How to Join Seed Exchanges Online (Add Fun New Seeds to Your Collection!)
Swapping seeds is a great way to add new varieties to your seed collection without spending several dollars on each one. Sometimes local gardeners get together for plant or seed swaps. But did you know that you can join seed exchanges online?
This is an especially good way for seed savers, or small gardeners who don’t need a whole seed packet, to get fun new varieties! I’ve added dozens of new ones to my personal collection from seed exchanges this year.
How to Join Seed Exchanges Online
You can find seed exchanges on Facebook. There are also some seed swapping websites popping up on the internet. I recommend this Facebook group, which has almost 20,000 members: Seed Swap. Finding a group with lots of members will make it more likely you’ll find someone who wants what you have and has what you’re looking for.
The Seed Savers Exchange is a little different from other seed swapping groups. Members usually offer seed varieties for a fixed shipping cost.
Other seed exchanges usually do it a little differently. Seed exchanges happen via a trade, so you pay the shipping to ship your seeds to another gardener, and they pay shipping to ship their seeds to you.
How Online Seed Swaps Work
To participate in an online seed swap, you can either browse listings from other members, or create your own.
Listings on seed exchanges usually have two lists. One list is the extra seeds you have to trade. The other is your wish list of seed varieties you want.
Seeds to trade can be extras from a seed packet, or seeds you have saved from your garden.
Making Sure You Trade Good Seed
This year I planted some traded seeds that were supposed to be giant pumpkins. Unfortunately the lady I traded for them didn’t know that her pumpkins had crossed with her spaghetti squash, and I ended up with a hybrid more suited for chicken feed than for pumpkin pie.
It is courteous to make sure that the seeds you trade are viable and if you save your own seeds, that they are pure.
You can find a list of how long different seed types usually last right here.
If in doubt, you can do a germination test by either planting some seeds in your own garden first, or putting a few inside a damp paper towel in a ziplock bag to see if they germinate.
If you are trading seeds you saved from your garden, it’s important to make sure they don’t accidentally get pollinated with another variety or a different vegetable entirely!
One common accidental cross includes the squash family: any squash from the same species can cross. Most summer squash, zucchini, pumpkins, spaghetti squash, acorn squash and ornamental gourds are members of Cucurbita pepo. They can cross with each other, and with neighbors’ plants growing up to 1/2 mile away!
More vegetables that can cross include the Brassica family. Broccoli, cauliflower, European kale, Brussels sprouts, collards and kohlrabi can all cross with each other!
Make sure you do your research about the plants you are saving seeds from, especially if you will be offering them in seed exchanges!
You can learn everything you need to know about seed saving here!
Exchanging Seeds
If you find someone who has what you want and wants what you have, send them a private message if possible!
Be sure to clarify how many seeds you are wanting to trade. Some people want to trade for a full packet, but most trades are for 5-10-20 seeds depending on the kind. This is enough to sample the variety and save more seeds to plant next year if you like it!
When participating in seed exchanges, some people are fine with trading for just 1 variety. Others prefer to trade several kinds at a time to justify shipping costs.
Exchange addresses with the other person, and start getting your seeds ready to ship!
Shipping Seeds
As you participate more in seed exchanges, you’ll learn how to keep shipping costs down.
Some seed swappers prefer to only ship small seeds that will fit in a a regular envelope. They avoid exchanging larger seeds such as beans, peas and corn.
Others save large seeds for larger trades of several packets or more to make sure it is worth the shipping cost.
Full size seed packets are expensive to ship and usually won’t fit in a normal letter. I use them very rarely when I’m doing a bulk seed trade.
Although not ideal for storing seeds, tiny ziplock bags used for crafts are an excellent way to ship seeds. I also use these printable seed packets. I copy the one I print and scale it down to 40% to make a cute little miniature seed packet.
Keeping Shipping Costs Down on Seed Exchanges
Small seeds like tomatoes and peppers can be mailed in a normal letter sized envelope. You can enclose the packet(s) inside a thank you note or piece of paper to help protect them and keep the envelope flat.
Most seeds other than tomatoes and peppers will need a 15 cent non-machinable stamp in addition to a regular stamp. Since the envelope isn’t completely flat, it won’t go in the postal machines. And since seeds are fragile, you probably don’t want it to!
For larger seeds or larger quantities of seed that won’t fit in a regular envelope, you can use a bubble mailer or even a small box for seed exchanges. Either one counts as a first class package if under 1lb, and at the time of this writing will cost somewhere around $4 to ship.
I usually take seed envelopes to the post office, rather than putting them in the mailbox. This way I can make sure I have the correct postage. I don’t want to overpay, and don’t want the package to be returned if my postage isn’t enough!
It’s a common courtesy to snap a picture of the envelope before you ship, to double check the address with the person you are seed swapping with. Sometimes typos happen or an address is copied onto an envelope wrong. You can also just repeat the address back once you put it on the envelope, to make sure it is correct.
Have fun swapping seeds!
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