NEW TO SEED SAVING - need info

How do you people save your seeds? After collecting, where do you save them, and keep them separate in an organized way? I have many plants I want to seed and share next year and would like to get some info so I can do this right, keep them organized, yet not use much space to do it.

Thanks!

You'll find some great tips in the seed saving forum.

Everyone has their own method. When I collect seed, I break them out of the pods and wrap them in kitchen paper towel to dry in a cool, dry cupboard for at least 2 weeks (depending on seed). You will need to write on the towel or attach a label so you know what the seeds are. I try to clean away as much of the broken pod or chaff as possible although on some seeds it's hard to tell which is which.

When I'm absolutely sure they are dry, they go into a paper envelope or plastic ziplock (only when they are completely dry can they be stored in plastic or they will rot very quickly), again a clearly written label is attached.

Then they go into a shoe box in alphabetical order and in separate boxes according to type of plant i.e. bulbs, climbers etc and at present are stored in a cool cupboard in the porch, some store them in the fridge but I don't have the room. They should be stored somewhere that remains a fairly constant temperature as far as possible with low humidity. Some people pop a bag of silica in to keep the box dry too.

So a quick recap is Clearly Written Labels are paramount for trading. Drying Off Period of several weeks and depending on seed. Clean, Dry Packaging (plastic only when you are absolutely certain) and Clean Dry Cool Storage area.

One last thing, I was caught out well and truely this year. I didn't trade much last year and I don't have a great deal of time to trade this year, but still collected and bought seed in. Now I'm loaded to the gills with seed I just don't have the space to grow and they are taking up a large part of my cupboard. If you want to save on space, don't collect any more than you have space for *G*

karrie
baa has given you great info, but you may also want to try doing a search on
seed saving
or
saving seed
and see what else you come up with.
There has been a lot of discussion about how to info on the subject of seed saving and you may find some other useful information to help you.
I am also very new to actually saving seeds, last year was my first attempt at saving from my own gardens. I was amazed at how much information I could find here by doing searcher in various ways.
Good luck