Start a Garden Seed Exchange

Garden seed exchange clubs can be a fun gardening group activity. Especially since groups tend to expand and discuss other gardening topics – not just seeds, so you’ll learn a lot.

Other benefits include…

• Money saved on seeds.
• New experiences with plants you may not have grown before, and advice on said seeds from someone who has been there.
• Benefit of sharing an excellent variety, or getting one for yourself.
• Preservation of a hard to find or heirloom plant.
• It’s also a full scope garden experience. While it is nice to buy a lush, ready to go plant, there’s nothing like actually growing your very own from a little seed. If I say it’s magical I’ll sound corny, but well, you get the idea.

For seed saving you’ll need to collect seeds once your plants are finished flowering. Then wash and dry your seeds and store them somewhere that’s moisture free, cool, and dark.

Make sure that anyone in your seed exchange follows proper seed handling and saving guidelines. For example, no one should be trading seeds that were strangely sourced. If you gather seeds out in the wild you have a chance of messing with the habitat – i.e. wild plants can be under environmental pressures and you taking their seeds is messing with the plant even more so. It’s also smart to have seeds marked well and leave enough time to chat (maybe snacks and drinks are in order) because some folks will have good advice on which seeds fared better started inside or right in the garden.

More info:

• How To Organize A Community Seed Swap – excellent guide including in-depth ideas like publicizing your swap.
• See information for saving specific vegetable seeds.
• Great Seed Saving Instructions from Seed Savers Exchange.
• Finding, Gathering, Saving Seeds – this is a classroom guide for kids actually; BUT it’s very good, has excellent visuals, and will teach you how to locate and save many sorts of garden seeds.
• Seed Saving for Beginners – handy seed saving chart.

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