The suggested minimum seed count per packet is 24 seeds (two dozen). Some seeds are very rare, or are difficult to collect, or are weighty and costly to mail. Because of any of these reasons you may wish to put less than 24 seeds into a packet. ALWAYS put this information in your very first post when you offer an "under-count" package of seeds. That way there's no "hard feelings" later on. If a trader knows exactly what they're trading for they will be content with their trade.

Seed trading is a wonderful hobby. It's an excellent way to acquire new garden seeds at a very economical cost, and friendships between traders are always rewarding. Seed trading can help you fill your seed box quickly with many different seeds, and your garden will be more beautiful than you can imagine because of all the new and exciting varieties you germinate and grow from those seeds. How do I start trading? You need to post that you have seeds available to trade. In your post you list your seeds or you ask people to look at your trade list on your GardenWeb member page. You may also add your "wish list" to your post, or add any special information that you would like your traders to know when they trade with you. How do I do it? By trading your own seeds for the seeds of another gardener. You offer a list of seeds to each other to choose from, you select what you want to trade for from the other gardener's list. The other gardener will make selections from your list. You both agree on the trade, then exchange mailing addresses. You mail your packs of seeds in protective wrapping. Use bubblewrap to encase the seed packets and place that in an envelope, or you use a padded mailer. The padding helps prevent the seeds from being crushed while in the mail. When the seed arrive you email the other trader to let them know that their seeds arrived and then your trade is complete. That's how you trade seeds....it's easy, it's fun, and it's a wonderful hobby. Trudi

As long as your older seeds have been kept away from severe fluctuations of temperature and/or stored away from direct sunlight they'll be fine. Many seeds can last for several, several years. What you can do is that when you post your list of seeds put a little note into your post to let the traders know how well the seeds have been cared for by being stored well, and put the collection year next to the plant name. The other traders will know from the very beginning that they're trading for older seeds. That will be good way to post your seeds.

There are several very active seed exchange and seed bank groups on Facebook, with instant real time messaging. Some have fun games, like Wednesday Wishes, Trading Tuesday, and Give & Take. Just search for seed vault, seed exchange, seed library, SASE, etc. Once you find and join one group, you'll get recommendations for other groups. I just discovered this seed trading place as well. https://www.globalseednetwork.org/