I go through pretty much the same procedure as you and I also hate the variable terms used to describe what comes in a seed packet.
I make a list of what I want to grow. I look at my leftover seed and determine if i have enough to fulfill what i want to grow. I put a mark next to those things I'm going to grow that I need seed for. I get 2 catalogs out (Johnnys and Fedco) and buy the better deal for the variety I want. I have a hard time figuring out how many seeds Fedco is going to send me. I also order from other catalogs but most of the seed I get is from these 2. I order Vanessa watermelon seed from Seedway and some tomato seeds from Tomato Growers Supply. I enjoy doing this and do it at the same time every year...between Christmas and New Years.

Wow Randy we do exactly the same thing (only Seed savers is thrown into the catalog mix).

Last year for the first time, I wrote down any seeds we needed as we them used up. This saved a ton of time going through the seed inventory.

Boulderbelt: What a simple idea. Only problem I will have to try not to lose the paper!: :)

I was so surprised to check my email this morning and see my Johnny's order was shipped this morning. Their processing is so fast. I bet I will have the order by Wednesday or Thursday.

Jay

I do buy more than I need every year, so this year I haven't sent ANY orders in yet. After looking over my seed stock, I did pick up a few packets of tomatoes and flowers so far. I use Jordan Seeds out of MN, they have been very good for me and cheaper than alot of other seed companies. I have had very good luck with all of the seeds that I have received from them.

I keep my seeds in baby food jars with a label on it with name and year of purchase. I usually buy by the oz/lb. I may not be correct in thinking the oz/lb seeds are cheaper per seed than the seed count way.

I always buy more seeds than needed. I found out the hard way that it is BAD to not have back up. What if the germ rate is only 60%? What if mice move in and dig the seeds out of the cells, or eat the tiny plants? What if my partner misses spots watering, and some plants shrivel up and die?
We'll grow about 30000 plants this year - about 150 varieties. We start them in 72 cell plug trays, and eventually pot them up into 3" or 5" pots. I always start 1 flat more of 72's than I need.

Seed ordering takes a long time. We are certified organic, so need to use organic seeds. If organic is not available, I need to document that I checked out 3 other sources for seed. I keep all this info in an excel sheet on my computer, as we will need to print it out and submit it to our certifier.

To help with places like fedco (that list .6 grams, 1.4 oz, etc) I created another excel sheet that lists crops I grow, as well as how many seeds in an ounce, a gram, a lb, etc. It has really helped with ordering this year.

Last thing, when I am done planting seeds, I mark the seed packet with how much I have left - If I plant 1 tray of 72's out of a packet of 500 seeds, I'll write 425 (a little room for error) on the packet. It has also been helpful.

I'm just finishing mine up and agree with the frustration factor of all the different quantities. I'm jealous of having an excel spreadsheet with the counts per gram/oz/lb. But I've already got too many spreadsheets.

We're also certified organic so are spending more and more money at High Mowing. Although I found Osborne Seed (www.osborneseed.com) last year and my order to them surpassed Johnny's this year. They have some varieties which I normally get from Johnny's at better prices, like saffron shallots, hakurei turnips, pelleted bolero and yaya carrots. Plus they don't make you buy in their increments which is one thing that irritates me about Johnny's. If I want 7000 shallot seeds, I don't want to have to buy 2 (5000) packs.

I need to look into saving pea seed, I'm spending over $250 just on the organic snap pea seed.

We save all seed packages from the previous year, even the empty ones and write "empty" on those and a rough amount on the others. We also decide if what we grew the previous year was successful and worthwhile. After a while we know what does best for us and grew those every year. However, we are always trying new varieties. Since we are not full-time farmers/gardeners we don't buy huge amounts of seeds . . . I think we average about $350-$400 a year and end up growing about 3,500-4,000 seedlings. This year may be less expensive because we still have quite a few seeds from last year, but as most gardeners know you just can't stop buying seeds that you want to try. That's part of the fun!

I always buy more than I need because I've had varieties "stopped" on me before, or a seed crop failed, or it was popular and sold out. I dry the extra seeds for 30 days in a sealed container with dessicant then I seal them in mylar and freeze them if they're a fragile seed such as parsnips or turnips. If it's too big a lot to freeze then I dry them, seal them in a bucket with dessicant and oxygen absorbers and keep it in a cool place. I haven't had any issues so far with germination, as long as I was careful about storage.

I just put them in canning jars with lids on them, not pressure sealed. I do use my blue jars whenever possible, but not all the time.