Choose a seed container by how well it keeps out moisture, pests and light: glass jars with a tight lid and a sound gasket are best, airtight metal tins come next, and sealed clay pots and paper envelopes inside a sealed outer container are acceptable. Plastic bags are for short-term storage only because they do not stop moisture reliably over years.
Part of Community Seed Bank Management
A seed container is the sealed vessel that separates a stored seed lot from the humidity, insects and rodents of its surroundings.
What The Container Has To Do
Moisture is the main enemy of stored seed, with heat second. The container must keep room humidity out of dry seed, keep insects and mice out, and ideally let you see inside. In this corpus the seed-container guide lists the three enemies as moisture, heat and oxygen (Storage Containers); moisture and heat do most of the harm and oxygen matters less.
Containers Compared
| Container | Moisture | Pests | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glass jar, tight lid and gasket | Excellent | Excellent | See-through; breakable; check gasket for cracks |
| Metal tin with a close lid | Good if airtight | Good | Rust is the enemy in a damp cellar; coat the inside seam or use only tins that seal |
| Clay pot sealed with beeswax | Good if sealed | Good | Moderate cost; can crack; needs fresh wax at each opening |
| Paper envelope | Poor alone | Poor | Good for labels and sorting inside a sealed jar |
| Plastic bag | Fair, short term | Poor | Rodents chew through; thin film leaks water vapour over years |
Seal quality matters more than material. The Phase 2 container guide offers a simple test: sit the closed jar upside down in a shallow dish of water for 30 minutes. Any water inside means the seal has failed.
Method: Pack A Jar For Several Years
- Wash and thoroughly dry the jar and lid.
- Check the gasket; replace one that is cracked or hardened.
- Put each variety in its own paper envelope or cloth bag, labelled in pencil or carved with the variety, year and number of parent plants.
- Put the envelopes in the jar with a desiccant pouch (Desiccants and Moisture Control).
- Seal, test the seal, and store cool and dark.
- Write the contents on the outside and on a list kept elsewhere (Seed Inventory and Catalog System).
Several varieties may share a jar only when each is in its own envelope. Mixing loose seed of two varieties cannot be reversed.
Rodents And Insects
Mice and rats chew through paper, plastic and thin wood, so the jar or tin is also a rodent barrier. Seed of beans and peas may carry weevil eggs or larvae from the field. A frozen spell of several days kills many such insects; confirm the time and temperature for your pest from an extension or entomology source before relying on it. Keep new seed out of the bank until it has been checked for insects.
Do Not Use The Wrong Containers
The corpus has two guides that look like seed-storage references but are not. The chemistry guide called storage containers is about petroleum drums, and the chemistry guide called container selection is about acids and alkalis. For seed, use the food-processing guide above.
Common Mistakes
- A good jar with a bad gasket. The seal fails silently.
- Labelling with ink on paper in a damp cellar. Ink runs. Use pencil or carve into wood.
- Filling one container with everything. A single failed seal loses the whole bank. Split important lots across containers and, if possible, across buildings.
- Storing seed in an open basket for convenience. It will absorb damp air.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Record Keeping & Germination Testing — knowing what each container holds
- Combine with: Storage Conditions — where to keep the containers