Finding a Seed Swap?

[flowerbug]

asked in another thread. the topic is worth it's own thread.


so how have you found seed swaps?


for me it was through a local seed saving person who family also has a small business, he goes around and gives talks to groups and also helps libraries get seed exchanges set up. their business also is one of the sponsors.

searching your local area on your favorite internet seach engine should bring up some past events, using the local news search engine may also bring up some too.

check the local libraries (call or e-mail if you don't want to drive).

local fresh produce market days you should be able to find some growers who like to talk and they may have plenty of contacts.

local greenhouses.

check bulletin boards.

agricultural extension offices.

universities.


and then in the end, if you're feeling really adventurous you can start your own!


did i miss anything here? add your own ideas below.

 

[flowerbug]

sadly i got a note back about my inquiry about this year's event and it won't be happening again.

i'm going to see if i can get the local library to allow me to have a small one at their place in March sometime instead.

 

[meadow]

Sorry to hear that. Maybe this is the humble beginnings of the best seed swap ever!

 

[flowerbug]

Sorry to hear that. Maybe this is the humble beginnings of the best seed swap ever!

there's not enough room to do anything comparable and i'm not that much of a cheerleader or organiser, but we'll see how the next few weeks go...

 

[heirloomgal]

I heard about the Seedy Saturday event from my librarian.

With all the seed swap events being cancelled these last years, ours is cancelled too for 2022, probably the next best option to trade seeds with other gardeners is joining a seed exchange. I don't know if SSE has a trading option as opposed to buying the seeds from other gardeners; Seeds of Diversity Canada has a trading option I believe. Which is really nice.

 

[Zeedman]

I heard about the Seedy Saturday event from my librarian.

With all the seed swap events being cancelled these last years, ours is cancelled too for 2022, probably the next best option to trade seeds with other gardeners is joining a seed exchange. I don't know if SSE has a trading option as opposed to buying the seeds from other gardeners; Seeds of Diversity Canada has a trading option I believe. Which is really nice.

SSE too previously canceled many of their on-site events due to Covid, doing virtual visits instead. It remains to be seen whether or not that will change this year (nothing is currently scheduled). I really hope things return to normal this year, my annual visits to their farm were very informative, and I always found new varieties to trial.

SSE doesn't have a swap function per se, but their rules are flexible - to a point. While SSE sets recommendations, members are free to negotiate their exchanges, including seed quantities & shipping. I've done swaps before with other SSE members, and just negotiated another large exchange this month.

I once offered a "fence sitters offer" of free seed, as incentive & inspiration to those who were SSE members, but had not previously offered seed. The condition was that the requester agreed to offer seed the following year, for at least 1 of the 5 varieties sent. I kept all of those requests on file, and checked on them the following year. The results were much the same as @Bluejay77 's recent comments - disappointing. No doubt many just took advantage of my offer to get free seed, with no intention of seed saving. Still, a couple of those people went on to become long-term seed savers, so I consider the effort to have been worthwhile regardless. Sometimes you have to plant a lot of seed to get a good stand... even with people.

 

[heirloomgal]

Sometimes you have to plant a lot of seed to get a good stand... even with people.

 

[flowerbug]

today i called the local library to talk about a gardening group/seed swap but the director was not in so i will talk to her tomorrow if she will call me back.

we'll see how this goes... i have had some past tough issues with this person (she was my boss for several years) in the past and i'm quite happy if someone else takes on a leadership role and i can just be a support person and help out.

 

[ninnymary]

In our small city, seed libraries are starting to pop up. They are like "little libraries" which are about the size of a small cabinet on a post. You take whatever books you want and if you have books to. give away you put them there.

It's always fun when on my walks to check out the little libraries that I come across too. Usually it's 1 or 2 of them.

Mary

 

[heirloomgal]

today i called the local library to talk about a gardening group/seed swap but the director was not in so i will talk to her tomorrow if she will call me back.

we'll see how this goes... i have had some past tough issues with this person (she was my boss for several years) in the past and i'm quite happy if someone else takes on a leadership role and i can just be a support person and help out.

Do you have a seed library in your library? We have those. I can even donate seeds to any branch and they will distribute them to any other branch where needed.