Seed inventory planner

Quick answer: count, check, allocate, then buy

List each seed batch separately, record the quantity left and check uncertain stock before subtracting it from your seasonal requirements. Include every planned sowing, not just the first. Buy the remaining shortfall in whole packets, allowing for stock already ordered and the delivery date you need.

This is a worksheet to copy into a notebook or spreadsheet; it does not store entries on this page. Keep a packet inventory for what physically exists and a purchase list for what is missing. Linking the two prevents both duplicate orders and counting the same packet against several sowings.

Sort packets before opening a catalogue

Gather packets from sheds, drawers and propagation trays. Group by crop, then variety. Give each batch an identifier such as P001 and write it on both the packet and its record. Keep different purchase years or supplier lots separate, even when the variety name matches: their remaining quantities and performance may differ.

Copy the supplier's variety spelling and any lot number. Distinguish the purchase year, harvest year for saved seed and printed sow-by date; one is not a substitute for another. Record unknown dates as unknown. Photograph the packet instructions before they become unreadable.

Count large seeds when practical. For tiny seeds, use a measured weight or an explicitly approximate fraction of the packet. “About half a packet” is useful for sorting, but not an exact seed count. Do not convert grams to seeds without suitable information for that crop and packet. Keep uncertain quantities flagged until checked.

Copy these inventory fields

Use one row per batch. A notebook is easy to keep beside the seed box; a spreadsheet can filter by crop, storage location, sowing deadline or action. Either works if you update it after use.

Identity

Packet ID, crop, variety, supplier or saved-seed source, and lot number if present.

Dates and label notes

Purchase or collection date, printed sow-by date, opening date if known, and any treatment or special storage instructions. Preserve the original label.

Remaining quantity and unit

Seeds, grams or packet fraction; mark counted, weighed or estimated. Add the date checked.

Storage location

Use a specific reference such as box A, envelope P001, so another person can find it.

Germination evidence

Test date, number tested, number germinated and conditions, or “not tested”. Keep a supplier's printed result distinct from your own test.

Allocation

Quantity reserved for each sowing date or batch, plus any separate replacement allowance.

Action

Use, test, replace, share or finished; give pending checks a deadline before ordering.

Unallocated stock = physical quantity remaining − quantity already reserved. A reservation does not remove seeds from the packet. Once you sow, reduce both physical stock and that reservation by the quantity used. Subtract seeds used in tests or given away too.

Check uncertain packets before relying on them

Age and storage affect seed vigour, so a printed date alone cannot tell you how a particular leftover batch will perform. University of Maryland Extension describes testing questionable seed with a sample of 20 seeds on a moist paper towel in a ventilated plastic bag.

Label each sample, keep it moist and use the crop's required germination conditions. Check regularly and allow the appropriate germination period; do not declare a slow-germinating crop dead after a few days. Record germinated seeds divided by seeds tested, multiplied by 100. For example, 16 out of 20 is 80%. A small sample is only a rough estimate, and germination in a towel does not guarantee establishment outdoors.

For a nearly empty packet, testing may consume much of your stock: decide whether testing, an early trial sowing or replacement best fits the time available. Keep an untested packet's result blank rather than entering zero. If a test gives no germination, review the conditions or replace the batch; do not divide a seed requirement by zero.

Calculate the season's sowing requirement

Start from your bed plan and succession schedule. List the variety, sowing window and intended plants or row length for every batch. Use the packet's crop-specific sowing guidance for direct-sown rows; do not treat final plant spacing as a universal seed-sowing rate.

For individually raised plants, an initial estimate is seeds to sow = desired seedlings ÷ expected germination fraction, rounded up. At an assumed 80% germination, 24 seedlings require 24 ÷ 0.8 = 30 seeds before later losses. Add a clearly stated allowance if you want spare plants, and check that the propagation space can hold them. Germination and survival after germination are separate uncertainties.

Sum the seed requirements for all sowings and any replacement reserve. Keep the calculation in a single unit. When comparing two lots with different germination evidence, calculate their contributions separately; adding their seed counts does not make their quality identical.

Worked example: turn a shortfall into an order

This invented example uses one lettuce variety and counted seed quantities. The 80% germination assumption and packet size demonstrate the method, not a promise about a product or crop.

If a suitable packet contains 50 seeds and none is already on order, buy two packets: round 60 ÷ 50 up to two. That leaves 140 seeds available against a 100-seed plan, or 40 unallocated. Seeds consumed by the germination test are already excluded from the 40-seed starting stock. This example assumes the same planning germination rate for the new stock; revise the plan if its evidence differs.

Packets to buy = round up(maximum of zero and the uncovered seed requirement ÷ seeds per packet). Here, “uncovered” means total requirement minus accepted stock and confirmed incoming seed arriving in time. Do not subtract reservations again when using the total seasonal requirement. For a single new sowing, compare its requirement with unallocated stock instead.

Make the purchase list actionable

For each shortfall record crop and variety, required quantity, supplier, packet size, packets to buy, quoted cost, order deadline and order status. Use distinct statuses such as needed, ordered and received. Confirm the contents on arrival before moving incoming quantities into physical stock; remove the matching incoming entry so it cannot be counted twice.

Compare delivered cost for the quantity you can use, not packet price alone. One larger packet may cover the example's shortfall more cheaply, but only if its variety, quality and delivery timing fit the plan. A smaller packet or shared order can reduce unwanted leftovers. Enter delivery once per order in your garden budget.

Separate essential replacements from optional new varieties. If an order is late or a variety unavailable, revise the sowing plan before buying a substitute. Do not count a planned purchase as usable stock until its arrival is confirmed.

Keep storage and the record aligned

University of Minnesota Extension recommends cool, dry storage in tightly sealed containers and labels showing seed name, variety and collection date. Keep dry packets organised inside a labelled container and follow any supplier-specific instructions.

For home-saved seed, record the parent variety and any uncertainty about pollination. Minnesota Extension explains that seed saved from hybrid plants will not reproduce the parent reliably. Do not silently substitute it for the purchased hybrid in your plan; label it as a separate trial batch.

After every sowing, test or seed swap, update quantities and return the packet to its recorded location. Review stock before each order and at season's end. Mark empty packets finished, retain useful label details and move observations into the garden journal. A short “buy again” or “skip next year” note makes the next inventory more useful.

Sources and review

Reviewed by Grow Blueprint on 23 September 2026. The inventory fields, purchasing method and worked example are original planning aids. Replace illustrative quantities and assumptions with your own records.

• University of Maryland Extension: Poor Germination of Vegetable Seeds — seed vigour, germination checks and establishment conditions.
• University of Minnesota Extension: Saving vegetable seeds — storage, labelling and saved hybrid seed.