Seeds for swapping

I have one more seed swapping event this year – I’m off to the Harvest Veg Event 2010 in the New Forest. I have therefore been collecting seeds from my garden, and processing and packing them ready for the swap (and any ad hoc swapping!).

For the first time, I am adding Folia codes to my seed packets – which means that gardeners who grab one can let me know where they’ve ended up. Folia also encourage what they call Serendipty Drops, which is leaving packets of seeds lying around so that they can be picked up by passers-by: basically book crossing, but for seeds. I quite like that idea, but you’d have to leave them somewhere indoors or risk them being soaked and germinating in the packet….

I have found seed swapping to be a very rewarding experience. Not only do you meet some lovely, like-minded people, but you can also get your hands on seeds that are hard to find elsewhere. And there’s something about swapping seeds that gives them more value. When you’ve bought a packet of seeds, and it was cheap and it’s got thousands of seeds in, then there’s a tendency not to worry about over-sowing, or letting the packet get past its sow-by-date before you use them. There’s a tendency to hoard, and collect, more than you need.

But with a packet of swapped seeds, it’s different – particularly if they were collected, cleaned and packed by hand. This adds value to them, so you’re motivated to take good care of them, sow and plant them carefully, nuture the plants and then save your own seeds to pass them on. You’ve been given a gift, and it’s important to share it with others if you can.

No doubt this mentality was widespread before the industrialization of the seed industry, and will become more important again as the environmental problems we face mean that seeds that are open-pollinated (and therefore able to adapt to your microclimate) are much sought-after.

If you’re collecting seeds in your garden and would like to join in with seed swapping, then Folia is one place you could start. You could also add yourself to the Blogger Seed Network. There are plenty of people out there who are cultivating extraordinary plants – unusual species, or heirloom varieties – who are more than happy to spread the wealth.

For those of you who are into South American crops (achocha, yacon, mashua, oca, etc), then take a look at the Radix blog, which is all about these potentially very productive plants – how to grow them, collecting information about how well they do in different parts of the world, and trying to breed these basic species into varieties that are well-adapted to our climate. If you’re on Facebook then you can also join the Radix Root Crops group.