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16.1.12

The Seed Sharer

I'm always looking for ways to store seeds I saved from my garden and creative ways to share seeds with other people. When I see a product my mind automatically finds a way that I can put it to use saving and storing seeds. The seed organizer made from a plastic shoe box is one example. Another would be the pocket seed banks made from candy tins. When I saw this container of candy sprinkles for baking I thought it would be a great way to make a gift of some seeds from my garden. After removing all the sprinkles The Seed Sharer was born.



My label on the top of the container is a little crude. You can a nicer label for your Seed Sharer with a printer or by hand if you have nice penmanship. I had neither so I cut out the logo of a seed packet from One Seed Chicago, a greening project I work on that gives away free seeds to gardeners in Chicago.


This Seed Sharer container has five chambers that I filled with seeds. Blackberry lily, Christmas Lima Beans, scarlet runner beans, snack sunflower seeds, 'White Wonder' cucumber, and nasturtium seeds.


I've used a few of these containers to share seeds before and I really liked this particular one because it had two options for the opening that allowed for shaking out small and large seeds.

Besides using these containers to share garden seeds I think they'd be a great option in creating a personal seed bank. This year while updating my seed trade list I realized that I had several seeds that I meant to sow for a school garden's seed library that I'm working on that I never got around to. Keeping them in The Seed Sharer will remind me to sow them this spring because they won't be hidden away in the seed organizer. For more seed saving and seed starting posts see the seed saving page on this blog.




16 comments:

  1. Great idea! I have a multi-chamber container that sprinkles (for baking) came in. Maybe I'll try using it for seeds.

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  2. That is awesome, I love it!

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  3. Ha. I just re-read and saw that that's the same thing you used. Nevermind...

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    1. LOL. No problem. When I set it to publish I was wondering if I made that clear enough in the post. I didn't think I did, but I didn't wan to turn the post into one of those "OMG, look at how clever I am reducing, reusing and recylcing, posts."

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  4. Very clever. A great way to use the container and get those seeds out to be planted!

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  5. I will never forget when I traded with someone online and my seeds arrived in the discarded wrapper of a pack of cigarettes. Your idea is, uhm, much healthier I think!

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  6. This is brilliant, Mr. BT!!! That multi- opening top is fantastic!!!

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  7. Claire McManus6:33 AM

    Hello. I'm just curious... seeds are ok to keep out in the light? I always thought they should be kept in the dark?? I'm VERY new to gardening to any tips anyone has on storing seeds would be great.

    I also read your poppy seed posts. My mum gave me poppy seeds last year and they all failed to grow, but I put them into to pots so perhaps I need to be a bit more mean to them

    I live in London, England and the weather is extremely mild over here but we may get snow yet, it's never predictable, do you think it's worth sowing them now?

    Thank you for all your wonderful posts. I will be sure to stay tuned!

    Claire

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  8. Neat idea! It would definitely make storing seeds simpler.

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  9. What a fantastic idea MBT!

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  10. What a creative repurposing of a container that might otherwise be thrown away! And -- much more more importantly -- it's a environmentally-sound argument for eating a TON of candy sprinkles! ;-)

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  11. Good idea! I store my seeds in plastic bins. Each bin has a letter of the alphabet on it, A-Z. I have so many seeds, I might just have to add a whole new set! The bins are overflowing (yikes..!)

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  12. Wow! I am so glad I found this blog! I've been saving Marigold seeds for decades. I put them in various glass jars (pickle, jelly, sauce), add a gold ribbon with a little biz card sized instruction card to give as gifts.

    I am very glad to see I'm not the only one saving seeds - my hubby thinks it is way too tedious.

    I just started trying to harvest my coneflower seeds and could not find or identify them - thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

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  13. Great idea! I've been compulsively saving empty spice jars for years because they could be used for SOMEthing, and now I know what!

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  14. Um.....BRILLIANT! :)

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