Some Seed Inspiration For You

If this week’s post on seed starting in the summer didn’t get you all jazzed, maybe this will spark just a little inspiration! Last week, as I do every year, I made an inventory of all my seeds… sprawled in the living room, taking stock of all the varieties, categorizing and even color-coordinating. Call it…

Linda Ly

Written by Linda Ly

Seed packets

If this week’s post on seed starting in the summer didn’t get you all jazzed, maybe this will spark just a little inspiration!

Last week, as I do every year, I made an inventory of all my seeds… sprawled in the living room, taking stock of all the varieties, categorizing and even color-coordinating. Call it my inner OCD at work. I feel a strange satisfaction seeing all my tomatoes arranged from Black Cherry to White Duggin and all shades in between. (As I’ve come to realize, oddly, I have very few red tomatoes but plenty in black, pink, orange, green, and white… even stripes!)

I’ve also collected quite a few seeds on my own, saving my favorites to grow year after year. There is something so comforting about having a personal seed vault of sorts. Just in that little $2 packet exists a lifetime of food security and self-sufficiency; and while I’m far from being self-sufficient, being able to walk into a store to buy only meat and dairy is a very empowering feeling.

I store my seeds in old ammo boxes stashed in the walk-in closet, where it’s always at least 10°F colder than the rest of the house. At current count there are just over 200 varieties of vegetables, herbs and flowers, mostly heirlooms, with another 100 on order this week. And I’ve grown almost every single variety I own. What can I say? I’m obsessed with seeds.

Ammo boxes filled with seed packets

Heirloom seed collection

Seeds stored in vintage ammo boxes

I love pulling out these boxes every spring and summer, flipping through the packets and choosing what to sow in the garden. I love trying new varieties I’ve never seen before, from countries I’ve never visited but somehow, somewhere, these seeds have crossed the oceans and passed many hands before making it into mine.

In 10, 20, even 30 years, I’ll still be saving some of my favorite seeds. I’ll hand them down to family and friends, and maybe those will be passed off to strangers. And who knows, those same seeds might make it back around the world to some other garden in the future, spawning a new generation of seed collectors.

Linda Ly

I'm a plant lover, passionate road-tripper, and cookbook author whose expert advice and bestselling books have been featured in Time, Outside, HGTV, and Food & Wine. The National Parks Cookbook is my latest book. Garden Betty is where I write about modern homesteading, farm-to-table cooking, and outdoor adventuring—all that encompass a life well-lived outdoors. After all, the secret to a good life is... Read more »

28 Comments

  1. When you buy a packet of seeds, will they still be viable for the following season if you don’t use them all? Thanks for your help!

    Reply

    1. Most seeds will keep for at least a year if stored properly (cooler temps are best), but different varieties may remain viable only 1-2 years while others have up to 5 years.

      Reply

  2. Great idea! We were looking for a full card catalog but those are expensive, however someone on Craigslist had a couple blocks of them so we got those. So far they are working great…but I do like your idea.

    Reply

  4. You’re a woman after my own heart! What a wonderful way to save seeds . . . Love the ammo boxes! Dah, I never thought of putting my seeds in categories. Seeing yours has inspired me!

    Sure wish I could actually see the names on your seed packets. I live west of Phoenix in zone 9b. It’s about time to begin my seeds for our fall and winter garden.

    Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply

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