn!

Excellent ideas! I really appreciate the way you ‘SHOW and tell’ and are concise, yet thorough. I’m going to be reorganizing for sure! I’d love to know your tips and tricks for ordering seeds. It gets so expensive so fast.😊

Oh, thank you thank you thank you for sharing. I never realized how many boxes of unopened seed packets I have collected over time. Now I know why they are unopened as I never knew where they were! Happy 2024 gardening.

Hi, just wanted to say that I really appreciate you making this video. I never thought to buy that plastic- photo/seed- storage -sorter that a lot of flower farmers and gardeners on KZread and Instagram have, only because I have never seen an explanation on how they utilized and organized their seeds with it. And I agree with you, it is intimidating when you have to figure out to organize your seeds when they all have different start dates, different germination preferences and so on. So to have you explain how you use yours, it definitely helps! I love your binder idea to store growth information and your trials, I'm going to start on my own binder before the year ends so that it sets me up for next year. Thank you for sharing and making this video!!! 💚💚💚💚💚

I am a binder gal with my day job, and now will begin my seed starting binder because of your generous sharing of wonderful ideas! Thank you so very much! ❤️

Thank you so much for this system; I just bought a container like yours. I had one for my jewelry, never thought to buy one for my seeds. You are so informative in all your videos. I'm binge watching you right about now!! So glad I found you! And yeah I'm about to "like" all your videos, lol!

Being organized is very much a secret to success. One thing I would add about having a calendar that is also helpful is being able to count ahead from the planting date to know the correct time to harvest.

@sajmt1414

5 ай бұрын

Great idea

@TearDrop455

4 ай бұрын

Yes! I use a planner notebook (weekly/monthly) I dedicate time before the season to mark out what to plant and when to plant. I also mark if I’m starting seeds indoors or direct sowing in garden. 😊

This really is a masterclass! Soooo many gems. Will be referencing back many times. Bought my photo box several weeks ago. Looking forward to the quiet after the holidays, my seed catalogs, seed packets, graph paper, photo box, this video and dreaming/scheming by the fire. To all who see, very happy holidays. Good health and fantastic gardening in ‘24

Bless your heart for this video. Others have addressed this but have not made it clear for the cold season plants. I took a calendar last year and recorded the highs and lows EACH day, and found our last frost was earlier than expected, and missed a few plant start dates, some packets with poor germination, lots of hailstorms, what a year! I had my photo box divided into warm and cool season flowers. I like your idea better! Thanks for sharing your experience!

Zounds! This old gardening granny is starting a 'BLF Calandar!' What an excellent idea and way to schedule seed starting. Btw, I also use those plastic photo storage boxes for seeds - have three now. They stack great in my seed fridge. Excellent video! My thanks.

I've used parts of these ideas but seeing you bring it all together really helped. Sorting seeds by timeframe instead of just type makes a lot of sense. I have a calendar from a favorite artist waiting to add the weeks labels to and already got the photo storage. I love the binder idea and had started something similar with a planner but was handwriting everything! Johnny's info sheets would be much faster! Thanks for sharing your system. You make such helpful videos!

Just found your channel this morning. And love this first video for me to watch.

Thank you for sharing these GREAT tips!

@Blossomandbranch

4 ай бұрын

You are so welcome!🤗

I would love it so much if you could share photos of your wall calendar by month to screenshot! I work the same way with a wall calendar! I am in zone 7 and pretty much follow the same schedule from the timing you have mentioned in your videos.

Thank you for this video. I have to tell you it was like a light bulb turned on. I do use the same container to store my seeds but never thought of organizing them by transplant/direct sow date. Wow! so much easier =)

@Blossomandbranch

4 ай бұрын

So glad to hear!

So validating!! I have a binder just like yours with the johnnys printouts in sleeves with notes!! I kinda of theoretically organize my seeds similarly to yours, but I've been complicating the organization factors and hadn't settled into a permanent system. I like yours though and am gonna go for it! I have a big calendar like yours and note some similar things. I had planned on getting a new one each year, but the more I write on it the harder it is to imagine starting over from scratch. Now I realize I don't have to! Thank you for sharing :)

Wonderful tips and tricks.

As a new homesteader, this will be so helpful. I had a garden for 5 years and it's been a challenge for me to get ready for the growing season. I'm super excited to change how I do this. Your videos will be so helpful.

I keep it fairly simple. I like photo sheets in a large binder. It holds all seeds except large seeds as they take up too much room. The larger seeds get put in a ziplock bag and boxed-corn, beans, peas, squash. I organize seeds alphabetically by type (broccoli, carrots, lettuce, ect. and herbs the same way, but they have a section of their own as it’s a large category. So easy to find and they are all displayed on a page-front and back are readable. Flowers could be done the same way, but many are from my own grown seed and in large quantities so I bag them up and use a plastic tote box. These seeds are planted out every year and I am trying out storing them in my shed this year as they take a lot of room and it’s cooler than the house-we are in a cool zone 5-however this year is weird because Halloween was 38*F, Thanksgiving 41*F and Christmas 51*F!😮. It’s a bit concerning. Rain for Christmas is not normal. I keep all the empty seed envelopes in a small box if I need to go back and review info. Not sure why some store seeds where there is humidity as I believe cool, dark and dry is best and never had a problem. The binder seeds I store in their own safe with a rechargeable dehumidifier. For journals I have a small monthly planner that has a lot of space for keeping notes-found mine at local hardware and they have them every year for around $6. It has a notes area and large monthly calendar. It’s so easy to keep by my chair and jot down daily things of what I did, still need to do, what is working/or not and daily weather when I get in from the gardening day. And for everything else I use a binder with refillable notebook paper. This is so versatile as you can add pocket folders or anything that can be clipped or printed and 3 hole punched. If something needs reorganized or remade it’s easy to do. I keep receipts, tags, articles, any plan layouts like for home orchard and plant names-very versatile-it’s my go to for info that is not used on a daily basis, but more for when I need to know permanent plant names or stuff like pruning, irrigation or interesting information. Everyone has their own style and for those starting out you will find yours also. I just try to make it as easy as possible because otherwise I may find it a chore and not bother keeping good notes. I’m old school and prefer paper and pen. Sitting at a computer reminds me of office work😊. Calendar: I use to use the free calendars from businesses and still use them, but I found the yearly planner had more room to write notes. When recording frost dates and counting back I use a black marker and put the number on Sunday to the far left and count backwards from spring frost week from 1-14. For me it’s easier to see at a glance. Most seeds need 4-6 weeks start date and some up 8-12, BUT don’t forget to add germination time to those weeks because some like peppers and some flowers take a bit to germinate and that time is not included on the seed packet for start date. Weather: A note about our ever increasing warmth-Z5a, WI. This last spring it was so HOT-90s all May and who wouldn’t plant especially when last spring frost is approximately May 12th? Well we had a late freak frost Memorial Day weekend and NO warnings from local meteorologists! It was Devastating!! It wiped out many plants or set them severely back. The worst thing besides losing veg plants is the permanent plants are breaking dormancy and are way too far advanced and sometimes getting killed and is what happened to grapes. The berries were badly burned and were looking so lush and the potatoes Pftt! Basically they all had to regrow if they still had the energy to do so. I almost threw the towel in. The reason I’m mentioning all this is because I’m changing the way I start my transplants and protecting my fruit plants. I will not be starting veg seeds Too early next year. There is no advantage to having a 2’ tomato plant. I will make exceptions for peppers, onions and some flowers like geraniums and petunias because they take longer, but by starting later I can heat the greenhouse easier in warmer spring weather, plant June 1st or so and miss some pest pressures by planting later. And I’m going to put a light layer of burlap over berry/grape plants to keep them shaded longer in hopes it delays bud break. I mean it’s going to be 52*F and Rain this Christmas and that is not good in cold country. Sorry so chatty, but I believe our weather is changing how we need to garden and timing is a big part of using a calendar. Thank you for sharing your system to get ideas! That is how we all learn. Your garden area looks wonderful!

If I had a giant seed storage system, I’d go bankrupt buying seeds. I use the binder system: dated with notes and how it did and where I put them. I totally agree with that method. Your hair looks cute!

Right now I am in the stage of getting my seeds under control. I am the kind of person to buy seeds & think "let me get 2 more packs so I can have free shipping 🤦‍♀️ i only have about 16 square feet to work with (plus some pots) & half of that goes to potatoes! I started a notebook with some gardening note but I think I need to upgrade to a binder.

I'm always looking for a better way to plan my garden. I have been working on my garden binders for years, covering complementary planting, seed identification, germination rates of seed brands, etc. They bumped us down to zone 8 this year. Thank you for this informative video.

This is SO helpful for a novice flower farmer learning and soaking up all the knowledge!! You will forever be in my brain each year when seed starting. Thank you!

NICE! And here I thought I had categorized my seed (same photo box) storage in a great way. Pat on back, I also did Direct Sow and (Start) Indoors. MAGIC BINDER! I’m loving this presentation! I know the first time I germinated seeds, I had a mixed bag of dates. So…..one tray would have non-germinated seeds along with 1” tall seedlings. Kudos to Johnnys on the detail info - I will definitely follow your lead. 👍🏻 Thank you!

@joannc147

5 ай бұрын

Re: organize….I also have a bunch of seeds purchased at a seed supply store. My plan (🤣🤣🤣) is to grow oodles of cover crops for soil nutrition as well as forage crops for my hens and meat rabbits. So…..lots of lil brown bags of seeds. All tucked into a carton. NOT a good system for me. 🤷🏻‍♀ I now see how I can organize these with mason jar storage and the same Magic Binder treatment….HURRAH!

I have changed the way I organize my seeds so many times throughout the years. From alphabetically, to spring / summer / fall, to sowing date, etc. In currently storing them according to their season + sowing date, & I store them in magazine holders that are about 4" wide. I have a separate magazine holder for veggies, cutflowers, regular landscape/bedding flowers. So spring crops like lettuce, brassicas, peas, etc. are in the front, & in aphabetical order & things like melons, tomatoes, & peppers are in the back... Cold living cutflower ingredients like bachelor buttons, larkspur, snapdragons, etc. are In the front, & things like marigolds, zinnias, & sunflowers are in the back. It helps to not have to sort thrpugh so many seeds in tye very beginni g of the year when im seed starting cold hardy crops! I like your idea of separating depending on direct sowing vs. Seed starting inside & # of weeks before last frost! I also have a huge garden planner, but I use "The Happy Planner" notebooks & planners. I love their yearly planners because theyre made to where the pages can be removed, & new pages can be replaced. You can add lined, dotted, or graph paper anywhere throughout the planner. (I hate when I mess up on a paper, & have to rip it out, with most planners, & I love that you can add in a sketch of a raised bed or flower bed, or literally anything)

I organize my seeds in a similar way, but I haven't yet invested in any photo boxes. I go through my seeds at the beginning of the year to determine what I want to grow, and then rubber band them together by sowing date with a post-it label. I use separate piles for direct sown seeds versus those I start indoors, and those that I start using the winter sowing method. With stuff that I succession sow, I move the packets on to the next appropriate pile after sowing the first succession. It works great!

Love my farm calendar! I use a bound calendar with months/days with lots of writing space on days of the week. Great video!

Wow! This was SO helpful!! I just recently decided the best way to organize, is certainly by when I want/need to plant! Not sure why this never occurred to me before, but it just makes sense!! Also doing the good old fashioned paper calendar thing!! I did it last year, and while I still missed some dates, I did a lot better than just relying on my memory!! Thanks for the show and tell! SO HELPFUL!!

Sounds like a system that really works. First video watched on your channel.

Very helpful information. Thank you so much for sharing!

@Blossomandbranch

4 ай бұрын

You are so welcome!

So helpful! And I love that you’re always sitting on the floor 😅

This so excites me I have the same seed holder got it at Michael's Usually I start caressing my seeds like Jewels in January zone 5 although they are saying we could be zone 6 I don't buy that at all😮..Thanks Enjoyed watching this❤CHRISTmas Blessings 🎄

I live the calendar method. I’ve actually been using that and it’s worked wonders for me!!

Kindred spirits on this topic for sure. I’ve been collecting same info for several years in a spreadsheet and it has all the seeds and sets Ive planted and it has a calendar. Between thanksgiving and Christmas I save the previous years and reset a new file for the upcoming year. I go through my seed list sheet pick out what I’m growing this year and the spreadsheet has the smarts to populate a grow list from what I select and provides seed start date or if direct sow. Then I go through the seed catalogues pick out new varieties I want to try and I add them to my seed list with same type info you collect. I have found Johnnys to be reliable for that as well. Those get added to current year grow list and then I update the monthly calendar sheets in my spreadsheet and print out to June and redo the process again for a fall garden. It’s almost as much fun doing this process as harvesting vegetables and flowers. I used a Dan’s Sausage box for my seeds that I have put grown so your photo box looks like a real good option to transition too. Thanks for the info.

I can attest to the appreciation for this video and sharing valuable information and ideas.... I grew up on a farm in northern Indiana and my Mom certainly had a green thumb bc I don't think we ever had plants die... but we also had black muck dirt to grow in which was amazingly rich in nutrients..... I now live in the mountains and not so fortunate on the good soil as its all clay and I have to build all my own beds (I add a few each year as this can be very expensive). BUT that being said she never used charts, planners, or anything and somehow she was able to make it all work.... with 11 kids to raise on her own (my Father died of Cancer when he was 33 and she was 32) to boot.... talk about homesteader skills!! She canned and worked that farm and fed us all on her own merit.. those type of women are hard to find these days. This will certainly help me in my endeavors for trying to grow plants she never grew and I have zero experience with like flowers, cabbages, kale.... this will be my fourth year and am more excited on the organizing now that Ive stumbled upon your amazing help!! THANK YOU!!!!!!!

I stumbled across you last week and am loving your channel! ❤

Total game changer information. Thank you.

Just what I needed to know about!

I love this organizational system! I had the same containers for my seeds, but did not have them organized like this. It makes so much sense! Thank you for sharing it!🙏

I had also been using a binder with photo sleeves, but this looks so much better and easier to organize by inside start date, outside start date and flowers versus herbs versus greens versus veg!! Plus, Michael's has these on sale right now for $14.99 (from $41) - sale only on until Christmas Eve! (BTW, my plant and seed database is in Excel spreadsheet b/c I am a math geek.....)

@erbliving6741

5 ай бұрын

THANKS for that info! I see they are $12.59 right now instead of $42!!!

Thank you that was very helpful. I also like to use a paper calendar! I like the container you use but I don’t think it will fit in my mini fridge where I store my seeds so I will try and find something similar but smaller. I really appreciate all the flower farmers that make videos. It is so helpful for me as I am pretty new to farming. I have been a gardener for a long time but farming is a whole other ball of wax! I do farming with autistic students which adds another dimension and challenge!😅

I’ve been checking back every day since this video to see your next seed video!! 🤍🤍🤍 loved this one!

Brilliant! Using the same calendar for many years! Last minute gift idea for hubby. As always, thanks Brie!

Wish I could start seeds early. I live in a basement with 2 cats and garden in containers on my tiny outdoor space. I save my seeds like you do in a photo storage box.

Oh. My. Sakes. Thank you so so so much!!! Girl…I found you at the right time. Your brain thinks like mine does. I just said I needed a binder with tabs or something because it just works for me. I need to go look for those printouts. I wanted so bad to plant sweet peas this year and I just love that they is the example you used 😊 thank you so much.

Love the idea of using a larger calendar for a number of years. Never thought of that but it makes so much sense. Dates are basically the same and why keep re writing the same info into a new calendar. The only other containers I would add are for seeds that need cold stratification and/or can be winter sown. Can't wait to get started with your system.

Great video, thank you. Hope you take us along your seed startung journey this coming spring :) would love to see your methods

I used to sort my seeds according to planting dates but I lost overview of the varieties I owned and I had more seeds than I could actually sow. Then I started to sort according to plant families but I lost overview again. Now I have sorted the seeds into four binders and will try out this method for the next few seasons. I like how you add important notes - I will add that too. Thank you!

Awesome info and cute haircut!

Thank you for this really important video! You answered my previous question.

@Blossomandbranch

4 ай бұрын

I'm so glad! 🙂

I just keep my seeds in a box. Your idea is better. I did just look at all my seeds and realized I have way to many peppers 🌶. So this next year I should plant them all to get them out of my box!

Your system is brilliant! Thank you for sharing!

Great information on seed organization. Many times I have missed seed starting times and had poor fruiting results at the end of the growing season. I’m going to get a calendar, as well as expand on my notebook notations too. Looking forward to the seed germination testing you’re going to post.

I have the same bin, and just got another for flowers as I’ve started growing those too. 😊 I like the binder idea! I started a spreadsheet last year and that was helpful, but yeah, if you can just print the info from Johnny’s, that’d be great and have room to make notes. Like you, I also prefer a large calendar where I can see ALL the details for the month at once, instead of on the tiny phone.

Blew my mind a little bit. 🤯🤯🤯. THANK YOU!!

Wow! I've been using the photo organizers for a couple of years but it never occurred to me to sort by last time to plant! Thank you, I'm going to be using a few of your techniques this year and see if they help me stay more organized.

You are so helpful! I love the calendar idea because at 63, I really don't like the phone. I live in a cold climate, 5a Maine but of course my house is warm should I store my seeds in a fridge, I have in the basement a small one. I will be starting a garden this year both veg and flower and love all the information you share, thank you.

@sbffsbrarbrr

5 ай бұрын

I have an unfinished basement that is around 60-65°F year round. I keep my seeds in the basement in those photo storage containers and they last for years. So from my experience, a fridge in not necessary unless you have an extra one.

@marypalmer2088

5 ай бұрын

@@sbffsbrarbrr Thank you so much!

love using my photo box's for seeds!

Thank goodness I found you. Looking forward to learning so much.

@Blossomandbranch

4 ай бұрын

Welcome aboard! ❤️❤️

Girl! Thank you so very much!!! This makes so much sense.

Love your organization. I have the seed plastic containers, but I need to start a binder and calendar. Time to get busy!

Finally, someone in my zone! New Subscriber here! Thank you for sharing!

Wow! Thank you!! My biggest problem and I thank you for breaking it all down😇 I have learned soo much from you over the past years. Thank you! Thank you!!

I really appreciate your video, very helpful! Will try the system this season! One question, how do you handle the topic of succession sowing in this system?

Wow - super helpful. Thank you. Found you by random - and just subscribed.

Love your storage of weeks before last frost 🌼🥳

Very helpful information. Thank you so much!

Great video. First time I've seen a a KZread video make this look so easy

Brilliant! And so comprehensive! Thank you thank you thank you! I hung on every word and learned so much! Now I’m motivated to get organized and put it all together! 🌸💕 …and oh hey-I was just thinking-it’s not gardening season yet. OH YES IT IS!

Awesome organization video! Thank you ❤

Chaos garden! Like that idea ❤ Thanks for the tips Reusing the same calendar year after year- nice 👍🏼

That was extremely helpful. Thank you. I organize my seeds alphabetically but keep track of when to plant them on paper. Your system makes planting day easier, though. I assume you move seeds you succession plant forward to their next planting date.

This was a fantastic video that I did not know I needed great job on your organization… This is now my new goal for 2024

I would love for you to do a video about growing flowers for an event! I have incorporated flowers into my veg gardens for a few years and want to be able to grow enough flowers for my wedding but do not know where to start.

Thank you for this video! I’m new to gardening in Las Vegas 💛

Extremely useful. I immediately ordered my calendar. Since I am in 8a South Carolina, I have to start early than you.

Awesome! I made a seed organization notebook last year and refer to it when preparing to order seeds. I also created a calendar in Microsoft Word and noted the weeks until last/first frost along with seed sowing sheets to track date sown, germination, transplant date and various notes. Unfortunately within a few months I was totally overwhelmed with the garden and neglected to take notes on a few things. At the end of the season I did go back and update a few things that worked. Just moved my seeds into an old photo organizer last month but will need to find a larger container for beans, peas and corn. Thank you so much as I plan to incorporate some of your ideas into my current setup. 🙂

Thank you so much. I learned so much from you ! I will be trying my hand a soil blocking this year. So I’ll have to review your soil blocking videos. Wish me luck. ❤️

Thank you so much!! I am going to find tune my seed storage based on this video. Also, I have tried to keep a garden binder forever and have failed every time, I know the way you're doing it will work for me!

Thank you l truly appreciate instuction videos

Love the organization ideas. It is much easier than what I was doing. Thank you for sharing.

I also have the plastic photo case - but your info on the calendar and the notebook - genius! Thank you Bre!

I bought those at Amazon last year - very helpful

This was so helpful! Thank you so much for sharing your process. I will be adjusting some things in my upcoming planning thanks to your ideas.

This was super helpful!

This is so useful thank you! I haven’t found a useful way to store my seeds so I don’t know exactly what I have, I love the photo boxes, just ordered one! Thanks so much for this video 😊🌱🌼

Awesome!! Thank you so much for this video!!! We are 1st year homesteaders and I have been trying to figure out how to organize all my seeds!!!

@Blossomandbranch

5 ай бұрын

Glad it was helpful! ❤️

Very well done. Thank you.

Nice system! Thank you.

Brilliant - I’m impressed & appreciative. Now, to go and completely restructure my seed (photo) box! Thank u!

Very helpful. Thank you.

Thank YOU!!!!

@Blossomandbranch

4 ай бұрын

You're welcome!

I've always organised my seeds by location in my garden but find it clunky. Will have to try it your way (we don't have frosts really, but I've found for me Mid-October when we start getting more sun works well for me!). I also love the MSDS binder 😄 Most Successful Data on Seeds?

I store my seeds in the same way. It is very helpful My seed viability tests are sometimes how I will germinated harder seeds with tough outer shells. I dampen a paper towel, lay out my seeds in one side, cover with other side of damp towel. Label plastic baggy date, name and type.