This Event is Open to the Public and Free to Attend
What Is It?
The Bury St Edmunds Seed Swap is a welcoming community event where local gardeners and growers come together to share seeds, knowledge, and inspiration. Whether you’re a seasoned allotment holder or just curious about growing your own herbs, flowers, or veg, this event is for you. Bring seeds if you have them, or simply come along and see what’s on offer – it’s free, friendly, and open to all.
You can swap shop bought or home picked vegetable seeds, flower seeds, gardening magazines, books or potted house plants. If you have no seeds to swap, we are asking for a small donation of 50p an item. All donations collected will go to our chosen charity.
How Does It Work?
Taking part is easy. If you have spare seeds – either saved from your garden or leftover from packets – bring them along, clearly labelled with the plant name and any useful growing notes. Once you arrive, you can browse the seed tables and take home anything you’d like to grow.
You don’t need to bring seeds to take seeds – the aim is to encourage sharing and community growing, not direct trading. If you do not have anything to trade, we ask a 50p donation per seed packet, that will be donated to our chosen charity after the event. We’ll also have plenty of advice available, along with friendly volunteers happy to chat.
For The Community
This event is open to all. Whether you are an experienced gardener preparing your front garden for Bury In Bloom, an avid allotmenteer looking for something new to try for the growing season or to swap vegetable seed packets you don’t particularly care for, a novice or first time gardener looking for an inexpensive way to trial and error vegetable and flower growing, or just someone looking for like minded people to have some coffee and cake with and connect over a love of gardening and growing.
Why are Seed Swap Events so Important?
They Protect Biodiversity
Commercial seed production tends to favour a limited number of crop varieties, often bred for uniformity, shelf life, and transportability rather than taste or resilience. Seed swaps help preserve unusual, local, heirloom, and heritage varieties that might otherwise disappear. Each shared seed helps protect genetic diversity — a key defence against pests, disease, and climate change.
They Support Sustainability
Seed swaps reduce waste by giving unused seeds a new home. They encourage local food production, which cuts down on the environmental impact of packaging, transport, and large-scale agriculture. And they promote growing practices that are often more organic, regenerative, and environmentally conscious.
They Help Us Pass On Knowledge
Many seed swappers also share growing tips, cultural traditions, and seed-saving skills. This keeps valuable knowledge alive, from how to grow successful crops in your local soil to how to save seeds for the next season. It's a grassroots way of preserving skills that are too often lost.
They Strengthen Communities
Seed swaps bring people together. They create spaces for learning, sharing stories, and connecting over a shared love of growing. Whether you're a beginner or an expert, you’ll meet people with knowledge to share and a willingness to support each other. They can even spark friendships, projects, and local growing networks.
They Make Growing Accessible
Seeds can be expensive, and seed packets often contain more than one person needs. Swapping is free and flexible. It reduces cost and waste while making it easier for people to start gardening — especially those with limited budgets, small spaces, or just a curiosity to try something new.
They Support Food Sovereignty
Seed swaps put power back in the hands of local growers. People can grow what they want, when they want, and save seeds for the future. This helps communities become more self-sufficient and resilient.