Imagine a place where growers share their seeds, from heirloom tomatoes to wildflowers.
Swipe right, get a match, and instead of ghosting and awkward first dates you get beans perfectly suited to growing in your climate.
That’s Sow Revolution: swipe, match, swap, and watch your garden evolve.

✅ Sign up and create your account.

🫛 List the spare seeds from your stash.

↔ Swipe through the seeds other growers are offering.

🤩 If you both say yes, it's a match. Time to make the swap happen.

🌱 Chat, agree whether to swap by post or in person, and get growing.

Anyone with seeds to share! You don’t need to be an expert gardener, beginners are welcome too.

Not at all. Many people start by swapping from commercial seed packets they’ve bought but don’t need all of. If you do save your own seeds, that’s even better and adds to the diversity available.

Seed swapping helps protect biodiversity, preserves rare and heritage varieties, and strengthens local food networks. It’s also cost-effective and a great way to connect with fellow gardeners.

There is no app to download. Sow Revolution works in any web browser on your phone, tablet or computer, so you can list seeds and swipe wherever you are.

Email verification helps us ensure the community is made up of real people and protects you from spam and fake accounts.

It also means you can reset your password if you forget it, so you never lose access to your account.

If you like, we can also email you about matches, messages and important updates. Notifications are optional, and you can choose which ones you receive in your settings.

By default, we only show you seeds from within your customs territory.

This makes it easier for you to respect customs regulations and reduces the risk of plant diseases spreading across borders.

You can choose to see seeds from outside your territory in your preferences. You will then see seeds from growers who have also opted in to swapping outside their territory. Responsibility for complying with import and export rules rests with you.

Since Brexit, the UK is no longer a single territory for customs and plant health rules. Northern Ireland is treated differently: for customs purposes it sits alongside the EU rather than the rest of the UK.

Asking for your specific country means we can show you seeds you can send and receive more easily, and it reduces the risk of plant diseases spreading across borders.

If you choose to see seeds from outside your customs territory, responsibility for complying with import and export rules rests with you.

Before you can swipe and discover seeds, you'll need to complete three quick steps:

1. Verify your email (check your inbox for the link)

2. Select your country (so we can show you relevant matches)

3. Add at least one seed to your collection (what you're offering to swap)

Once that's done, you're ready to start swapping!

You'll get notified about matches, swap updates and messages. Free members receive a daily email digest at a time you choose. Plus members can also choose instant emails.

You can manage web and email notifications for each type of update from your notification settings.

Yes, at any time. Go to your profile settings and choose Delete account. Our privacy policy explains how your personal data is handled.

No. Sow Revolution is free to join, with no card required.

Free members get 100 swipes a month and can join up to 10 groups. Love it? Upgrade to Plus for unlimited swipes and groups, plus extra features.

Schools and community gardens get Plus for free.

See our pricing page for the full details.

Plus is our optional membership for growers who want unlimited swapping. Our introductory prices are:

• £1 a month, the most flexible option
• £10 a year, the best value
• £30 lifetime, a limited time offer: pay once, keep Plus forever

These are introductory prices and will increase in future. Join now and you keep your introductory price for as long as you stay subscribed.

Every Plus payment directly supports the running and development of Sow Revolution.

Free members get:

• 100 swipes a month

• Create 1 Group

• Join up to 10 groups

• A daily email digest

Plus members enjoy:

• Unlimited swipes and unlimited groups

• Priority visibility, so your seeds are shown first

• Advanced filters: search by specific varieties, F1 status, or username

• Reset swipes to re-discover seeds you've skipped

• Seed packet text reading (OCR) to identify varieties automatically from a photo

• Friends filter in Discover, and see exactly which seeds a member has on their profile

• Create and join unlimited groups

• Instant email notifications

• Vote on upcoming features, a Plus profile badge, and an ad-free experience

Upgrade anytime from your dashboard.

Free members get 100 swipes a month. It is a rolling limit: each swipe becomes available again one month after you used it, and we will tell you the date when you reach your limit.

Plus members get unlimited swipes.

You can switch between monthly and yearly plans, or cancel, at any time from the billing portal on your Plus page. Payments are handled securely by Stripe.

If you cancel, you stay a Plus member until the end of the month or year you have already paid for, and it will not renew.

Cancelling your membership never triggers an automatic refund. If you cancel, you keep your Plus benefits until the end of the period you have paid for.

If you change your mind within 14 days of purchase, contact us and we will give you a full refund. If your Plus started with a free month, for example from a referral, the 14 days start from your first payment.

After 14 days, if you would rather end your membership straight away, contact us and we can offer a pro-rata refund for the unused time.

We believe education and community growing should never be locked behind a paywall. If you're a school or community garden, create a free account, then drop us a message from your official school or organisation email address (or your official social media account) and tell us your username. We aim to verify you within 2 working days. Once we've verified you, we'll switch your account to Plus, with a Community badge on your profile.

Email us at hello@sowrevolution.com or send us a DM on social media (@sowrevolution), so we can verify you are who you say you are.

Every listing needs a variety. You can also add:

• Quantity (exact, or marked as approximate)

• Source (home-saved, shop-bought, or a freebie)

• Date saved and expiry date, so growers can judge freshness

• Notes such as growing tips, flavour, or whether it's open-pollinated or heritage

• Up to 4 photos

We recommend you give each variety its own labelled envelope before you post it, as it makes listing and swapping much easier. Our launch blog post has a step-by-step guide to getting swap-ready.

Yes. If you've bought a packet you won't use in full, sharing the surplus makes perfect sense. Just set the source to shop-bought so other growers know what they're getting.

You may see some varieties labelled F1. These are hybrids, made by deliberately crossing two different parent plants. They are popular because the plants grow evenly and vigorously, but if you save seed from them, the next generation won't reliably grow like the parent plant. Some growers prefer to avoid them for that reason, so Plus members can choose to include or exclude F1 varieties when browsing seeds.

You can suggest a new variety when adding a seed. Our team reviews suggestions, and once approved the variety becomes available to everyone.

No, this platform is about swapping, not selling. If money changes hands, it defeats the purpose of building a sharing economy.

That's fine, you can still list them. Every species has two extra varieties you can choose:

• unknown for seeds where you know the plant but not the variety, like seeds saved from a friend's garden or an unlabelled packet.
• mix for a packet with more than one variety in it.

Pick the species, then choose unknown or mix as the variety. Add anything you do know to the notes, such as where the seeds came from or what the plants looked like, so other swappers know what to expect.

Think of it like a dating app, but for seeds!

• Swipe right on seeds you'd love to grow.
• Swipe left on ones that aren't for you.

Each seed listing shows you photos, variety details, when it was saved, and notes from the grower. You can filter by category, species, group and people (everyone, people you follow or, with Plus, your friends) to find exactly what you're looking for.

When you swipe right on someone's seed and they swipe right on one of yours, it's a match!

Once matched, you'll receive a notification and the swap will appear in your Swaps page, where you can chat and agree the details of the exchange.

Yes. You can remove seeds from a match if you change your mind, as long as the swap has not been confirmed.

You won’t be able to remove seeds if doing so would leave one side empty.

This gives both parties flexibility to adjust what is being offered before committing to the exchange.

Yes. You can decline a match at any time before a swap is confirmed.

Declining a match will unlock the seeds involved and make them available for other potential swaps.

Yes. A match expires if neither of you acts on it in time. You choose how long you're happy to wait for a reply, from 1 to 5 days. You're asked to choose your wait time the first time you propose a swap. You can change it any time in your preferences.

When you click Propose Swap, you are confirming that you want to go ahead with the exchange as shown.

The other member then has your chosen wait time (1 to 5 days) to reply. If they do not confirm within that time, the swap expires automatically.

Don't worry if a swap expires. Your seeds are unlocked and made available for other matches, and you can still revive the swap if you're both still interested.

Once a match is created, the seeds involved are temporarily locked so they cannot be offered in other swaps at the same time.

If the match is declined or expires, the seeds are unlocked and become available again.

Yes. Once you've matched, you and your swap partner agree whether to swap by post or in person. Both of you need to agree, and you can chat about the details in the swap.

If you swap by post, you'll each be asked to share an address at that point. In-person swaps don't need one.

Members send seeds directly to each other and arrange and pay for their own postage. Sow Revolution doesn't handle or insure seeds, so it's worth sending only what you can spare and packing envelopes carefully.

When you post your seeds, you can record the courier and tracking code so your swap partner knows they're on the way.

Your address is only shared if both people in a swap explicitly agree to complete the exchange by post. Until then, your address remains private and hidden from other users.

If either party decides not to proceed with a swap, your address is never disclosed.

Seeds travel directly between members, so Sow Revolution can't guarantee delivery. Tracking codes and dispatch details on the site are self-reported by members.

If something goes wrong, chat with your swap partner first. If you can't resolve it, get in touch and we'll help where we can.

After a swap you can rate your swap partner on communication, seed quality and delivery, and leave a comment.

Feedback stays hidden until you have both left yours, or for two weeks, whichever comes first. This keeps it honest and stops people reacting to each other.

Got seeds you would happily give away? The Seed Gifts tab in My Swaps shows people who liked your seeds, and you can offer them as a gift with nothing expected back. Seeds show there 24 hours after you add them, so there is time to match first.

Seed Gifts are free to give and free to receive. Every packet you gift counts towards your packets gifted, which is shown on your profile. People who have gifted the most are shown first on other gardeners' gift lists, so being generous makes it more likely you will be offered seeds when you want them.

A packet counts once the recipient confirms it has arrived, or 14 days after it was posted if they do not report it missing.

Packets gifted have no monetary value and cannot be bought, sold or exchanged for anything else.

Please post your seeds soon after agreeing a swap or Seed Gift by post, and mark them as dispatched on the swap page so your swap partner knows they're on the way.

We'll send you reminders while you're waiting to post. If your seeds still aren't marked as dispatched 14 days after the swap was agreed, your account is put on hold.

While your account is on hold, you can't swipe, match, or give or receive Seed Gifts, and your seeds are hidden from other members. You can still open your agreed swaps to mark seeds as dispatched and chat with your swap partner. As soon as your seeds are marked as dispatched, everything switches back on.

If something is stopping you posting, let your swap partner know, or get in touch and we can give you more time.

Groups let you swap with growers you already know or live near. There are three types:

• Open groups anyone can join

• Code-protected groups, joined with a code or a link. Group admins can download a poster with a QR code, perfect for allotment sites, schools and community gardens.

• Location-based groups, for growers living within a set distance of a place. You'll need a postal address saved in your account to join.

Free members can join up to 10 groups and create 1 of their own. Plus members can join and create unlimited groups.

Yes! Our seed swap pages list local in-person seed swaps by city. Know about one we've missed? Send us the details and we'll add it.

You can follow any member from their profile, from a group's member list, or after leaving good feedback on a swap. They get a notification when you follow them.

If they follow you back, you're friends.

In Discover, use the People filter to see seeds only from people you follow or, with Plus, only from your friends.

You can see who you follow and who follows you under Followers in your settings. Only you can see these lists.

Anyone with the link can view your profile page, including people who aren't signed in. It shows your username, profile photo, bio, feedback rating, when you joined and how many seeds you have available.

Only signed-in Plus members can see exactly which seeds you have on your profile. Profile pages are hidden from search engines, and your followers and following lists are private to you.

You can change your photo and bio in your profile settings.

Yes. You can block a member from your settings. Any open matches or proposals between you are cancelled, and you both stop following each other. You can unblock them at any time.

If someone is behaving badly, please report them too so we can take action.

You can report a member from within the site, or contact us directly. Tell us what happened and we will look into it.

If someone breaks our ground rules or terms, we can remove content, suspend or ban their account.

Badges are shown on member profiles and celebrate how you take part in Sow Revolution. We will let you know when you earn one.

• Founding MemberFor members who joined and added their first seeds on or before 1 October 2026.
• Plus MemberShown while you have Plus, whether you subscribe or earned it by referring a friend.
• Lifetime MemberFor members with lifetime Plus.
• Community GroupFor schools, community gardens and other groups who get Plus for free.
• 100+ SwipesEarned when you have swiped on 100 seeds in Discover. There are higher tiers at 500 and 1,000.
• First Swap CompletedEarned when you complete your first swap. There are higher tiers at 10, 50 and 100 swaps.
• 5+ Seeds AddedEarned when you have added 5 seeds. There are higher tiers at 10, 25, 50 and 100.
• Never Leaves You HangingFor members you can count on to reply. Swaps with them don't get left hanging.

Share your personal referral link or code from the Refer a Friend card on your dashboard. When a friend signs up with it and lists their first seed, you both get a free month of Plus.

On your dashboard, in the Refer a Friend card. You can copy your link or code, or tap Share to post an image with your QR code and referral code on social media.

No. The code has to be used when the account is created, either by following your link or by entering it in the referral code box on the sign-up form.

As soon as your friend lists their first seed. You will both get a notification to let you know.

Your next renewal date moves back by one month, so you are not charged for that month.

Yes. Your friends still get their free month of Plus, but lifetime and community members do not receive a referral reward.

You can earn up to 12 free months through referrals. Your friends always get their free month, even after you reach the limit.

You go back to the free plan automatically. You are never charged unless you choose to subscribe.

If you subscribe while you still have more than 2 days of free Plus left, your first payment is taken when your free month ends, and your 14 day cancellation period starts from that first payment.

Your friend needs to have signed up using your link or code, and listed at least one seed. Rewards can be refused for fake or duplicate accounts. If you think something has gone wrong, get in touch and we will look into it.