Seed catalogs are stacked neatly on the dining table and each time I make a pot of tea, I flip through the pages. But where are those beautiful seed boxes from the past? Nowhere can I find a beautiful, yet practical seed box to keep all my seeds neatly organized and safe, so it’s high time that I make my own.
It’s a dreaded chore to go through my inventory of seed packets from last year, and all the years before that, not only because they are zipped into plastic containers in the basement, but rather out of order after a busy garden season. At the end of the year, it was just not on my to-do list. Perhaps, I am thinking now, if I had a proper seed box, one that matched my artful garden design, I would look forward to the final stage of putting away my seeds. Would a proper seed box make me better organized?
Some of my seed packets go back several years, varieties that I forgot to plant, or several layers of duplicates of favorites, especially lettuce and salad greens that have piled up. There are melons squashes and cucumbers that did not go in the ground because I bought plants instead, and marigolds and zinnias, that needed more time to sprout than I allowed. In most cases, the seeds are still viable, yet there is the temptation to buy fresh each year, just in case.
A lovely seed box design starts by finding an antique chest, setting up dividers, and decorating with old artwork. As charming as wooden boxes with a certain patina are for storing seeds, my knowledge of the proper conditions is a drawback because ideally seeds need to be stored in glass mason jars with a small silica gel to keep the moisture from ruining the seeds. These jars should be kept away from sunlight, and in a place with a steady temperature, and minimum humidity. This rules out most basements, and certainly not in the garden shed, or even refrigerator.
An internet search of seed boxes came up with gorgeous antiques, high priced and too fragile to actually use with any degree of comfort in the garden. I know that many antique seed boxes were actually used as displays, rather than storage. I am on a quest to come up with a seed box that is practical, beautiful and long lasting, and then I’ll get back to the seed catalogs.
