Seed swaps — allotment society tables, village hall events, the shoebox at the community garden — run on trust and Sellotape. A few unwritten rules keep them worth coming back to; here they are, written down.
Because one is. "Tomato" is not a label; "Tomato — Gardener's Delight, saved 2026, cherry, tall" is. Include the year (viability fades), the variety if you know it, and honest uncertainty if you don't ("volunteer squash, probably butternut-ish, adventure guaranteed"). A swap where every packet is properly labelled is a seed library; one where they aren't is compost with extra steps.
Only bring what you'd sow yourself: this year's or last year's seed, properly dried, from healthy plants. Ten to twenty seeds per packet is the sweet spot — enough for a real try, not so many that one packet drains your saving. And declare crossers: brassicas, squash and sweetcorn cross-pollinate freely, so seed from an unisolated plant should say so. Nobody minds a gamble; everybody minds a gamble labelled as a certainty.
Because there is. Take what you'll genuinely sow, leave rarities for people who don't have them, and if you're new with nothing to bring — take a little anyway; that's how the cycle starts, and next year you'll arrive with packets. Thank the organisers, who counted envelopes at midnight so you didn't have to.
A clear, printed packet with the variety, year and notes on the front answers every question the table would otherwise ask — and makes your seed the first to go, which is quietly the seed saver's competitive sport.
General guidance, August 2026. CAAC.