Collection & Drying? -- Drying on paper plates with paper towels on top of plates.

Large Storage? -- Baggies, once I know seed is really dry.

Small Storage? -- I store all my seeds, and I have thousands in pill bottles that I've gotten from friends and family.

Trading (baggies)? -- Coin envelopes.

Trading (envelopes)? -- Bubblewrap envelopes are the best to insure seeds do not get broken in transit.

Hope that helps, :)
Alberta

Opps, should've added that. By "manila 2"x3"" I did mean those coin type envies.

Mailing Envelopes? -- Bubble envelopes always for me!

Collection & Drying? --
Large Storage? --
Small Storage? --
Trading (storage baggies)? --
Trading (storage envelopes)? --
Mailing envelopes? --

Collecting and Drying: clean plastic meat trays with tall sides (Like walmart packs meat in) and paper towells. I can stack these while seeds dry and then load into plastic baggies once dried.

Large Storage: Large baggies.

Small Storage: small baggies.

I also have small craft box with very small craft boxes inside (Like what they use for beads) To store the seeds I wish to keep for myself.

Trading: 1x3 plastic baggies.

Trading envelopes: Always bubble mailers.

**I always make sure I tag seeds with the year they are collected. It helps.**

Collection & Drying? -- Paper shopping bags & tissue boxes (great for large/long/tall seedheads); paper lunch bags; large chip containers are great to shake & tumble to loosen seed. 5oz kitchen cups and plastic 16oz/20oz cups. A box Sharpies, opened & laying EVERYWHERE, so I don't forget to write the seed name on whatever I use to harvest seed.

Large Storage? -- recycled envelopes to file; sandwich ziploc baggies inside
Small Storage? -- recycled envelopes to file; 2x3 ziploc baggies inside
Trading (baggies)? -- 2x3 ziploc
Trading (envelopes)? -- bubble mailers; always...

Collection & Drying? -- Paper muffin cups (unused :-)
Large Storage? -- N/A
Small Storage? -- Coin envelopes - then in a plastic shoebox with silica packs
Trading (baggies)? -- N/A
Trading (envelopes)? -- N/A

I haven't tried any trading -

Collection & Drying?
-- Tarps (for harvesting & transporting entire plants)
-- 5 gallon buckets (from local restaurant)
-- Paper bags (various sizes) for initial drying of pods & seed heads that shatter
-- Used cafeteria trays (from a kitchenware wholesaler) for rapid drying
-- Dehumidifier & fans
-- 1/2 gallon ball jars with desiccant (for final drying of seed to be frozen)
-- 3" x 5" index cards, which follow the seed from collection to storage (species, variety, source/year, year grown, number of plants, isolation method, others grown of same species, lot #X of X, any special selection criteria)

Large Storage?
-- 1-gallon ziplocks
-- Ball jars with desiccant for long-term storage

Small Storage?
-- Paper envelopes within a large ziplock (usually for original seed)
-- Small ziplocks (or foil packs) within labeled manila envelopes (for saved seed)
-- Large foil packs (for frozen storage)

Storage locations: Numbered boxes, for short-term storage of legumes (2-3 years); large chest freezer in basement with desiccant (unplugged) for long-term; small chest freezer (also used for food) for frozen storage

Trading (baggies)?
-- Coin envelopes (enclosed in small ziplocks, when mailing to humid location)
-- Foil envelopes (if from frozen storage)

Trading (envelopes)?
-- Recycled boxes (for bulbs & plants)
-- Bubble mailers

Don't everybody be intimidated by zeedman's post -- we know he's got a seed laboratory going! (wink)

come join the poll :)

We'll learn tricks, and and see trends!
Thanks to all who have posted, I for sure have learned bunches already. Have started the envelope filing system (soooo much better than stacks of packets in a box), and will be doing the index card "tracking" which can then go right into the filing envelope.
--Tina

Collection & Drying? -- I collect in baggies marked w/ a sharpie. I dry in bowls on top of the fridge. It's directly beneath the ceiling fan, so they get great air circulation.
Large Storage? -- Quart or gallon size bags.
Small Storage? -- Snack or sandwich size baggies. I have a large stash of medicine bottles too.
Trading (baggies)? -- 2" x 3" baggies
Trading (envelopes)? -- Envelopes folded from squares cut from magazines, calendars, etc.; mailed in bubble mailers.

I have a seed file using a shoe box and business size envelopes. I store the smaller amounts of seeds in those, along with the Excel info cards for each one. The larger bags go in a separate shoebox.

Good afternoon, all! This is fun; there's not much difference in how we do this, is there? Except for the magnitude of zeedman, LOL--

Collection & Drying? -- collect into an antique enamelware cup early on, then later when I have many varieties to collect, I carry a basket with small glasses for the different varieties. Once I'm back in the house--dump seedheads into appropriate size open containers for drying--out of the wind and everyone's way :) Exploders like viola go into a pie tin with another tin on top for a lid. Love that ping ping noise--
Large Storage? -- I don't go there.
Small Storage? -- presciption bottles stacked in a dedicated shelving unit
Trading (baggies)? -- tiny 'ziplocks' unless I run out
Trading (envelopes)? -- never
Mailing -- bubblers, to avoid the mail machines (crushing)

Constance.

OK, I'm a fanatic. Guilty as charged! Blame it all on Seed Savers Exchange, they made me do it... ;-)

Saving & sharing seeds is my passion... and I love a hobby that I can eat.

Chris

Collection: I use paper lunch sacks. These I hang to dry. They take up no room when hanging, and I don't have to worry about anyone knocking them over.

Large storage: I use salsa jars from my hubbies favorite salsa for larger amounts. I spray painted the lids, and made labels. The jars stack easily. For smaller amounds or tiny seeds I use my old prescription containers.

My own personal seed, not for sale or trade goes into baggies sorted by type of seed. These are now being stored in file boxes and put into a mini fridge hubby got me for $20. The fridge is just large enough to hold all my other jars too.

Packaging. I use the 2x3 zip loc baggies which are harder to find this year than in the past (at least at a decent price!!).

I mail my trades and most other seeds in bubble mailers. Some customers want them sent in regular envelopes, I'll never understand that!

GGG

Collection & Drying? -- I use the return envelopes from junk mail credit card offers, etc. I seal them closed and then cut open one end. I use them both for seed collecting and drying.
Large Storage? -- The same junk mail envelopes with the open end folded down.
Small Storage? -- I make origami envelopes that are about 2" by 2".
Trading (baggies)? -- tiny ziplock bags, but only used for teeny-tiny seeds that could leak out of envelopes.
Trading (envelopes)? -- The same origami envelope that I use for small storage, but made out of fancier paper; usually the blank side of a colored flyer or recycled heavy-weight gift wrap.
Mailing -- strictly bubble envelopes, which I recyle.

P.S. Here are the instructions for the origami envelope. The only thing I do differently is that I make the diamond fastener larger and secure the fastner to the envelope with a glue stick.

Here is a link that might be useful: origami envelope

I am probably closer to zeedman in my seed collecting activities.

Collection & Drying? -- I like to use brown paper bags, like grocery bags and lunch sacks, and I love the idea of hanging them.

I have a plastic chest of drawers and a couple of nice sized screw/nail/small-tool-keeper thingys that I found at WalMart for storing my seeds. I use manilla envelopes of various sizes to store all of them. This way, it is easier to keep them in an orderly fashion, and I need all the help I can get. I use the big 9" x 12" manilla envelopes for large storage, and the 6" x 9" for smaller amounts.

Very tiny seeds are stored in packets that I make from freezer paper, with the waxed side out.

For trading, I use coin envelopes, which come in 3 sizes. The small ones are ideal for sharing cleaned seeds, and the 3 1/2" x 6 1/2" envelopes I use for trading seeds like hyacinth beans or sweet peas. I like to leave them in the pod if possible, as they seem to keep better.

Because it is soooo humid here, I don't like to use plastic bags at all.

I use bubble mailers as a rule, and I recycle all of them as well, but I keep every little box I can get my hands on for mailing too. I mail out a lot of plants, and the boxes really come in handy. I remove any tape, lay them flat, and store them under my bed. Don't tell anybody. LOL

I do store some seed in the refridgerator in the shop, but DH does not like for me to do that. It takes up room that could/would otherwise be used for the storage of Lite Beer from Miller. In late summer and fall, however, bulbs dominate that fridge. He does grumble, but he does like the bulbs when they bloom too.

Janie

I never use plastic bags for seeds; I worry about mold. I let seed heads dry in paper bags. All my seeds are stored in coin envelopes in large glass jars in the fridge (I mean many envolopes in one jar, if that's not clear), with silica gel to keep them dry. I don't have a DH, so I divide my fridge space up as I please: 1/3 for seeds, 1/3 for wine and beer, and 1/3 for food. Works for me.

When I mail seeds, they go out in bubble mailers. I recycle these whenever possible - you can also cut bigger ones in half.