Seed Identification System

Seeds can be very difficult to identify, especially to the untrained eye and those who haven’t been gardening for long. Experienced gardeners who plant the same seeds every year learn over time what each seed looks like, and can identify the seedlings once they appear, and so perhaps don’t need a seed identification system, but for new gardeners, some form of identifying seeds is a great reference for their garden.

To be able to identify which seeds will grow into what, and where these are the garden isn’t such a big job. You will need a few left-over seeds, and the seed packet showing the vegetable pictures on the front, a binder and some light colored cardstock with holes punched in the side so it will fix into the binder.

Building your Seed System

Create a rough sketch of your garden, this can be basic shapes – doesn’t need to look like the garden, its purpose it to help you locate where each of your vegetables are growing. As you plant each batch of seeds, or seedlings, mark on your sketch where they are. Then for each seed type you plant, have a separate sheet of cardstock. Put the name of the vegetable at the top (with its Latin name below if you wish), and then glue the picture of the vegetable from the seed packets to the cardstock.

Place a few of the seeds onto the sticky side of some clear sticky tape and stick this to the cardstock below the picture – or to the side if you prefer. Add any other details about this particular vegetable to the sheet (perhaps the picture of what the seedling looks like if there is one on the seed packet), and any tips you have about growing it, and then place it in the file. When you have one sheet for each seed type planted in your garden, your seed identifying system is complete.

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