“From your favorite Seed Supplier comes the beauty of your seed success…the Seed Packet Organizer!!! For just a few hours of your time, you will get not just 1 but 24 pockets of successful seed sowing. That’s right, for just a few hours of your time, you too will be one of the most successful seed growers. And best of all, this advice is absolutely FREE!! Here’s how it works!”

Ok, yes, I’ve been watching WAY to much tv during the holidays! But I will be wandering the aisles looking for seeds to grow soon and I’m inspired by organizing and simplifying these days. Part of the fun with growing your plants from seed is having a successful yield. I’ve found that with the excitement of selecting my treasured seeds, I get easily overwhelmed upon arriving home and dreaming out my garden.  What to plant and when?  My head is spinning with happy pretty delicious yields and I am biting my nails to figure out how to start and sow my seeds all at their own window of perfection.

This craft was inspired by some cute wall hangings I saw that were made of fabric which stored knick knacks for gardening. This is a more utilitarian spin on that idea with no sewing involved. I promise your work will pay off in spades…pun intended. An additional benefit to the project is that you will be able to hang it on the back door of a closet, cupboard, garden shed or craft room in my case.It’s up, out of the way and accessible! If you end up not using all of it for your seed packets, you can trim off the excess space or use the holders for supplies, such as  gloves and garden stakes.

Seed timing can vary greatly with some needing to be planted “12-16 weeks Outdoors before the average first fall frost” (parsnip) to “16-20 weeks Indoors before the average last spring frost” (compass plant). All the directions for planting are right there on your packet. But, depending on the region where you live and plant, this timing can get pretty interesting.

Step 1:

My recommendation is to start this project by creating the Seed Packet Organizer first. This creates the framework for the seeds that you buy. Like labeling categories in a school binder, you will know where to put the packets after the labeling is done. Everything in it’s place.

Step 2:

Now, find out when your averages are for “last spring” and “first fall” frost. Each city/town has its own dates. I used Longmont, Colorado so my dates are: Spring 5/20 and Fall 9/18. Your dates will be different than this, so check them and write it down.

Step 3:

Get out your year ’round 2011 calendar and start to backtrack your dates. The list of dates to reference are below with the suggested pocket labels. You are researching 22 “dates” based on the spring and fall frosts. I found that numbering my weeks was the easiest way to keep track.

Step 4:

Now, go get some seeds!!! If you’re like me, you want to grow a BUNCH of wonderful things. You’re inspired by the beautiful display in the nursery center and have a hankering to try something new as well as revisit some old favorites. Refer to your Botanical Interests Sowing Guides to help you once you get home. Sort each packet in your finished organizer and looky there!!! Your schedule for sowing and transplanting is made!!! Done!! Go have some tea and let the schedule lead the way!!

Supplies:

1. Store bought door hanging “Shoe Organizer” with 24 sleeves of storage
2. Paper card stock which is sturdy but easy to cut, any color you like
3. Paper cutter or flexible hand with sharp scissors…tearing is an option too and very artistic!
4. Bold writing pen/pencil so you can see your notes easily
5. Cute binder clips to hold the paper in place or just slide the paper into the pocket, your choice.

Instructions:

1. Take your shoe holder and hang it on the back of a door.
2. Cut card stock paper into 3-1/2” x 7”. You will need 24 of them. (maybe more for redo’s)
3. Now with your pen, write down the following suggested pocket labels. Each card gets its own label with your weekly timing. See my photo samples to help you along.
4. Now flip over the card and write down some of the suggested alternate labels to schedule outdoor sowing, transplanting and harvesting. The concept is to keep the packet of seeds in the appropriate pocket label and then you will always know their timing!!

The following are the suggested pocket labels for the organizer.  I’ve separated them into 4 major groups with a few miscellaneous but applicable additions.

Group 1- Sowing Indoors Before Average Last Spring Frost:

1. Sow Indoors (insert your dates here) 16-20 weeks Before Last Spring Frost
2. Sow Indoors (insert your dates here) 12-16 weeks Before Last Spring Frost
3. Sow Indoors (insert your dates here) 10-12 weeks Before Last Spring Frost
4. Sow Indoors (insert your dates here) 8-10 weeks Before Last Spring Frost
5. Sow Indoors (insert your dates here) 6-8 weeks Before Last Spring Frost
6. Sow Indoors (insert your dates here) 4-6 weeks Before Last Spring Frost
7. Sow Indoors (insert your dates here) 2-4 weeks Before Last Spring Frost
8. Sow Indoors (insert your dates here) 1-2 weeks Before Last Spring Frost

Group 2-Sowing Outdoors Before Average Last Spring Frost:

1. Sow Outdoors (insert your dates here) 4-6 weeks Before Last Spring Frost
2. Sow Outdoors (insert your dates here) 2-4 weeks
 Before Last Spring Frost
3. Sow Outdoors (insert your dates here) 1-2 weeks Before Last Spring Frost

Group 3- Sowing Outdoors After Average Last Spring Frost:

1. Sow Outdoors (insert your dates here) 1-2 weeks After Last Spring Frost
2. Sow Outdoors (insert your dates here) 2-4 weeks After Last Spring Frost

Group 4- Sowing Outdoors Before Average First Fall Frost:

1. Sow Outdoors (insert your dates here) 12-16 weeks Before First Fall Frost
2. Sow Outdoors (insert your dates here) 10-12 weeks Before First Fall Frost
3. Sow Outdoors (insert your dates here) 8-10 weeks
 Before First Fall Frost
4. Sow Outdoors (insert your dates here) 6-8 weeks
 Before First Fall Frost
5. Sow Outdoors (insert your dates here) 4-6 weeks
 Before First Fall Frost
6. Sow Outdoors (insert your dates here) 2-4 weeks
 Before First Fall Frost
7. Sow Outdoors (insert your dates here) 1-2 weeks Before First Fall Frost

Miscellaneous:

1. Sow Indoors and Grow in Windows Anytime of the Year
2. Sow Outdoors After First Fall Frost
3. Last Average Spring Frost Date (insert your date here)
   
4. First Average Fall Frost Date (insert your date here)

Suggested Alternate Labels for the Backside of your Pocket Labels:

1. Sown indoors (insert your date here) – Need to transplant outdoors (insert your dates here)
2. Transplanted outdoors (insert your dates here) – Harvest (insert your dates here)
3. Sown outdoors (insert your dates here) – Harvest (insert your dates here)
4. Notes

Should You Have the Thyme:

I really love the way this looks. It’s the same project as above but 2 things have changed. Instead of a clear shoe organizer, I found a nice canvas one. Also, I wrote on black card stock instead of the tan. For the black paper, I wrote with a white pencil and that was simple enough. Its bold and looks pretty good.  I think it looks like a cafe blackboard displaying your seed specials of the day!!

Seeking creative simplicity for you and your garden…..enjoy!!! ~ Sam