Southampton Seed Swap 2026 / Bitterne Station Community Hub / Sat 14.3.26

Southampton Seed Swap celebrates 20 years of sharing seeds, skills and growing know-how. Free entry, seed swapping, growing advice, plants for sale, wildlife info, and refreshments. Donations welcome.

Southampton Seed Swap celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, marking two decades of community seed sharing, growing advice, and local food resilience. The annual event welcomes everyone, from experienced growers to complete beginners, and offers a friendly, accessible way to get involved in growing and biodiversity.

At the heart of the event is the Seed Swap Table, where visitors can bring saved or surplus seeds to exchange. For those without seeds to swap, a wide selection will be available by donation, including seeds from the Heritage Seed Library, giving people the chance to grow unusual and heritage varieties while supporting vital conservation work.

The day also offers informal growing advice and skill sharing, with opportunities to swap ideas and learn from other local growers. Yvonne’s Plants will be hosting a stall selling a wide range of plants, including herbs, vegetables, flowers, trees, and shrubs. Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust will be present with information about their local projects and how people can support wildlife through gardening and green spaces.

Hot drinks, cakes, and snacks will be available from The Art House Community Pantry, along with vegetables and bread offered by donation. Entry is free, with donations supporting both the Seed Swap and the Community Pantry.

What is a Seed Swap?

Over the past century we have lost 97% of our vegetable varieties in the UK alone.

A handful of corporations now control a quarter of the world’s entire seed market – the very same corporations that are pushing their GM ‘products’ into our homes. All the while, people who save seeds are being branded ‘pirates’ by those who try to control seeds by patenting them.

Seed Swaps are a global, grassroots movement to try out another way of doing things. Southampton Seed Swap, inspired by Seedy Sunday in Brighton, has been running since 2006 every year.

How does it work?

In return for a donation or in exchange for seed you have saved, growers can choose seeds from dozens of traditional varieties of garden vegetables, to take home and grow. If you don't have seeds to swap, you can make a donation instead!

There will also be growing advice and Yvonne’s Plants stall.

The cafe will be open selling drinks, snacks, cakes and soups.

11am – 2pm – free entry, donations welcome

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