Seedy Sunday in Brighton and Hove is the UK’s biggest and longest-running community seed swap event. From 2025, the Food Partnership will be taking on the running of this much-loved community event. More on these changes below.
Seedy Sunday takes place on the first Sunday in February in Brighton and Hove. A range of stallholders and talks offer inspiration & support for new and experienced gardeners alike. Check out the Seedy Sunday 2025 event page to buy tickets for speakers, and learn more about what is happening on the day.
At the heart of Seedy Sunday is the huge seed swap table where seeds are donated and swapped. Everyone is welcome to bring seeds to swap, or make a small donation for a packet.
Stallholders also offer seeds and gardening kit for sale. Event volunteers and local community groups are also on hand and happy to share their expertise and experiences of growing locally.
Whether you have seeds to swap or not, Seedy Sunday is the perfect place to kick-off your growing season, getting seeds, materials & inspiration for the months ahead.
Seedy Sunday details for 2025:
Sunday February 2nd, 2025
10am to 4pm
Brighton Open Market
Marshalls Row
Brighton BN1 4JU
There will be more information online soon as speakers, stalls and programme timings are confirmed. We’re looking for help on the day of the event and packing seeds beforehand. To find out more about volunteering, please get in touch.
Frequently Asked Questions – Seedy Sunday
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Which seeds can I swap?
- Seeds from plants that do well in your garden or allotment – vegetable, flower, shrub, herbs… We do not wish to be inundated by hollyhocks, fennel or forget-me-not, (although they have their beauty!). More unusual plants are sought after.
- Seeds from healthy plants. They should be collected when ripe, as mature seeds contain more food which ensures vigour and viability ( potential for a high germination rate). The larger the seed, the better.
- Seeds that you have collected to preserve the genetic variety. It is best to save equal numbers of seeds from each healthy plant, rather than only saving seeds from the best plant. The latter is done if you want to develop your own varieties. Seedy Sunday is about preserving heirloom varieties.
- We aim to avoid F1Hybrids, because seeds saved from those plants do not subsequently breed true to type, and it takes a long time to get a stable variety from F1 plants. Therefore we do not use them as our starter stock, nor do we wish to swap them. If you have some F1 seeds, you can experiment with producing your own varieties, but it is a complex and lengthy process…
If you don’t have any seeds to swap, you can select any packets you want from the Seed Table, and give a donation instead.
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How do I package the seeds?
As a rough guideline, envelopes contain enough seeds for a small crop, for example a short row of peas, or beans, a square metre of salads… We advise 5 to 10 seeds per pack for tomatoes, 5 seeds for squashes, 20 to 25 seeds for peas and beans.
Labelling the pack should include name (common or Latin), variety (if applicable), year and place of collection. Example: Tomato – Rose de Berne – 2017 – Shoreham-by-sea.
If you don’t have any seeds to swap, you can select any packets you want from the Seed Table, and give a donation instead.
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Do you have any tips for seed saving?
- Some seeds need to be fermented before being dried, for example tomatoes. This process ensures germination. Keep them in a jar of water for a few days. Rinse well and dry.
- All seeds to be dried should be thoroughly cleaned first, and the chaff and the unviable seeds sieved or removed before proper drying. In the case of broad bean seeds, they should be visually inspected for holes, and later stored in a freezer in order to kill any possible insect infestation.
- During ripening and drying on the plant, the seeds prepare for dormancy by converting sugars to more stable fats and starch. After that they can be safely dried and stored
- Drying should be gradual and thorough, shady spot, airy, dry (20% to 30% Relative humidity), for a couple of weeks, relatively to the size of the seeds. One easy way is to place the seeds in a jar of dry rice for a fortnight. The rice will gradually dry up the seeds. Dry corn and beans will shatter when hit with a hammer.
- Storing should be in dry, constant temperature and moisture, in an insect-free environment. You can store them in the fridge, or even a freezer, but gradually bring them back to room temperature before sowing.
- Best not to swap squashes and pumpkin seeds (Cucurbits), unless the plants have been well isolated, as they cross-fertilize very easily, being a promiscuous lot! Use new stock of seeds instead.
- Some seeds can keep for several years, under favourable conditions, however, some, like parsnips, only keep for a year. Best to use seeds collected this year. Old seeds can always be used for a spot of guerilla gardening.
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Can I volunteer to help?
Yes! Every year at Seedy Sunday around 40 people volunteer to make sure the event runs smoothly. We ask our volunteers to give a minimum of two hours of their time.
Jobs include working on the entrance desk, helping on the seed table, helping with the speaker programme and lots more. As a thank you for your help, we offer free entry to the event and hot drinks & cake/ lunch. It is really good fun and many of our volunteers return year after year.
We also run seed packing events before the event where volunteers can help us prepare packets for the seed swap table.
To express interest in volunteering, please email info@seedysunday.org.
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How do I book a stall at the event?
Seedy Sunday is attended by over 2,000 local people each year, keen to engage with food growing, gardening and conservation campaigns & materials.
We have a limited number of information, food and sales stall spaces available for the event.
All stall spaces are booked through our partners at Brighton Open Market – info@brightonopenmarket.co.uk.
Please note we will prioritise spaces for organisations in our local area who can demonstrate their commitment to local & ethical sourcing, reducing waste and paying Living Wage/ Fair Trade rates to staff & suppliers.
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How did Seedy Sunday start?
Brighton and Hove Seedy Sunday began in 2001, when two members of Brighton and Hove Organic Gardening Group went on holiday to Vancouver, Canada.
There they happened upon a seed swap, organised by Sharon Rempel of Saltspring Seeds. The Brighton gardeners were so impressed that when they got back to England they persuaded a group of fellow growers to help organize a similar event. The result, the UK’s first ever seed swap, took place in St George’s Hall, in Kemptown in Brighton, in February 2002.
Since then, the venue has changed, first to the Old Market in Hove then to the bigger Hove Town Hall and then to the iconic Brighton Dome Corn Exchange, and most recently to Brighton Open Market.
The event has grown to include talks, demonstrations, children’s activities, a cafe and a vibrant market place with over 50 stalls. But at heart it remains a community seed swap: a place where experienced and aspiring growers share seeds for the following year’s crop and tips on how to grow them.
For many it marks the start of the gardening year – we come out of hibernation and reconnect with old friends and make new ones. It really has become an event for gardeners and aspiring gardeners of all ages and abilities – we laughed when James Wong tweeted that there were more check shirts at Seedy Sunday than in a Brick Lane Coffee shop!
The Seedy Sunday team has also helped many other towns and villages start their own seed swaps over the years.
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How did the Food Partnership get involved?
The incredible volunteers on the Seedy Sunday committee have helped ensure the success of this event for many years, but the team felt that in the long-term Seedy Sunday would be better embedded within a larger organisation and support structure.
In 2024, they asked the Brighton & Hove Food Partnership to take over the lead role in co-ordinating, but will continue to offer ongoing support & involvement from key Seedy Sunday volunteers and those with expert knowledge of the event and its history. The Food Partnership has attended & supported Seedy Sunday events for over 15 years, so have a strong understanding of the history and impact of the event.
Seedy Sunday events run by this new team should still feel very familiar to those who have attended the event for many years, and the Food Partnership are excited to bring their team’s ideas & energy to this much-loved Brighton institution.
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Who else is involved?
Main Sponsor – Infinity Foods
We are tremendously grateful to Infinity Foods & Infinity Wholesale for their generous sponsorship of Seedy Sunday.
Our partners also include:
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Accessibility & transport
In 2025, Seedy Sunday will be held on the ground floor of The Open Market, which is wheelchair accessible. There is one wheelchair accessible toilet on site.
There is no parking at the Open Market but there are paid car parks and paid street parking nearby.
Several buses run close to the venue – see Brighton and Hove buses. You can walk to the venue from Brighton railway station – see National Rail.
Anyone needing assistance on the day can ask a volunteer from the Seedy Sunday team.