It may be bitterly cold January weather right now, but gardening enthusiasts from across the region will have the opportunity to swap seeds, meet neighbors, and learn about winter sowing techniques at South Euclid’s inaugural Seed Swap on Saturday, Jan. 31, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Community Room at South Euclid City Hall.

Milkweed supports pollinators like bees and Monarch butterflies, while it also combats invasive species like the spotted lanternfly.The free community event on National Seed Swap Day, hosted through a partnership between the City of South Euclid and the Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District (Cuyahoga SWCD), is designed to jumpstart the gardening season while fostering community connections during the winter months.

"This is a free community event, anyone can attend just to meet their neighbors, get out more, and get in each other's faces,” says South Euclid recreation supervisor Leilani Kelley.

The idea sprouted last fall when Kate Chapel, watershed coordinator for the Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District, discovered seed swap events had their own national holiday. "I saw it was National Seed Swap Day, and our office had been talking about doing more winter sowing workshops," Chapel recalls. "I thought National Seed Swap Day would be a good excuse to have it.”

For Kelley, who manages South Euclid's community gardens program, the timing couldn't be better. She says the city has six community gardens with more than 100 plots and approximately 3,000 square feet of growing space across the city. Established in 2009, more than 150 gardeners have plots.

"The national seed swap is like the jumping off the kickoff to the garden season,” Kelley says. “It starts way before [gardening season] actually starts."

The workshop will focus on winter sowing, which Chapel says is a great time to get started.
“We hear all the time about the interest in native plants and native gardens, rain gardens, and where to get started with it all," she says. "Winter sowing is one of the easiest, cheapest ways to get a lot of native plants started all at once. This is kind of a nice first entry [point] into these kinds of gardens—especially if you don't want to just spend a whole bunch of money...you can get a lot out of winter sowing.”

Participants will learn to create mini-greenhouses using milk jugs and other containers, allowing seeds to experience natural winter conditions in Northeast Ohio with little risk.

"What's great about winter sowing is that so many of our native plants need winter to know that it's spring," Chapel explains. "In this way, we're creating a tiny little greenhouse. But they're protected from wind, critters, all that, but still open to rain and snow. And then they're just ready for you, like magic, once the frost is gone."

National Seed Swap Day is January 31.Chapel will bring native plant seeds collected from the Cuyahoga SWCD garden, including milkweed—a plant that's particularly beneficial for the region’s ecosystem.

Kelley points out that milkweed not only supports pollinators like bees and Monarch butterflies, but it also helps combat invasive species like the spotted lanternfly, which is lethally allergic to milkweed.

Kelley says she knows of at least one South Euclid resident who has been particularly passionate about expanding milkweed throughout the city, adding that she hopes the seed swap will support these grassroots efforts.

Plans are in the works for volunteer milkweed planting days throughout the city, beginning in March.

Participants should bring their own milk jug or container for planting, while organizers will provide soil and seeds. The event has been generating strong interest—Chapel notes that registration through Cuyahoga SWCD has sold out, but South Euclid still has spots available.

"We've only been promoting online" for just a few weeks, Kelley notes, expressing amazement at the response.

The seed swap kicks off a series of collaborative events between the two organizations—with the partnership building on successful composting workshops hosted last year.

Other 2026 workshops include an Invasive Species Workshop is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 2, followed by two Native Plant Workshops on March 30 and April 30, and workshops on composting, pollinator gardens, and additional programming throughout the spring and summer.

Winter seed starts in milk jugs can tolerate the snow.Kelley says South Euclid officials are planning a second seed swap on March 20, just after community garden registration closes on Friday, March 13.

The community gardens program welcomes both residents and non-residents, though residents receive priority. The program accepts only three new gardeners per garden each year, pairing them with experienced mentors in a structured program designed to build gardening skills and community connections.

The Seed Swap event will be held on Saturday, Jan. 31, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Community Room (not the community center) at South Euclid City Hall, 1349 South Green Road, South Euclid, 44121. Register for the Jan. 31 Seed Swap before all slots are filled.