Seed swap kit
Everything you need on paper to run a seed swap: packets to fold and glue, labels, a sign for the table and a sheet for people to sign in. Type your event and print on plain A4.
Make your seed swap kit
Type your event, then print the sheets you need. Everything prints on plain A4.
Seed swap
10 small packets (70 × 90 mm when made up) on 5 sheets of A4, 2 to a sheet. The label sheet has 24 labels of 60 × 30 mm. The sign-in sheet has 25 rows.
Print at actual size (100%), not "fit to page", so the packets come out the right size. The line on each packet back should measure 50 mm.
How to make up a packet
- Cut round the solid line.
- Fold on every dashed line, printed side out.
- Fold the back behind the front and glue the side strip inside.
- Fold up the bottom flap and glue it to the back.
- Fill in the front, add the dry seed and tuck the top flap over.
Organiser's checklist
- Book a room or a corner of a hall, with two or three tables.
- Tell people a month ahead, and ask them to start sorting their seed now.
- Print packets and labels for people who bring loose seed.
- Bring pens, a glue stick, scissors, a few small spoons and some spare envelopes.
- Sort the tables by group: beans and peas, other veg, flowers, herbs.
- Put the sign where people come in, with the sign-in sheet beside it.
- Keep a box for seed with no name or date. It can still be shared, but say what is not known.
How to use it
Type the name of your swap, the date and the place. They go on every packet, label and sign. Choose small or large packets and how many you want, then print each sheet you need. Print at actual size (100%) so the packets come out right: the line on the back of each packet should measure 50 mm.
To make a packet, cut round the solid line, fold on the dashed lines, glue the side strip and the bottom flap, and tuck the top flap over once the seed is in. The front has boxes for the variety, the date it was saved, who grew it and any notes. The back has room for sowing notes.
Running the swap
Put the sign where people come in, with the sign-in sheet beside it. The sheet asks for a name, what people brought and what they took, and a contact only if they are happy to give one. Keep it somewhere safe afterwards and throw it away once you no longer need it. Sort the tables into groups, such as beans and peas, other vegetables, flowers and herbs, so people can find things.
Saving seed worth swapping
The RHS says to collect seed once it is ripe but before it falls, which for most plants is between June and October. Pods often turn from green to brown and start to split. Dry the seed on paper, or in a paper bag, somewhere warm, dry and airy for up to about ten days. Use paper rather than plastic, which traps damp and can make seed rot.
Once it is dry, the RHS suggests an airtight tub somewhere cool and dry, with the fridge best of all. Label every batch with the plant and the date. Seed from a named variety will not always grow like its parent, and seed from F1 hybrids (a cross made fresh each year, marked F1 on the packet) is the least likely to. Garden Organic's Heritage Seed Library gives two rules for keeping a variety true: pull out plants that are not like the rest, and stop it crossing with other varieties. Growing one variety of a crop at a time is the easiest way to do that.
More for the plot
Plan what to sow with our vegetable planting calendar, and check the average last frost date before anything tender goes out. Running a swap for an allotment society? Our allotment keepsake guide has ideas for remembering a good year on the plot.
Garden art prints to go with it
Questions people ask
What do I need to run a seed swap?
A room or a few tables, a sign, a sign-in sheet, pens, spare packets or envelopes for people who bring loose seed, and a small spoon or two. This kit prints the paper parts.
Can I swap seed from F1 plants?
You can, but say so. Seed saved from F1 hybrids may not grow like the plant it came from. Shop packets of F1 seed you will not use are fine to share as they are.
How should I store seeds for a swap?
The RHS suggests drying seed in paper first, then keeping it airtight somewhere cool and dry, with a fridge best of all. Label each batch with the plant name and the date it was saved.
Will the packets print the right size?
Yes, if you print at actual size (100%) instead of fit to page. Measure the 50 mm line on the back of a packet to check.