A Visit to Northampton Seedy Saturday Seed Swap.

Today I took a drive down the motorway to a seed swap event, held each February It’s aimed at all growers and gardeners, whether they’ve a window box, an allotment plot, a market garden or something bigger. The idea is that you take along your packets of leftover or excess flower, vegetable, fruit and herb seeds, or seeds you’ve  saved from your own home-grown produce, to add to the seed swap table for others to take, grow and enjoy.

In return, you can choose from the huge variety of seeds on the table, which usually includes rare and interesting varieties that are hard to find elsewhere. The event is intended to encourage diversity in local produce, make rare and interesting seeds available to the growing community, and to help safeguard these varieties for future generations to enjoy.

The event is hosted by Fruitful Abundance which is a Community Interest Company bringing increased knowledge and awareness about the food system in Northamptonshire and worldwide to make it equitable for all and sustainable for the future.

Over the past couple of years I’ve gained quite a surplus of vegetable and flower seeds from various sources, mostly trade shows, and online seed swaps. Late last year I even won a competition in which the prize was random 30 packets of seeds, most of which I just did not have room to grow, so was happy to swap.

Upon arrival I quickly found where to drop my seeds off and started to take a peruse through what other packets of seed were already available to swap, it was very busy and swapping was in full swing, I had conversations with other gardeners about last years weather conditions, which was a good climbing bean to grow and which are good  seeds for children to try.

Seed Swapping is a serious business.

Locally grown bean seeds

Handmade seed packets

I was nice to see handmade seed packets displaying the contents in an artistic way.

The Seed Company Thomas Etty was in attendance, I had a good poke though what was for sale, but refrained from buying any more seeds.

There was a stall selling second-hand Gardening and Cookery Books, The Northampton Beekeepers had a stall and so did the Local Organic group who were selling Seed potatoes and leaflets on Organic Growing methods.

Organic Group

Bee Keepers

Preserves.

By now your possibly wondering what I came away with, well I did carry around a packet of interesting Chilli seeds that I liked the description of, however I returned them to the swap table, I avoided the cake stall and shunned the Honey and Jams, and made for the exit.

I still have more than enough interesting seeds at home, and I’m taking part on an on-line seed swap this year and usually end up receiving loads of weird and wonderful seeds as a result of that swap.

So dear reader I was very restrained, I managed to give away about 100 packets of various seeds to the good gardeners of the middle counties.

I hope they do well for them.