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Do you have a green thumb? If you love working with plants and can’t wait for next spring when it is time to tend your garden again, you should definitely plan to set aside a few hours to make sure that all your gardening supplies—including your seeds and bulbs—are properly stored for the winter. When you organize your gardening shed, you get everything ready for next year so that when spring comes, you are ready to start gardening right away! With tools and the like, that is a relatively straightforward process, but what about seeds and bulbs? Here is what you should do to make sure that everything is safely and neatly stored for the year.

First, check your garden shed for leaks and take time to weatherproof it to the best of your ability. You don’t want leaks bringing lots of moisture into the shed. Organize your gardening tools. Make sure that they are neatly stored and that you will easily be able to find everything you need in the spring.

After your shed is set up, store seeds for next year. Seeds cannot last indefinitely, but they can often go a season or two (as nature designed them to do). Most seed packets include more seeds than you will go through in a year, and there is no reason to waste the extra seeds. Save them for next year by putting them in an airtight environment. The key here is to minimize their exposure to temperature and humidity fluctuations. To that end, it is wise to store the seeds in their original packets (so you know what they are), and then put them in Ziploc bags.

At this point, you can do one of two things. You can either put the seeds directly in your freezer, or you can leave them out in your shed. If you do the latter, you can store them in a large plastic container. This airtight plastic bin will provide an extra layer of protection. It is best to go this route if you know that your shed will not experience huge swings in temperature or humidity. If it is very cold in your location, this may work just as well as the freezer.

Bulbs can also be stored. Let them dry for about a week before you store them. Remove foliage and soil and add a dusting of fungicide powder. These should be stored in paper bags or nylon stockings, not airtight containers. Do not freeze them; a cool, dry environment like a cellar is ideal. Your outdoor garden shed will be fine if temperatures range between 50 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Much warmer and colder than that and the bulbs may not survive the winter.

Now you know how to store your seeds and bulbs for the winter so that you can plant them in the spring. This is a great way to save money, and it will help you to feel more connected to the changes in the seasons and the cycle of life!