An effective prepper’s strategy requires you to have contingencies ready to respond to different situations and for different lengths of time. This is especially true when it comes to securing your food source. This is why knowing how to store seeds properly for the long-term is essential.
Proper seed storage starts with seed acquisition and continues with having an appropriate storage environment and sustaining it for the long term. Anticipating your food requirements and planning for contingencies also play a role.
This guide will provide you with the information you need as a beginner or someone who has already started a survival garden and a seed storage program. Additionally, it can also serve as a quick reference guide once you have already started storing seeds as part of your survival plan.
An Overview of Proper Seed Storage
While the individual steps involved with proper seed storage are not complicated, ensuring that you have viable seeds when you need them does require that you have a seed storage procedure in place. It also requires that you follow the steps In the proper order. Failure to do so could result in compromising your food growing ability when you need it most.
Proper seed storage for prepping involves four overarching steps:
- Determining your food requirements
- Seed acquisition
- Having a proper storage environment
- Readying your stored seeds for planting season
Determine Your Food Requirements
The first step for proper seed storage determines your food requirements for a variety of survival scenarios and what role a survival garden would play in it. However, it is often overlooked.
While ready-made seed storage solutions can be easily purchased—and they are better than nothing—they lack the level of customization and practicality required for your specific survival strategy. This is primarily because ready-made seed storage kits require you to accommodate your needs to the variety and the number of seeds that they provide.
Everybody’s food requirements are going to be different. It is based on several variables:
- Flavor
- The number of people that you need to feed.
- The caloric requirements for your survival environment.
- Properly complimenting your other food stores for optimal nutrition.
You also need to take into account such factors as your local climate and soil conditions. The harsher your cultivating conditions, the greater the possibility of crop failure. This, in turn, would require you to plan for increasing the area used for planting in your survival garden and the added number of seeds needed to accomplish this.
Seeds that are easy to store and relatively easy to cultivate while also providing you with a healthy nutritional profile include:
- Beans – Great source of protein.
- Broccoli – Abundant in vitamins A and K as well as protein and carbohydrates.
- Alliums – This covers onions, garlic, shallots, etc. Rich in vitamin B6, vitamin C, potassium, and folate. They also contain dietary fiber.
- Carrots – Versatile in terms of meal preparation. A great source of vitamin C and A.
- Potatoes – Bountiful in potassium, vitamins B6 and C, potatoes are resilient and offer meal options that are delicious as they are familiar.
- Berries – Great for vitamin C and antioxidants.
- Peppers – High in vitamins and also offer a way to enhance the flavor of your survival menu.
- Tomatoes – Rich in a multitude of vitamins and minerals.
- Spinach – Packed with vitamins and also folic acid, thiamine, and iron.
Related: How to Store Flour for Prepping: The Complete Guide
Acquire the Seeds
Once you have established what type of plants you wish to have in your seed bank and what your seasonal planting demands will require, you can move on to the step of acquiring the seeds.
There are two methods for acquiring seeds. You can harvest them yourself, or you can purchase them from a trusted supplier.
Types of Seeds
Regardless of which method you choose, keep in mind that starting with healthy seeds is paramount for achieving optimal long-term seed storage. To this end, you should familiarize yourself with the four classifications of seeds that are available in modern agriculture before you harvest or purchase them.
Seeds are classified based on the type of pollination method of the parent plant. Pollination is the process of transferring pollen from the male part of a plant to the female part. This is how plants fertilize themselves and begin the process of seed production.
Open-Pollinated Seeds
Open pollination occurs when pollen is transferred between the flowers of plants by insects and other pollinators. Pollen could also be transferred between flowers by the wind.
The seeds produced from this pollination process are known as open-pollinated seeds. In the gardening community, the plants grown from these types of seeds are known as being “true to seed.” This is because as long as no cross-pollination has taken place, the plants grown from these seeds will be the same as the parent. This will hold generation over generation.
Self-Pollinated Seeds
Some plants produce flowers that do not require the wind or pollinators for pollination to occur. Each flower of the plant contains both of the male and female organs necessary to fertilize themselves.
The seeds produced by such plans are known as self-pollinated seeds. Maintaining genetic consistency across numerous generations is easier with self-pollinating plants than other open-pollinating plants in general. This is because the chances of cross-pollination are reduced.
Heirloom Seeds
Heirloom seeds are a term that you will come across when purchasing seeds. Sometimes, the term “heirloom” is improperly applied for marketing purposes and can confuse those new to purchasing seeds—especially for long-term storage.
In essence, an heirloom seed comes from a plant that has been consistently pollinated over multiple generations spanning 50 years or more without any cross-pollination.
Heirloom Seeds tend to be more expensive than other open-pollinated or self-pollinated seeds. This is because greater genetic continuity is assured in the plants grown from the seeds.
That being said, if you decide to purchase heirloom seeds for long-term storage, make sure that you are familiar with the quality of the fruit or vegetable that they produce. Make sure that they meet your requirements.
Also, since heirloom seeds are usually sold at a premium, make sure to purchase them from reputable sources.
Hybrid Seeds
In agriculture, a hybrid plant is produced when two different varieties of the same species are cross-pollinated. Normally, this is done by isolating two different specimens of the same plant species based on desired characteristics. These can be based on the quality of the fruit that they produce, the flavor, resistance to disease or insects, etc.
Hybridization of this type is done to produce an offspring plant that will produce fruit with the desired characteristics of both parent plants.
While this might sound like an excellent idea, it is not recommended when it comes to stocking seeds for a survival garden. This is because the seeds harvested from a hybrid plant will not be “true to seed,” as is the case with open-pollinated plants.
A plant grown from a hybrid seed will develop into a version of one of the original parent plant specimens, not a replicated version of itself. Some seeds may even be sterile. This makes maintaining consistency in the desired quality of the plants in your garden complicated and haphazard.
Related: 4 of the Best Beans to Grow for Survival
Seed Harvesting
Seed harvesting involves gathering the seeds you will use for a subsequent planting season from plants you have grown in the current season.
If you presently have a survival garden and have been growing organic crops, you are in a better position to understand and engage in seed harvesting. This is because you will be familiar with the quality of plants in your garden, and you will know which traits you wish to carry over into subsequent planting seasons.
To ensure consistency in the food production of your survival garden, it is recommended that you only store seeds that you have harvested from open-pollinated and self-pollinated plants. Seeds from heirloom plants would be ideal. The source for your seed harvesting should come from the healthiest fruits of your healthiest plants.
Once you have set a seed harvesting plan in motion, it will allow you to sustain your survival garden year over year without requiring the procurement of seeds from the outside.
There are two types of seeds—dry seeds and wet seeds. Both types need to be harvested when they have reached a state of maturity. Immature seeds will never germinate.
Harvesting Dry Seeds
Dry seeds can be identified as those coming from plants that form seeds in pods, capsules, or husks. These form at the end of the plant’s stems. When the seeds are mature, the pod or capsule dries and eventually will crumble away, allowing the seeds to fall. Harvesting these seeds is as simple as collecting them when the pod or husk is at this dry and brittle stage.
Dry seeds include beans, carrots, lettuce, corn, dill, and spinach.
You can release the seeds yourself by breaking the dry pod or capsule with your hand. If the pod or capsule is not yet sufficiently dry—if it’s tan or brown but is still pliable, for example—don’t force your way to the seeds. They likely would not have matured. Always hand-harvest seeds only when the pod or husk housing them is fully dry and breaks apart on its own.
You can collect the seeds straight from the field, or you can bring the dry pods and capsules indoors to do it. Once you have harvested dry seeds, they are ready to be stored as they are. If you want to add a layer of “insurance” to the viability of the seeds, you can air dry them for two or three days before storing them.
To do this, spread the seeds out on a dry, non-porous surface and just let them sit in a dry location. This will ensure that they are as moisture-free as possible before storage.
Harvesting Wet Seeds
Wet seeds are those that come from within the fleshy fruit of a plant. Think of tomatoes, squash, peppers, etc.
Harvesting these requires you to wait until the fruit containing them have fully ripened. Some fruits are harvested for food before they are fully ripened in terms of seed maturation. This is the case with cucumbers, zucchini, and squash. In these cases, leave enough fruits on the plant when you harvest them for food to harvest for seeds later.
Post-harvest maturation describes the process of allowing fruits to continue ripening after they have been picked. Fruit that you will use for seed harvesting should be allowed as much post-harvest maturation time as possible. Essentially, you want to harvest the seeds when the fruit starts to appear “overripe.”
When harvesting wet seeds, you will notice that some fruits have their seeds covered in a gelatinous material. Tomatoes and cucumbers are good examples of this. That coating consists of enzymes that inhibit germination. This prevents the seeds from “sprouting” while still inside the fruit.
You want your stored seeds to be able to germinate come planting season. You need to put them through a fermentation process for these types of wet seeds before drying and storing them. These are the steps to follow:
- From a ripened fruit, remove the seeds, pulp, and juice and place it in a clean jar, preferably keeping the jar no more than a third full with the pulp and seed mixture.
- Allow the jar to sit in a warm place, 72°F-80°F (22°C-27°C) for two to three days.
- Stir the contents of the jar gently once a day.
- At the end of the third day, add enough fresh water to top off the jar. Stir it and let it settle for a minute or two.
- Pour out the water and the pulp that has floated to the top.
- Be careful not to pour out the seeds that have settled to the bottom. Those are your viable seeds. Seeds that have floated to the top along with the pulp should be poured out or removed as they are usually duds.
- Repeat this process until the rinse water comes out clean.
- Pour the seeds that have accumulated at the bottom of the jar through a fine sieve.
- Place these seeds on a dry surface. You could place the seeds on a cloth towel. Never pour them onto a paper towel. This could result in the seeds adhering themselves to the towel surface when dry, and removing them without damaging them becomes difficult.
- Allow the seeds to dry in a cool shaded area for three to five days. Circulating air with a fan can help the process.
Once the seeds are dry, they are ready to be stored.
Purchasing Seeds
If you do not have a source of original plants from which to harvest seeds, you may want to consider purchasing the seeds you will store. It is not advisable to attempt to harvest seeds from fruits that you have purchased at a supermarket. Likewise, it is not recommended that you harvest seeds from growing plants of which you do not know their seed origin. Purchased seeds are preferred in these circumstances.
Even if you have a reliable source of original plants for seed harvesting, if you have never harvested seeds before, it is not a bad idea to store some purchased seeds just in case your first attempt at seed harvesting results in a lower than expected number of viable seeds.
When purchasing seeds:
- Only purchase open-pollinated or self-pollinated seeds.
- Never purchase hybrid seeds.
- Heirloom seeds are ideal.
- Purchase seeds only from reliable suppliers.
Store Seeds in the Proper Conditions and Environment
Once you have acquired your seeds—be it by harvesting or purchasing—you are ready to store them. This requires setting up the proper conditions to ensure long-term storage.
Ensure Your Seeds Are Completely Dry
The presence of moisture is the biggest threat to seeds when they are being stored for the long-term. Taking the added precaution of spreading them out to dry in a cool and dry environment for a few days or weeks after acquiring them is suggested.
Alternatively, you can spread the seeds on a cookie sheet and place them in an oven set at 100°F (37.8°C) for 24 hours. Please make certain that your oven can provide a low setting as that. Under no circumstances should you subject your seeds to temperatures higher than that.
Avoid High Temperatures
Choose a storage location for your seeds that is as cool as possible. This could be a basement— provided it’s dry—or a storage cabinet that is in a cool area of your home.
Refrigerators are often used to store seeds. While this is a great way to achieve a cool environment, using your everyday refrigerator/freezer can cause problems. The constant opening and closing of the door can cause frequent temperature variances, which could lead to condensation and moisture accumulation.
If you decide to freeze your seeds, it is imperative that they be absolutely dry. Otherwise, the freezing process may damage them and render them unviable.
Using a dedicated refrigerator/freezer for seed storage would be a better option. However, whenever relying on an electrically powered device for your survival strategy, make sure that you have contingencies for losing power. Unless you have a dedicated solar setup that could run your fridge/freezer off-the-grid, it is best to avoid refrigerators altogether for seed storage.
Use Airtight Containers
Storing your seed in airtight containers protects them from moisture. You can use glass, plastic, or metal containers with an airtight lid. Mason jars with gasket seals are perfect for this.
To maximize your storage space, you can place seeds inside coin envelopes and then put these envelopes inside the containers. This also allows you to properly date and label the envelopes for improved control of your seed inventory.
Storage Life for Seeds
By dating your seed packets, you will know which seeds to plant first. Stored seeds can remain viable for one to six years, depending on the plant.
| Plant | Storage Life |
| Lettuce | 6 years |
| Collards Cucumber Muskmelon Radishes | 5 years |
| Beets Brussel sprouts Cabbage Cauliflower Chard Eggplant Fennel Kale Mustard Pumpkin Squash Tomatoes Turnip Watermelon | 4 years |
| Asparagus Beans Broccoli Carrots Celery Peas Spinach | 3 years |
| Leaks Okra Peppers Sweet corn | 2 years |
| Onion Parsley Parsnip | 1 year |
Ready Your Stored Seeds for Planting
If you have stored your seeds at an ambient temperature in a cool and dry environment, they will not require any special steps to use them for planting. If, however, you stored them in an artificially cool environment, such as a refrigerator or freezer, you must reacclimate your seeds to an ambient temperature.
To accomplish this, remove the still sealed containers from the refrigerator/freezer and set them out at room temperature. Do not remove the lid for 24 hours to avoid condensation from developing inside the container where the seeds are located.
Once the 24 hours have elapsed, you can open the container and proceed to plant the seeds.
Conclusion
Storing seeds as part of a prepping strategy for securing a source of food is a sound idea. By understanding all of the steps involved in storing seeds for the long-term—from seed acquisition to establishing the proper storage conditions—you will be able to ensure a reliable supply of viable seeds each planting season.
By learning to harvest your own seeds for storage, you will be able to achieve a truly sustainable model for securing a food source.
If you’re still interested in learning more about storing food for long-term, check out our article titled How to Store Canned Food Long-Term – The Complete Guide.
