Community Seed Swap

Saturday, March 18, 2023, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Suggested donation of $0.50-$1 for each pack you take home.

Calling all seed savers, gardeners, and garden-curious! It’s time for our beloved annual Community Seed Swap Seed Sharing event. Master Gardener Volunteers and Cooperative Extension Staff will be on hand to answer all your seedy questions. Go home with free seeds from the CCE Tompkins Seed library, seeds shared from neighbors' seed stash, as well as locally adapted seeds collected by seed-saving enthusiasts.

Since seed packets often contain far more seeds than we can grow in a single garden, we welcome everyone in the community to bring labeled, unexpired (usually less than 5 years old) seeds to share.

Please review the Seed Swap Guidelines Below

Guidelines

Please bring viable seeds, in an envelope, zip top bag, or original seed package, etc. We will have envelopes available to take seeds home in.

Please Label your seeds, we recommend copying the label of seed packs, if saved seeds (At a minimum, each variety should have a notecard listing the name, type of plant, season collected, if open pollinated and source of the seed. Labels are even more useful if they also include information about the growing conditions, appearance, and flavor.)

Please bring only viable seeds. Below is a list of seeds and how many seasons they are viable:

1 year: onions, parsnips, parsley, spinach, Anemone, Aster, Begonia’ Chives, Coneflower, Coreopsis, Delphinium, Larkspur, Nigella, Pansy, Phlox, Salvia, Vinca, Viola

2 years: corn, peas, beans, chives, okra, dandelion, Ageratum, Baby’s breath, Candytuft, Clarkia, Columbine, Coreopsis, Cyclamen, Dahlia, Dusty miller, Four o’clock, Foxglove, Gaillardia, Impatiens, Lisanthus, Lupin, Marigold, Nicotiana, Penstemon, Petunia, Portulaca, Rue, Statice, Strawflower, Tithonia

3 years: carrots, leeks, asparagus, turnips, rutabagas, Achillea, African daisy, Alyssum, Amaranth, Anise, Bachelor Button, Calendula, Campanula, Caraway, Cosmos, Dianthus, Didiscus, Dill, Fennel, Hollyhock, Lobelia, Marigold, Marjoram, Poppy, Sage, Savory, Scabiosa,Shasta daisy, Snapdragon, Stock, Sweet pea, Sunflower, Thyme, Verbena

4 years: peppers, chard, pumpkins, squash, watermelons, basil, artichokes, cardoons, Centaurea, Celosia, Lavatera, Morning glory, Nasturtium, Sweet alyssum

5 years: most brassicas, beets, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, muskmelons, celery, celeriac, lettuce, endive, chicory, Basil Borage Carnation Catnip Chrysanthemum, Cilantro, Hollyhock, Lavendar, Lemon Balm, Oregano, Zinnia

How many seeds to bring Those new to seed saving and seed swaps might want some suggestions on how much seed should be exchanged. You want to take at least the minimum number of seed necessary to meet your home garden needs but at the same time you want to leave plenty of seed for other participants to try. Some general suggestions are to share larger quantities of smaller seeds and smaller quantities of larger seeds. For most home gardeners 12-20 tomato or pepper seeds, 20-25 bean or pea seeds, and 25-50 flower or herb seeds should more than suffice.