Store Your Own Seeds

Build your own seed bank by storing seeds from your own garden (or that of a generous neighbor).

Now is the time to harvest seeds – before the fall rains and early winter frosts. Here are a few storage ideas to get you started. (For DIY instructions, see How to Save Seeds at Mr. Brown Thumb.)

Above: Burgon and Ball’s Seed Storage Envelopes made of reusable paper with adhesive closures. Available at Williams Sonoma Agrarian ($9.95 for a pack of 20) and, for UK readers, through Burgon and Ball (£3.95 for a pack of 20).

Above: Letterpress Seed Saving Packets are custom printed by San Francisco’s Austin Press in black ink on matte paper; $9.95 for a set of 12 (six each of the mushroom and bird designs) at Williams Sonoma Agrarian.

Above: Use a rust-proof Steel Seed Box as a seed vault. It measures 8-by-5.5 inches; $14.95 at Williams Sonoma Agrarian. For rare seeds, see “A Bank for Rare Seeds in Petaluma.”