Howdy folks!
Was hoping someone could suggest where I can order some seed packets "ready made". I realize I can download templates, then cut and glue them to form a packet but I'd really like to cut corners!
If I could order a box of blank ready-make packets I was hoping to run them thru the printer to label them (like one would do envelopes).
Anyone have any source for something like that? Please?
Pwetty please??
Ready made seed packets?
Shoe,
try the #1 Coin Envelopes at Staples. a box contains 250 envelopes for $6.00 tax included.
edited to add: try also the small plastic 2"x1" @ the 99 cents store.
This message was edited Sunday, Dec 15th 4:37 PM
I don't have a source, I've just bought return address labels and print those. Then I put it on the blank packets. You could do this as a last resort.
Thanks MaVie...that is what I've been using, the coin envelopes. Was thinking of somehow making the envelopes more personalized (like printing a logo on them for if/when I get my Scif store open). I'll check out Staples, maybe they have a selection of different kinds of envelopes.
Esther, great minds think alike! That's what I've been doing also. (Matter of fact, those labels are one of the few things I have figgered out how to print correctly!)
Hi Horseshoe - one thing I recently tried was the #3, @ 1/2 X 4 1/2 coin envelopes - and then peel and stick labels that I ran through the printer. After you print them, easy just to peel and stick.
I get my seed envelopes from the local printing supply house. They are 3-1/2 x 5. They go through my Canon S600 printer just fine. The local supply company is called Kelly Paper Company, they are a chain. If you phone a printer they may tell you where they shop for their paper and envelopes.
Check the glued corners before you buy, sometimes there is a gap that little seeds can sneak through. The pix was taken before I bought this printer and shows a label glued on the envelope.
I have been using coin envelopes from the bank and seed envelopes from the local 'mercantile' (a 'General Store' that has been here since the 13th century), both identical in size and complimentary. However, over the last two years I have noticed a marked difference in the viability over time of seeds stored in sealed plastic 'craft bags' (little bitty ziplocs I finally found in the crafts dept. at Walmart) and paper packets.
The ones in the airtight plastic pouches (or airtight jars or pill bottles) have not lost any noticeable rate of germination in two years, while those in paper packets have gone down between 10% and 80% (depending on the kind of seed and the permeability of the seed casing), and some have lost that much in three to four months.
I just posted in the Japanese Morning Glory Co-op that I have noticed that Japanese seeds are packed in airtight foil and plastic packets, and their seeds are always fuller than those I buy domestically in paper packets.
I've read that letting the seed dry to 5% moisture content is ideal, which I equate with packing the seed when they have dried thoroughly, but have not lost their shape/plumpness. If they start to shrivel, they're getting too dry.
Striking the right balance can be tricky. Too dry, and they become lifeless, shriveled, little rocks (that is extreme -- at that point they would break into dry powder if crushed). Too moist, and they are prone to rot before germinating. Though they may seem to be still firm, excessive moisture allows the seed to begin to slowly decompose, then quickly rot when they are soaked and/or planted.
Being stored at exactly the right humidity has resulted in wheat from Egyptian tombs and beans from Mexican caves, both thousands of years old, to germinate. But that is rare enough that I know of only these two examples in recorded history. [The wheat and beans have been propagated and are available commercially now.]
Incidentally, you can choose sizes of plastic craft bags that correspond with Avery label sheets (Word has templates for Avery labels). I'm not so concerned about their esthetic appeal (though I can appreciate it), so my seed IDs and info are generally scribbled onto whatever labels are at hand and snipped to size.
Buy a rubber stamp set and some markers. I'm sure Alex would love to color them for you. ;)