Guildford Seed Bank

Who we are?

A community project dedicated to saving and swapping open pollinated seeds in the Guildford, Godalming and Farnham areas to preserve as wide a diversity of plants as possible, by growing, saving and sharing - ensuring they are accessible to all. Our first growing season was 2022, and this year we will have hundreds of packets of locally grown seed to distribute.
Seedbank logo
Latest news: October 2023, we now have a set of drawers at Guildford Library where anyone passing can pick up and drop off seed packets. See below for details.
Coming up: Seed Swap 2024  - Guildford, data and location to be confirmed.

"I will argue that every scrap of biological diversity is priceless, to be learned and cherished, and never to be surrendered without a struggle."

-E.O. Wilson

What is a seed bank?

A community seed bank, sometimes known as a seed library, is geared toward protecting biodiversity, is a way for people to save seed, and share locally-adapted seed. Unlike the massive seed banks which keep seed in cold temperatures for decades, a community seed bank is all about saving and using the seed in the next growing season – a renewing cycle each season.

We strongly believe that in a world where our food security is threatened, every single person should have access to seed. This can allow us to collectively plan as communities how we adapt to a changing planet.

If you have seed from a variety of flower or vegetable that you have grown for years or that has been passed down to you, or if you know of local varieties that you would like to see preserved then please do get in contact.

So far in 2022, members of the group have attended the Farnham Sustainability Fair and the Godalming Green Gala with a stall displaying examples of seeds that can be easily saved and educating people on how to get involved in seed saving.

The seed bank and seed library aims can be summarised in five points:

  • Growing and saving seed
  • Sharing seed, plants and cuttings between ourselves and with others
  • Distributing spare seed from local growers and from seed companies, avoiding waste
  • Outreach to promote awareness through events and social media
  • Education on saving own seed and propagating own plants

2022 was a challenging growing year with extremes of temperature and very little rain during spring and summer, but we have still managed to collect decent amounts of seed to distribute at the upcoming seed swap. A selection of herbs and vegetables which will be on offer are below:

  • Tomatoes: Quadro, German Strawberry, Yellow Drop, Hillbilly Potato Leaf, Stonors Exhibition, Black From Tula
  • Kale: Red Russian
  • Beans: Kew Blue, Uncle Bills (climbing French bean), Emperor of Russia
  • Sweet Pepper : 'Lipstick'
  • Chilli: Hot Wax
  • Herbs: Flat leaf parsley, lovage, chives, marjoram
  • Salads & Leafy Greens: Cos Lettuce, raddiccio, chard

Upcoming Events & Features

We'll be updating this website over the coming weeks and months with links to resources and details of what plants have been grown successfully for seed in 2022 and under what growing conditions, to provide a useful guide to local gardeners.

Previous Events:

14 August 2023 - Godalming Green Gala, Bury's Field

1 October 2022, 10:00-14:00 Hart Shopping Centre, Fleet

We'll be there with a stall as part of the Great Big Green Week organised by Hart District Council

16 October 2022, 11:00-13:00, The Spike Community Centre, Warren Road, Guildford GU1 3JH

We are hosting a ‘hands-on’ seed saving course with expert Peter Brinch of the Open-Pollinated Seeds Initiative at The Spike Community Centre, Guildford. Join us for a fun morning of learning how to save seeds for key vegetable crops, covering details such as pollination, isolation, number of plants required, seed harvesting, extraction and storage. The cost of the event will be £10 to cover costs. Please email to reserve a space. Easy walking distance from London Road station, car parking also available on site

Find Out More

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Seed Swap

Seeds

The community seed swap in February 2022 formed part of our launch day for the Guildford Seed Bank, a seed sovereignty initiative aimed at giving the community a thriving, sustainable source of seeds that are adapted to local growing conditions. We are very greatful to the suppliers who have kindly donated seeds for this launch event, and will be running a similar event early in 2023.

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Seed Bank

How does it work?

The aim of the seed bank is to build a network of growers who are interested in seed saving and who are keen to get more people growing. Each grower (or group) then waits for the plant to go produce seed and harvests it. In the autumn we will then get together to pool our harvests. The seeds will then be distributed to anyone who would like to grow their own.