Money Crashers: How to Start a Seed Savers Exchange

So, as you all know, Brian and I are gardeners. Not large-scale gardeners, maybe not particularly skilled gardeners, but reasonably avid gardeners. We do a lot of the semi-hardcore stuff that other hobby gardeners don't waste time with, like starting plants from seed and making our own compost. We've even tried saving seeds from our crops, though considering the hassle involved, it didn't really seem to be worth the trouble.

One thing we've never really done, though, is seed swapping. We've sort of flirted with the idea from time to time, exchanging some extra seeds with my dad or accepting Freecycle offers for half-empty seed packets, but we've never gone to a full-scale seed exchange with dozens of other gardeners. Mainly, that's because we don't know enough other gardeners to swap seeds with, and our town—though it's very sustainable in many ways, with a good curbside recycling program, a great public library, and a community café—doesn't have such a thing as a permanent seed library.

Such things do exist, however, and in some places, they're apparently very successful. In my latest Money Crashers article, I discuss seed exchanges: how they work, where they're found, and how to start one. I don't think I'm quite up to starting one myself—based on the research I did for this article, it sounds like rather a lot of work—but if I ever hear of one in my area, I'll certainly be happy to contribute.

Here's the full article: How to Start a Seed Savers Exchange for Gardeners in Your Community