Seed Swap Essentials

Seed swaps can be a fun way to connect with other growers and share samples of favorite heirloom cultivars, and gardening knowledge and experience that will help other growers succeed in their own gardens next season. And not surprisingly, late fall and Winter are the most popular times of year for many seed swap events, as seed crops have been harvested and dried, and there’s still time to think over and plan what you’ll grow in the next season’s garden. 

START SMALL

Plenty of swaps are large, heavily promoted  events open to the public or are part of a large event, but a seed swap doesn’t have to be a complicated, large gathering with catered food, entertainment, and a whole day of workshops. Plenty of seed swaps consist of a small group of friends gathered around the dining room table, or meeting up at the local brewery or coffee shop. If you’ve never hosted a seed swap before, a small gathering like this is a good place to start, or you could even make your seed swap a fun and memorable theme for a winter birthday party or part of a holiday gathering.

PROMOTE THE EVENT

Once you’ve chosen the date, location and size of your seed swap, it’s time to begin promoting the event. For a smaller gathering, digital media like Evite, social media pages, and group text messages and emails will work great. Give two or three weeks advance notice of the event and be sure to follow up with reminders. To build excitement and boost attendance, you might include a few specifics about what guests can look forward to at your seed swap, like your uncle Tony’s prized orange bell peppers, a rare heirloom watermelon variety, or a raffle for a cool prize.

CONSIDER SEED SOURCES

Now, letting guests share their own seed that they’ve harvested, as well as seed purchased from retailers will mean more seeds to share at your seed swap, and probably better attendance, too.  But whether their seed is self grown, or store bought, remind your guests to only bring open pollinated seed varieties. Seeds from hybrid plants , even though they be non-GMO , won’t grow ‘true to type’ ; in other words, there’s no way to know for sure what result you’d get from planting hybrid seeds. Store bought seed packets will almost surely already be labeled, but remind guests that bring their own harvested seed, that it should be clearly labeled with the type of crop, name of the variety and the date of harvest. And planting seeds is way more fun when they actually sprout, so be sure to ask your guests to bring only seeds should have been carefully stored (in a dark, cool, dry place), and are not more than three or four years old at the most. And consider that all of your guests, but especially the new gardeners attending your seed swap would, appreciate having at least one experienced grower to ‘lead’ the event. This seasoned gardener would answer questions, ensure seeds are properly labeled, event guidelines are followed, etc.

HOW MANY SEEDS TO TAKE

Larger seed swap events often have a firm limit on how many seeds one guest can take of a single variety -  usually, somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty five seeds. But a simple verbal reminder, or a note included in the digital promotions of the seed swap, should suffice for a smaller gathering. Large seed swap events also sometimes allow guests that arrive empty handed to leave with a packet or two of seeds, but consider that a smaller seed swap wouldn’t really be much of a swap if every guest didn’t at least bring one or two seed varieties. To encourage folks to arrive with seeds to swap, one common rule of thumb is that a guest not take any more seed packets than they bring. And there’s no need to fret over what to do with a cache of leftover seeds after the swap is over ;  these can simply be stored away until the next seed swap, or donated to schools and similar non-profits who will be delighted to have them.

 

WHAT TO SUPPLY

At the very least, you’ll want to have plenty of blank labels and a few pens so that everyone knows exactly what they go home with. You should also have some blank paper seed packets or small resealable plastic bags for any bulk seed samples that your guests will take home. Signs that clearly spell out the guidelines of the event and indicate specific areas at larger seed swaps are almost essential to keep things running smoothly there. And even though these signs aren’t as crucial at a smaller seed swap, your guests will still appreciate some creative signage and, perhaps, a little colorful decor. These small touches will make even the coziest winter seed swap more fun. Have a few scoops or spoons handy if you expect anyone to bring large amounts of bulk seed to your event. And if possible, send your guests home poised for success by having printed seed-saving and growing guides that they can take home along with their new seeds.