conceive of it as the mother of all seed swaps . TheSeed Savers Exchange — now in its 45th year — started with just 29 participants long before the internet even be . These days it ’s a robust , on-line biotic community of gardener sharing open - pollenate and heirloom seeds .
In 2020 , more than 400 people contributed over 20,000 varieties of veggies , yield and blossom .
interchange involvement used to be reserved forSeed Savers Exchange members , but it ’s now opened to the world . “ Anyone and everyone can make an account , and it ’s detached , ” say Kathryn Gilbery , Exchange and Outreach Coordinator for Seed Savers Exchange .
Read more : Increase your sales of plant starts by selling through an on-line nursery .
What You’ll Find
“ We do have some thing on the Exchange that are n’t offer anywhere else , ” Gilbery says . “ We have a cleaning lady in North Dakota who ’s offering a pink dayspring glory . It was in the beginning a blue morn glory and then her plantthrew off a sportsman . ”
She go forward , “ That does n’t mean that the seed was cross or that a error was made … . Somewhere hiding in the genes of the seeds , there was an property for garden pink . So , she had one pinkish efflorescence one year .
“ She saved seminal fluid from that flower and has since re - generated them for about seven growing season . She has now stabilized it and has a brand newpink morning glorythat is n’t usable in any commercial catalog . ”
The Exchange is dwelling house to many interesting open - pollenate and heirloom varieties — including some you might never have heard of . “ We ’ve had Tuber fromskirret , which is an old veggie that was popular in Roman times , ” Gilbery note . “ It has a parsnip smack . ”
The ejaculate - share-out program make a voluminous , publish catalog available , and family line offer source on the Exchange have a complimentary copy . The mark catalogue is alsoavailable for sale .
Prefer the paperless route ? you may always access — and search — theExchange ’s spare , online catalogue .
Pro Tip
The peachy genetic diversity that germ - sharing provides can provide an edge for gardener face climate change , too . Case in stage ? There are multiple listings in the Exchange for sure varieties like the Black Krim tomato plant , but some of these might be better suited for you than others .
“ Seeds grown by home gardeners are more genetically unique and more altered to their regions , ” Gilbery explains . “ So , you could find somebody who is offer Black Krim that has the most similar mature region to you . mayhap that is somebody in Colorado who is maturate it at in high spirits elevation . Or you might want to get [ Black Krim ] from somebody who ’s grow it in a really hot climate like Alabama or Texas .
“ That ’s another benefit of quest seeded player from folk on the Exchange . ”
Read more : concerned in saving seeds from your tomatoes ? Here ’s how !
Offering Seeds
desire to extend your own open - pollinated or heirloom seed on the Exchange ? you could sign up for a free , on-line history and do so anytime . However , if you desire your contributions to be include in the mark catalog , the clock ’s ticking .
“ November 27th is the deadline for us to compile the ’ 20-’21 [ catalogue ] , so it can go to print and get get off in January , ” Gilbery say . “ But kinsfolk can list their seed at any time of the twelvemonth , and they ’ll be seeable online on the Exchange internet site . ”
Dos and Don’ts
The Exchange does n’t accept varieties that arepatented , genetically engineer , crossed ( or potentially crossed ) or unstable . Other no - gos include F1 hybrids and vicious , noxious , controlled or illegal variety show .
You also take to have grown out the seeds yourself before extend them on the Exchange .
And , whether you ’re offering an heirloom attic that ’s been in your family for generations or something more recent , allow details . “ Document the source story as much as you could , ” Gilbery recommends . “ Let them have it away , ‘ I got this from my barber , ’ or ‘ I get this from my neighbor … . ’ ”
No one want to run afoul of seed - selling laws . That ’s why Exchange list Leontyne Price alone cover transport and manipulation tie in with meet seed requests . “ If you ’re call for to be compensated for the seeds themselves , that ’s when those regularization kvetch in and you would need a sprouting test , licensing and thing like that , ” Gilbery pronounce .
Not trusted you have enough seeds to put up to the effort ? You ’ll need to be able to provide at least 25 seeds per petition that you encounter from the Exchange . hold enough seeded player to fill at least five postulation is a effective start if you plan to be include in the mark catalog .
If you have less than that , you could opt to list only in the Exchange ’s online catalog . Once you consort out of come , you may simply remove the listing .
