Seed Swapping Is A Radical Act
Seed Swapping: A Radical Act!
On 22nd Feb we hosted our 5th annual Seed Swap. Every year it has been a little bit different and we learn each year we go. Here’s how and why we do it.
Seeds!
One of my favourite times of the year is the very start of the season. It’s just before the chaos of the full blown growing season, the days are getting longer and it feels exciting to sow the seeds of what we will harvest in a few months time, hoping for the best, not fully knowing what’s to come. It's a time where I feel the most grounded and I love beginning to stretch out into spring with an Ahhh.
Our annual seed swap is like a stamp in our calendar, it means, ‘right, time to get going’. It also feels like a really nice way to bring people together who are maybe feeling the same. Collectively ready to get going again after (hopefully) a bit of restful hibernation.
Rummaging through some seeds
Seeds are the most important part of our history on this planet. Archaeological evidence suggests that humans began saving seeds around 12,000 years ago.
It is thought that foragers may have been forced to farm due to resources dwindling as the population grew.
There is also evidence that humans settled in areas of significant cultural and spiritual meaning and so began to farm to sustain the growing population, trading between clans, seeds would have been a form of tender alongside things like skin hides and jewellery.
We have known to save seeds and plant them in and around our homes for thousands of years and to this day garden centres, supermarkets and online specialists sell thousands every year to the general public so we can grow our own food and decorate our gardens with colour and scent, keeping us nourished and sane.
Unfortunately there is a dark side to the industrial seed industry that continues to put farmers into impossible positions.
Farmers around the globe are sold Hybrid and GM seeds that they cannot save or are mis sold with false guarantees, they are also regulated, and many countries have laws regarding GM crops, meaning they must buy seeds every season from the huge seed corporations that have a monopoly on the world's seed supply and therefore, food. Three companies own over 50% of the world's seeds, that not only force farmers to buy unviable seeds, they also produce bee-killing pesticides and toxic fertilisers.
It's crazy to think, when we need seeds to grow the majority of our food, the control they have over our society.
The story doesn't end there though, all over the globe, farmers, gardeners, groups and independent organisations continue to push back against the greed of these businesses. By saving and sharing seeds we are self sufficient, allowing ourselves and others to grow as much as we want, without being at the mercy of these enormous businesses that continuously put profits before the planet.
Swapping seeds is a radical act. We have full control over the seeds we sow, save and share in our homes and community gardens.
This is what is sometimes called Seed Sovereignty.
Not only does saving and swapping save us money, it allows us to grow and share more resilient varieties of plants.
By saving seeds from year to year, we can select varieties that are well-suited to their local environment, improving resilience to pests, diseases, and climate conditions. Over time, plants can become more adapted to local growing conditions.
This means for us in the North, we can grow leeks that are more wet resistant or kale that can withstand hard frosts that bit longer. This is something that takes time and skill but is also a really interesting activity to try out in our gardens.
Saving seeds is a bit complicated, depending on what you're trying to save and why.
I’ve been on a couple of seed saving courses/ training days and we’ve tried to save seeds at the garden in a few ways. Last year, Joe, one of our volunteers ran a seed saving project on a small patch where he came up with a fair few issues that we’ve similarly had in the past. Saving seeds on a community garden can clash as you need a controlled environment, community gardening can sometimes feel the opposite of that!
So you’ve saved seeds, or bought a packet from the shop and got loads left over, or you haven't got anything but want to grow just a few things and don't want to buy a whole pack. You need to get yourself to a Seed Swap, better yet, organise your own.
It’s pretty simple and easily done. There's just a few basic things you need.
Under the marquee visitors look through boxes of seeds and chat to stall holders.
How to put on a seed swap
Shelter - indoors would probably be best, to avoid wind gusts blowing the packets everywhere and bad weather putting people off but we only have a marquee and it still does the job.
Protect your seeds. We have about 8 plastic boxes about the size of an A4 piece of paper and deep enough to stand a seed packet up in. (maybe 15cm or so)
Make sure they have lids that click shut, the more secure the lid the better.
We put out our half empty packets and seeds from over the years that we haven't used, even old ones, people may just want to give them a go, it’s free so why not. Germination rates do diminish over time, but who knows, you might be lucky!
Organise them into sections with clear labels in front of each box something like this:
Roots
Leaves/Salad
Peas and Beans
Squash and cucumbers
Tomatoes/chillies/aubergines
Onions/garlic etc
Flowers
Then we have a section for small plants, seedlings, tubers and house plants - they usually come in bags or potted up.
You could also provide old plant pots and trays if you have any spare, they always build up at our garden.
Remember to tape down any labels into position!
Provide a pile alongside some permanent pens and masking tape.
Remember
F1 hybrid seeds are crossbred for specific traits, but their offspring may not exhibit the same characteristics as the parent plant, making it difficult to save and reliably propagate them. Avoid buying these seeds so you can always save the seeds and be sure to know what you’re going to get (some gourds and squashes can be sometimes be poisonous for example).
That's your set up but now you need to get people there and make it an event to remember.
Boxes of seeds
The idea is that people can put their seeds in and pick out what they want to take using the spare envelopes or seed packets provided. We don't track what people take or bring. It's self managed. People take what they need. You may choose to do it in a completely different way, it’s up to you.
Communication is key!
Make sure when you make your flyers/ posters and tell people about your event that you put on as much information as possible.
We try to communicate that people don't actually need to bring seeds to the swap and they can come and take some stuff anyway. If this is your policy, make sure people know.
The name Seed Swap is a bit confusing in this case, maybe we should call it a Seed Share instead. If you know what sort of seeds you might have available, let people know in advance.
Give people notice, so they can stick it in their diary at least 1 month before the event, 2 months is a good amount of time.
Make sure people know to bring seeds labelled and with dates of harvest if possible and what to expect on the day.
There’s some great examples of this below.
Some cute little bags of mixed beans with handwritten labels from our seed swap.
A nice little packet of seeds with handwritten details.
Visitors chatting and looking at seeds.
Make it an event
This year we asked local projects if they wanted a stall to do some outreach that went down really well.
We also in the past have had speakers such as Joe from Real Seeds (who volunteers with us) but maybe you could ask someone on your team or a local community gardener to do a seed sowing talk.
We did a tour of our garden and put on a bit of music. It all helps towards making an engaging and fun event.
Share it throughout your networks and ask others to share too.
Why not put on some drinks and food to raise funds for donations or ask for donations on the door?
And lastly, you can put on a seed swap any time of the year, you could even do a few or make it seasonal. Depending on the time of year you may get different seeds and plants so it will always be useful. The more regularly you do it the more people will engage and the more we can all swap a share!
Our sign from last year.
Jo
Director of MUD