National Seed Swap Day (Last Saturday in January): Let’s Trade Seeds, Stories, and “Ooo I Want That One!” 🌱✨

National Seed Swap Day is celebrated on the last Saturday in January which is January 31, 2026.

𝐼𝑡’𝑠 𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑’𝑠 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑎𝑦𝑖𝑛𝑔: 𝑠𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔… 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑡’𝑠 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑑𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 (𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔).

And for us container gardeners? Seed swaps are 𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑒𝑐𝑡 because we can try new varieties without buying 27 packets for 6 pots. 😄

𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐩𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥

A seed swap isn’t just about “free seeds” (though yes please). It’s also about:

* discovering varieties you’ve never seen in stores

* sharing what actually did well in real gardens (not just catalog photos)

* swapping growing tips along with the seeds

* keeping interesting heirlooms and regional favorites circulating

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐩 (𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚 𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞)

If you’re participating in any kind of swap be it local, library, online, or “PGS-style”—here’s what makes it easy and fair:

✅ 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐬 (𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐡)

Think “sample sizes”:

* 10–20 seeds for small seeds (lettuce, basil, flowers)

* 5–10 seeds for larger seeds (beans, cucumbers, sunflowers)

✅ 𝐋𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 '𝐲𝐨𝐮' 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝

At minimum, include:

* plant name + variety

* year packed (freshness matters)

* any notes: “great in containers,” “partial shade,” “fast grower,” etc.

𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬: “days to harvest” or “determinate tomato” if you know it.

𝐒𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 “𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫” 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐩 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬

If you’re limited on space, these are great swap targets:

* 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐟𝐲 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐬 (lettuce mixes, spinach, arugula)

* 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐬 (basil varieties, dill, cilantro, lemon balm)

* 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭/𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐟 𝐯𝐞𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬 (patio tomatoes, bush beans, mini peppers)

* 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬 (calendula, nasturtium, zinnia—container-friendly joy)

* 𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐬 (radish, broccoli, mustard)

𝐀 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐝-𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐩 𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐧 🙌

A lot of seed swaps encourage people to avoid invasive plants and to share responsibly. Local swaps (and conservation groups) often emphasize noninvasive choices and good labeling so folks don’t accidentally spread problems.

If you’re unsure about a seed, label it as a “mystery” and skip swapping it (or ask first).

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐏𝐆𝐒 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐨 𝐚 “𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐩” 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

If we ever wanted to make this a community activity, here are a few simple formats:

𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐀: 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐒𝐰𝐚𝐩 (𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐲)

Members post:

* what they have to share

* what they want

Then they DM to trade.

𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐁: “𝐖𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤”

Everyone posts a wishlist (Top 5 seeds they want to try).

People reply with matches.

𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂: 𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞

Encourage members to check local libraries. Many communities run seed libraries and swaps around this time of year.

𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 👇

𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: If you joined a seed swap this year, what would you be most excited to trade for?

A) container-friendly tomatoes/peppers

B) greens + salad pot mixes

C) herbs (tea garden, anyone?)

D) flowers for pollinators

E) something totally unique — tell us!

And bonus: 𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧-𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐩 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐏𝐆𝐒 “𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 + 𝐃𝐌” 𝐬𝐰𝐚𝐩?

Share your ideas on a seed swap and we'll see if we can get one orgarnized for the community.

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