How To Get Free Seeds For Your Garden – Gardening Freebies

Last Updated on October 31, 2022 by Real Men Sow

If you’re growing your own to save some cash (and let’s face it, who doesn’t like a few more pennies in their pocket?), then keeping the cost of your seed order to a minimum is going to be important.

Experienced plotholders can save seeds from last year, but what if you’re a beginner? Here are 8 ways I’ve used that got me some freebie seeds.

Watch out for the trial seeds

Lots of the big seed companies offer varieties they’re trialing to customers for free to find out if they’re worth stocking again the next year. Sometimes you have to ask for them, but more often than not they’ll just be chucked in with your order, like DT Brown’s 2011 butterhead lettuce seeds.

Start a Gardening Blog

Start a blog at www.vegetableseeds.net, keep it active for three months, and you’ll receive 10 free packs of seeds in the post. Get on it today and you’ll find the seeds winging their way to you just in time for the outdoor sowing season.

If you’ve already got a blog, vegetableseeds.net is offering 10 free packs now to anyone who puts a link to the company on their site.

Magazine Giveaways for Easy Free Seed

The magazine will often carry free seeds on the front at this time of year. In fact, Grow Your Own is giving away a packet of Early Nantes carrot this month. You’ve got to buy the mag, so strictly speaking they’re not free, but if you take into account all the knowledge and ideas you also get, then they’re still a bargain!

Seed Swapping Days

Keep an eye out for your local paper or do a quick google search for seed swapping in your area. This will bring up plenty of places to take unused seeds and exchange them for ones you do need (I love these, they’re like a grown-up version of football stickers… got… got… need… got).

Alternatively, why not set up your own seed swap day? Local rags love this sort of stuff. A quick call to the editor and a few posters will get you the coverage you need to make sure enough people come along.

Use Seed Exchange Forums to Get Free Seeds

No seed exchange days near you? Check out the internet gardening forums. They’ve all got seed exchange sections which I use to not only grab what’s on offer but post some wanted threads too. In fact, I’ve just posted a list of what I’ve got to swap over on the Grow Your Own forums. Let me know if there’s anything you want!

FreeCycle To Get Amazing New Seeds

Check the internet for your local FreeCycle group, which will be full of unwanted stuff available to take for nothing. As well as seeds, other useful things often turn up like water butts, compost bins, and if you’re my ever so lucky fishing buddy, a whole greenhouse!

Speak to Friends and Colleagues

I can talk the hind legs off a donkey when allotmenteering is the subject matter, and last year I was really surprised where this got me. I discovered unexpected covert veg growers, as well as lots of people who were dead excited about gardening and more than happy to share excess seeds and plants with me.

Three squash plants made their way to my plot, as well as a bag of runner bean seeds and several raspberry canes which I swapped for a globe artichoke plant.

Work out what you need

Seed buying day is a whole heap of fun, but it’s very easy to get carried away at the garden centre. In my first growing season, I went down the nursery and came away with enough seeds to start a farm. My attitude of ‘Oooh, that looks good, I’ll have that’ cost me fifty quid!

More recently, I’ve written a list, with a date for when I need the seeds, and ticked them off as I’ve got some. If I can’t swap any, or find them for free, I can always pop to the garden centre when its time to sow.

Like my beginner allotment tips, these are only my experiences. I’m no pro, but hopefully, they’ll be of some use. And I’m always on the lookout for money-saving ideas, so if you’ve got any, please leave a comment!

Real Men Sow
Real Men Sow

Hello, I’m Pete and I’m currently based in the west of Scotland, in a small place called Rosneath, where I’m exploring my garden adventures. I personally started gardening around 6 years ago and initially, I started out by growing my favorite fruits and berries, such as strawberries, Raspberries & Gooseberries. Since then I’ve added a lot of vegetables and working closely with my neighbor, it’s been a lot of fun.

5 thoughts on “How To Get Free Seeds For Your Garden – Gardening Freebies”

  1. Hi Jono!
    You wrote:”If you’ve already got a blog, vegetableseeds.net are offering 10 free packs now to anyone who puts a link to the company on their site.”
    I have my own blog -http://manfromdorchester.blogspot.com/ and I now start an allotment.
    How I can put a link to the vegetableseeds.net on my blog?
    Any help please!
    Regard
    Brian

  2. Hi Jono,
    Free seeds are always welcome in our “Centro ecológico Terra Viva ” in the south of Brazil. I’m working here as a volunteer to help poor families to start a vegetableplot. So if anywone can help me please contact me.
    Louis

  3. Hi Jono, took a look at your starting pictures. Looks rather daunting! I am wanting to start a garden this spring and liked your article about getting free seeds. Will give some of them a try. Thanks.

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