Get Ready for Spring: Host a Seed Swap Party

Before the growing season starts, gather your gardener friends to share seeds and plant seedlings that can be started indoors.

By: Jacquelyn McGilvray

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Photo By: Derek Trimble

Start With Seed Paper

All gardeners are tree huggers. So, if you’re going to send invites, use recycled paper or better yet, use paper that has been embedded with seeds and can be planted in the spring. Seed paper is an invite and party favor all in one!

Supplies

You’ll need seeds, of course, plus small envelopes to hold seeds and pens and pencils to mark the envelopes. Also, if you’re going to start the seeds you’ll need seedling pots or a seedling pot maker with newspaper, seed-starting mix and plant markers. Include note paper or notepads to jot down planting instructions or gardening tips.

Create Stations for Each Activity

Lay out the supplies based on the activity and let your guests move from station to station - pot making, planting, envelope decorating, seed sorting, etc. It’s bound to get messy, so you may want to cover the table with a canvas drop cloth or plastic tablecloth.

Categorize

Sort the seeds in like groups such as annual flowers, perennials, herbs, fruits and veggies. Ask your guests to share self-gathered seeds as well as commercial seeds from last year that they may not have been able to plant. (Many of us with big garden aspirations buy more seeds than we have room for!) If they don't have any seeds on hand, there are no rules against going out and buying some new seeds to share.

Harvest Your Own

If you’ve saved deadheaded flowers or have dried seed pods that need separating, lay them out on the table with a few jars and allow guess to harvest their own seeds.

Jars of Seed

You can also offer up harvested seed from last year in jars with a measuring spoon alongside envelopes for individual packaging.

Collage the Envelopes

Use old seed catalogs to label new seed envelopes. If you have little ones at your party, this is a great job for them. When laying out your materials, include small scissors, glue sticks and seed catalogs.

Take Good Notes

Lay out small notepads so your guests can jot down planting instructions and gardening tips. Experienced gardeners love to share information as well as seeds, so ask questions and take notes.

Make Seedling Pots

Sure, you can buy seedling pots, but making pots from newspaper is much more fun. A wooden pot maker tool is less than $20 and you can ask your guests to bring old newspapers. Watch this video to see how it works.

Seed Starter

To make it easy to fill the seedling pots, pour seed-starting mix out in a shallow vessel, include a small scoop or just dig in and get your hands dirty.

Start Planting

Fill the pots about 3/4 full with seed-starting mix then sprinkle in a few seeds and top with a bit more mix. Now you’ve already got a jump on your spring planting.

Stick Markers

No need to spend money on plant markers. Gather sticks from your yard, sharpen your pocket knife then use permanent markers to label your seedlings.

Snacks

Your guests might get hungry dreaming about their bountiful vegetable garden; offer finger foods like cookies, nut bars and of course, edible seeds like pumpkin or sunflower. If you’re holding your party outdoors, fill a crock pot with cider and serve warm.