I store my seeds with a little dessicant, in screw-lid plastic tubs that used to hold two pounds of peanuts or peanut butter.
I put 2 tablespoons of silica gel (used for drying flowers) into a paper coin envelope and staple it shut so it doesn't leak out. One coin envelope of silica gel keeps one tub dry for months if I don't open it too often in humid weather.
My silica gel is much too fine to put into organza bags: the dusty part sifts right through it. But humidity passes freely through paper.
When a packet has absorbed too much water, the blue "10%" indicator dot turns pink, and the 30% dot starts to change color. Then I replace that tub's coin envelope with a fresh one full of dry dessicant.
When my pound-and-a-half of silica gel has all been used up, I'll pour all the coin envelopes out into a shallow metal pan and bake it around 400-450 F for several hours to regenerate it, then seal it tightly and use it again. I expect this batch to last me some years, keeping 6 - 8 tubs of seeds dry in the Pacific NorthWet.
If I trusted my oven to stay over 400 but under 451 F, I might try leaving the silica inside the paper envelopes while drying them, but I would expect to scorch or char the paper and glue (and melt the scotch tape that's on some of the envelopes).
The silica gel only cost me $7-8 at a craft store in the "dried flower" section. It was cheaper than "Drierite" and it seems to last longer, as if it had greater drying capacity.
If you have a choice, a coarse grade might be better than fine, to reduce the amount of silica dust while you're pouring it into or out of paper envelopes. The fine, dusty grade is so potent that it dries a tub right down below 10% in just a few hours, so "coarse" should be good enough.
The silica "gel" has the consistency of fine, dusty sand whether it's fully dry or pretty hydrated.
Corey
