You know you're a seed saver when ...

Sorry .. means fussy

Xeramtheum - I was just about to go to Big Lots and buy almost the same drawers for mine! I'm using OpenOffice for my seeds/plants database and can search by latin, cultivar, common, or a variety of fields like sun, when to sow, etc. Once I get the drawers home I'm going to have to find a way to cross-reference location tho. Hmm...any advice on that one?

whoa, so not fussy, more scatterbrained than anything. make trades then forget who i trade with, plant things and forget what i plant, or worse, carefully write names on little sticks and have them wash off, so have a bunch of plain sticks ! i sometimes wish i could be fussy.

I use the Avery Design Pro Software to make labels. I use the 5167 size labels as they will fit in to a 3.5 x 2 plastic bag .. I always put the labels inside the bag. As you can see in the picture I have both latin & common name plus date and drawer designation.

sherman - If I weren't fussy I wouldn't know where I put my coffee every morning. The older I get the more OCD I get. It's the only way I can keep track of my keys! LOL

Ah! Very ingenious! Guess I'll be making a stop at Michael's too. :)

i must say i envy all of you with great computer skills. i cannot even begin to work some of those programs. i got the garden tracker one because it was the easiest thing i could find, then someone told me to just use the trade tracker on here. so simple, yet i never thought of it. i just learned how to print the labels that are on the label option here. (dont remember what it is called) they look so neat all printed out.

I never remember where my keys are unless i keep them in my pocket. LOL i really try to be organized but things just seem to get away from me. like my garden. had a plan, drew all kinds of diagrams, then discovered trading on DG and went beserk and have things planted all over with no rhyme or reason ( or name tags in some cases) I have always been like this but as i age it seems to get worse and worse. and i so understand about the coffee cup.

I'm an organizer for the most part as you can see with how I store my seeds. I also make little schematics of my garden as well so I know what and where I planted it.

I also had a problem with markers going bad in the weather so I started making tags out of aluminum foil and those puppy's last, even if stepped on, buried or burnt since they are embossed

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/703648/

I gave up organization years ago. LOL My ex had a place for everything he just couldn't remember where that was. I have stuff everywhere but can find it in a second.

Thanks for all the ideas. I'm not ready for a database yet! I don't have that many seeds, but apparently it won't be long before I need one. The diaper wipe containers are out for the time being. All my babies are in college or are married (but no grandchildren yet). I do label each packet of seeds. Can you print labels off of Dave's Garden? How do you do that? I'll keep watching for more ideas.

go to Extras and then down to printable seed packet labels.

Better, just get the avery software .. it's free .. what's neat about it is that you can print just one label at a time.

http://www.avery.com/avery/en_us/Templates-%26-Software/Software/Avery-DesignPro-for-PC.htm

Thanks for both suggestions. I'll check them out when I have some time. It seems like I'm always learning something new about this site! Everyone is always so helpful.

Every so often I'm ready to leave the house but can't find my keys. I look everywhere. Then i find them IN MY HAND.

Once I was holding them between my teeth, and STILL searched "the places where i should have left them".

I wonder where and when I lost my mind?

Corey

Lol .. I lose things I'm holding in my hand too.

Who would think to look there?

My worst-lost things are things that I carefully put in a "special place" ...
so that "I couldn't possibly lose them".

I can NEVER find those places again!

Corey

Corey-I have those "special places too", when I finally do find the stuff I think "How in the H*ll" did it get there? I've looked all over for my glasses and they've been on my head!
You give me the impression your too young to have these issues. My excuse is my kids.
Lisa

>> too young to have these issues.

Only immature. I'm of adult years and then some.

I have some gray but I DENY having a bald spot on the back of my head. I can't see it, so it is NOT there.

Sometimes I blame the cat.

Corey

I can be sitting on the couch, decide to go into the kitchen and get some tea to drink and when I get in the kitchen I can't remember why I wanted to get to the kitchen. AND its only in the next room within sight of the couch.

Yeah. Sometimes I do the turnaround more than once.

"Hunnh? Oh well.
OH! Now I recall.
Ummm .... what was that again ???
Oh yeah, try again ...
Ummm ... what's my name??"

But it is not senility! Oh no. And not too much of that "LDS" in college.

We are thinking DEEP thoughts, IMPROTANT thoguhts, SEEDHEAD thoughts,
that distract us from these lesser concerns.

That's MY story and i'm sticking to it.

Corey ... I think. Or maybe Rick. That's always a tricky one.

I was always losing my keys & purse so many years ago I found this little owl hook. It was really cute because when you put something on the hook it's wings would raise. I stuck it on the wall in the kitchen and trained myself to always hang up keys and purse the first thing when I come into the house. It works.

Rick, I agree with you. We've just got to many things going on in our heads. Seedheads that is.

I'm sticking to that story also.

Especially when you're in several Robins at once!

Like trying to play chess the night before Christmas AND your birthday AND a lottery drawing.

Corey

hey guys...look what I just found from one of my favorite threads here on DG...

http://www.seedaholic.com

Wonderfull!!!!!!!!! And me with no money til the 17th.

I checked out the link .. they have a lot of interesting plant seeds .. but also a lot of extremely invasive plant seeds and make no mention of it in the description. That's kind of irresponsible.

maybe they are not considered invasive in ireland?

They ship all over the world .. a good example is the Cobea scandens they offer which is literally eating New Zealand alive.

It's time to go into withdrawal....I have already exceeded my seed budget. Now I need some proper heat mats. I used old heating pads last year, but they might not be safe to use this year.....and new seed mats are not cheap. I guess I had better sow most of them outdoor this year...LOL!

I use old heating pads too, been using them for decades .. the problem with the newer ones is that they are all have auto shutdown on them .. I was able to find a number of sites that show how to disable the auto shut down which was helpful.

I have a heated table top greenhouse which is good for plants my cat shouldn't nibble but I'd like some of the seed pads. Certain places on my counter are good for starting seeds but the cupboards prevent putting the green house there so a seed mat would be much more useful there.

I'm looking at your pictures you've posted here Xeramtheum and I'm getting some organizing ideas. On a recent trip the store I saw these media storage containers that were meant for organizing dvds, cdroms and other things. I might pick up some of those.

Xerantheum ~ So these are old ones. No danger of overheating and/or catching fire? One (DG) member told me it was dangerous to use them, but on a Fine Gardening DVD on seed starting it showed a package of a regular heating pad. Yes, I almost bought a new one...well, actually I did buy a new one, then returned it when I found the auto-shutoff. I found 2 of my old ones and used them late last/early this year. I was concerned as they have scorch marks on them now.

As a seed saver I'm learning to know whether your plant is invasive or not. We have pampas grass that my Nana planted ages ago, I wasn't aware it was invasive and just offered some for a trade. No wonder they didn't reply.

Yes...they even use these (pampas grass) in landscape plantings here in Northern CA, though they are listed on the USDA invasive plants list for CA and the PNW.

they sell pampas grass in the nurseries down here and dont care it is invasive. same with salt cedars.

I always put my pads on a folded hand towel and keep it on low which keeps the soil at around 75 - 80 degrees .. I adjust the temperature by using wash cloths between the pad and the pot with the seeds in it - unless the cord is frayed or cracked there shouldn't be a problem .. as I said, my are at least 20 years old and still work fine.

I'm always ragging on Lowes and Home Depot for selling invasives, like Virginia Creeper in the Spring.

when i ask about it no one cares. seems the bottom line is always what sells

Evelyn,

Rick is going to go bonkers over that site .... I, for one, was impress with the slide show.

Mary