Round robin seed swap
 

I have been getting Pm's about starting the round robin again. I have to tell you all that I don't think I am going to. I was extremely disappointed when I got the last one back.
When I started it, I put a lot of work into it. Almost all the seeds were from my garden or friends gardens. There was one gallon ziplock bag with NEW store bought seeds. Diane got the box first and put a lot of her seeds in there as well.
When I got the box back, 85% were store bought seed. Normally I wouldn't really care, because a lot of times seeds are seeds. But most of these were very old, (1998,1999,2000,2001) MANY duplicates, and I mean many...One of the bags with old seeds in it smelled like cat pee, the whole box recked of cigarettes to the point of almost gagging, (and I smoked for 10 years!)I understand people smoke, and you cant help the way things get smelly, but It just makes me wonder if ya blew smoke directly into the box the whole time you had it??
Now I know I said that people can take what they needed, if they needed more than they can give, than go ahead and take them. But I just feel that this got abused along the line somewhere. And I know I said that if you had to, you can add store bought seeds if thats all you had. I didn't mean add 30 packets of one kind, and take 30 different. but I must not of mentioned that.
If I offended anyone, well, then maybe some of the things I am talking about you are guilty of. I don't know who did what, or took what which is fine, I would never name names anyway.
I know that this sounds harsh, but it was just upsetting to me, and when you wonder why I am not going to do a second one, this is why.
I do have a box of the seeds that I didn't throw out, so if someone else wants to start a round robin, I will send this box to them to sort through. And if someone does start one, I wouldn't mind joining, as long as I'm towards the beginning :)

~Marisa

:waa: Oh Marisa, that is such a shame! I had been disappointed that I missed out on this one as I was too late but was really looking forward to the next. I'm really sorry that happened as I know you worked really hard on that, such a shame. :no:
Perhaps if you ever do try again, keeping it small might be better, like just me on the list!! LOL :D

I think CMATE has a good suggestion-------Limit the exchange to just 10 people.

Oh Marisa,

I am so sorry. When it got here it was GREAT! You could tell the people before me had put much effort into it. But I know it got very bad toward the end, and I am really sorry it did. I am dissapointed, too, but I completely understand not wanting to put that much work into something that isn't cared for. Maybe what some of us should do is start doing one regionally....I could do a small one for the northwest, limited to a few people, and others could do one for their region? I can't wait to harvest some of the things that are growing out of the box. ANyway, let me know if you think it would work to do more than one.

BUMMER !!! Sad that folks treat things without a care in the world. That was a REALLY neat swap ,(I was at the beginning) and you did a TREMENDOUS job Marsial !! I dont blame you for not wanting to do another !!!
Another idea - NO store bought seeds, ONLY take what you put in
.Thanks for your honesty Marsial - means more than the seeds !!!

Awwww. The box was wonderful when I got it. I really enjoyed going through it. I hope someone volunteers to do it. I was kind of thinking about it but I am always biting off more than I can chew.

:o Actually, I was pretty intimidated by the comments of a couple of people and ended up putting very few of my OWN seeds saved because I was so afraid they wouldn't come true and someone would be all angry about it. I am a "bean saver" and wanted to put a bunch of different ones in, but it seemed like maybe I shouldn't because I had them planted too close together when I saved seed. By the end of it there was so much nastiness that I decided I would never participate again.

I do think it might be nice to do a seed swap though. Maybe we could all post what we have to swap. That could all be handled privately and if there was a reason you didn't want to you just wouldn't have to be involved with a particular person.

seed swap
 

Could me in too. We have a variety of all kinds of seeds given to us by a friend. We would like to trade. Our email is hsnrs@vtc.net. We are interested in trying different kinds of herbs. This year was our first year to do a market garden. Next year will be even bigger as DH built me a nice greenhouse. Good idea Diane.

I was one of the really early recipients also, & felt it was like Christmas when I got the box! I was sorry to hear when there were problems later on... thank you so much for doing the swap this year, Marisa, I know I was one of the people who really appreciated it! (BTW, whoever put them in, black Krim & Garden Peach tomatoes, as well as opal basil, are really tasty :) )
I would definitely be interested in participating in another one, if one is started. And, if people aren't sure about the purity of some home saved seeds, just put that on the packet, you can still get a feel for trying a variety. For instance, I know this year I was trying 3 varieties of Maxima species squash, so my seed this year is not pure, but it is pure Maxima, for anyone who just wants big, hardy, long keeping pie squash.

Sorry Marisal, but I think the cigarette smoke was us . We only had the box a little over a day *blush* If it smelled before it got here, we would never have noticed.
The ONLY seed that came up of the stuff I took were some french filet beans and pink dianthus. It was disappointing, although the lettuce came with a warning that they hadn't been sprouting well. :(

I too was an earlier receiver of the "box" and it was wonderful. I did find some seeds that are not readily available around here and was thrilled. I want to thank you Marisal for all of your hard work on this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I do understand your possision on this and support it. I think that maybe a smaller more regional one would work better. someone could oversee each region and the box wouldn't have so far to travel and it wouldn't take so long.
I think that it would also be a good idea to have a list of what was in the box and what you take and add so that it could be tracked.
Another idea is that we could all sign up and draw teams of 2 or 3 and exchange seeds to just those people. It would not be a grand but it would still be a fun surprise.
Thanks again Marisal for all your hard work and bravo to you for speaking your mind!

Belinda

Marisa, I am sorry to hear the seed swap didn't go as you expected. When I received the box there were a lot of seeds. Yes, there were a lot of store bought seeds but there was a variety of others too. I know I added more seeds than I took and the box was a lot heavier when I shipped it. The seeds I put in the box weren't store bought, but they were seeds that we order from a catalog for our farm and business. Sorry if you consider these as store bought. I was near the end of the round robin and I truly believe no one would have tried to "cheat" the next receiver. Maybe there were too many people in the round robin. I don't mean to upset anyone but please don't blame the people at the end....Laurie

I too am sorry marisal. I was the one who put the large bag of store bought seeds in. I left a note on the pad provided. I did take some out, thought that was the idea. I only took a few seeds from the interesting packs, leaving some for the next . The store bought seeds were in some cases old but still viable, I used many this year. I did not want to throw them out and hoped someone would be able to use them. You could send them back to me if you don't want them. I'll find some else who does.
Steff

Our gardening forum probably doesn't at first seem big enough to warrant a separate Exchange section such as exists throughout Garden Web Forums. But it might be. In GW, there are two choices, Have or Wanted. These are separate portions of individual forums and in addition to their catch-all Seed Exchange forum. The Allium Forum has a separate one just for the allium family, Tomato Forum just for tomatoes, and so on. System works great as one can go to a specific exchange to either search for a variety or offer one.

If there a need for such a separate forum here? Yes! Under the current rules, there is nothing preventing anyone from either seeking or offering seeds. My own annual seed offer is one example. 129 requests were filled this year so it's definitely not a case of non-interest. However, if we all took that route, offers and wants would quickly rotate off into the back pages or completely take over the Gardening section.

Round robins can hit many snags and the biggest one is mailing it on to the next. There are many rural members on this forum who get into town once a week. Mailing a large packet or box of seeds is not simply a case of applying a .37 stamp and leaving it in the mailbox for the rural carrier to pick up. It means a trip into town to have it weighed and the proper amount of postage affixed.

So, I'd like to see the board ponder the idea of having a seed and plant exchange. We've always had the Barter section and added a lot of new forums during the last big forum restructuring. I think that there is room for one more!

Martin

Seed/Plant exchange
 

I'm with Martin... I'd like to at least see if there is enough interest for a seed/plant exchange here. I've been on GW for a while too but had a bad time
with several trades this year.

I've done several barters here as well as just helped others out who asked and I be interested possibly trading with other gardeners on this forum.

Trisha-MN

I think I'll put up a Seed and Plant Exchange thread as a STICKY.
If it gets a lot of activity, we can petition Chuck to make it into a separate forum.

If and when, Martin does his seed providing, I can make that into its own STICKY since it will probably get lots of action.

I'm here to take advice from all of you--so please give me a gentle nudge when I should be doing something-------if a nudge doesn't get my attention, a more obvious HIT may be required (I seem to be loosing brain cells at a rapid pace these days).

I would love to be involved in a seed swap if one is set up. I can see where the round robin could run into problems. I ordered a starter set of seeds last year from an Heirloom seed catalog and I received so many different seed packets that I couldn't begin to plant them all. I have alot left that I don't intend to use, for example there were alot of different types of onion seeds and I always buy sets. I'm trying my hand at seed saving but it is the first year for me and I have alot to learn.
Leay

Thanks tallpines........I really think it is a good idea to just do a swap or list what we are willing to share. I could have sent out lots of individual seed orders for the cost of sending that one box all the way to california!!



testing

Tallpines, this forum was virtually without a leader for so long that I hope you'll forgive me for forgetting that you hold some sway here!

A Sticky would work on an offer like mine but they always turn into a lengthy discussion anyway. If something happens, it can always be locked or archived. A Sticky would work on a general swap if it remained small. If it went into 3 or 4 pages, then it could prove troublesome. Flaw there would be that someone could have a lot of something to offer and that is on the first page. That person runs out and mentions it and the notice turns up on the third page. By then, the thread may be into the fourth page and requests keep pouring in. But, through the magic available to the Moderator, a thread may be limited to 3 pages, or whatever, and then begin Seed Swap II. Regardless, it's a start. Nothing is set in stone and any snag may be corrected on the fly.

As I may have mentioned, I'll be making a tomato seed offer yet this fall. It will be strictly for those in the deep South who need seeds already started when the rest of us are still playing with the catalogs. That would have to be separate from any other seed offer since it will be zone-specific. But I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

Martin

seed swap
 

We are definitely interested in a swap too. We have numerous seeds to trade. I can provide a typed list if anyone wants one. Our email is hsnrs@vtc.net. Having trouble with the private message thing. Martin, can we expect more beet seeds? We love them best of all the vegies and so do our neighbors.

I was wondering if on the seed swap, if we each just posted once and kept editing our original post as needed, if that would keep the thread from getting too long. Just have the interested people get in touch with the posters thru pm or email. Not have any one post any 'yes please trade me....' on the actual thread.

Cyngb', that would work as long as long as the forum is lightly used for regular questions. A thread might stay on the first page for a long time if there were a lot of replies. Once the offer had been exhausted, there would have to be a sort of honor system to no longer post on it. But there's always the 1% who will come back onto it with a question or comment. Next thing we'd know, there would be 25 "dead" swap threads on the first page! Either that or Tallpines would have to keep locking out individual terminated swap offers and allow them to cycle off the first page automatically. Deletion of such threads would be the simple way but also not the right way. Just knowing who may have been growing something and what they are growing could also be of future importance.

Hank, those great Red Cloud beets were the 2003 offer. We were lucky to have an ally in Jung's who saved a lot of those packets instead of destroying them under normal rules. Beet seed viability goes down rapidly with age so the company could not offer the leftovers for this season. I was lucky to get all of the leftovers from our local store and when I sent out the last packet this spring, that was the end. Ask me again for the 2006 season as I'm growing Egyptian Crosby beets this year and won't have seed from them until midsummer next year. Of course, you can always order a standard size packet of Red Cloud from Jung's!

Martin

You could just go back and delete that offer.

edit*** I'm pretty sure editing and deletion do not bring a thread to the top, this should show us if it does

edit2*** nope, it doesn't

The deletion of the offer by the author indeed is possible. But that only deletes the contents of that post and pops it right back up to the top of the forum page. Any activity on any thread does that automatically. All replies would remain on that thread.

Martin

Martin, I just edited a previous post on this thread and it did not change it's position on the board.

I had done that to, I guess people don't see it unless you post at the bottom tool :haha: