CLOSED: 2nd Annual Tomato and Pepper Seed Swap

Ok, the seeds I have (so far) are Brandywine (which is an old Amish heirloom), Sweet tangerine and Georgia Peach Tomato. Thanks.

Hi Buttoneer,

Sweet Tangerine is a hybrid, so you should not collect and trade seeds from that one.

I'm trying to find information on "georgia peach". Never heard of it and information seems to be limited. I'll let you know what I'm able to find out for sure.

Meanwhile, if there's anyone else in this swap that knows if georgia peach is a hybrid, please share your comments.

Brandwine, being an heirloom is certainly a good one to collect and trade seeds from. If you've never collected tomato seed before, you might want to take a look at these instructions as it's important that you either ferment them or clean and disinfect them properly so you do not transfer tomato diseases on to other gardeners. Here's a link you may find handy.

http://www.wintersown.org/wseo1/Home/Learn%20to%20Save%20Tomato%20Seeds%20300.pdf

Thanks...Heather

Enjoy your holiday Heather! Just saw your note about it

Hi Heather!

Thank you for the invite , I would love to participate again!

I'd love some eggplant seeds, if there are any left over, of course {;-)

Ana

Thanks Lena,

I leave late tonight so will probably have one more peek in after work tonight before I leave.

Ana, so glad you decided to join us again this year. I just sent you a private D mail with my mailing address. Marked you down for some eggplant seeds as well.

Thanks.....Heather

Hi again Buttoneer,

Just heard back on some more info on your "Georgia Peach" tomato.
Carolyn was kind enough to respond.

Georgia Peach is a typical gold/red bicolor like so many others. It's Open Pollinated, so it is safe to collect and trade seeds with others.

Indeterminate, late season, over 80 days, Regular Leaf, good production of one pound plus fruits, typical of bicolor taste which is usually sweet and fruity, but not always.

Hope this helps.

Thanks...Heather

Please count me in :D

I have bagged mine up already along with a bunch of extras and will get them sent early. Cant wait!

Thanks for the help. I;ve been saving seeds for y ears and I have the Georgia Peach & Brandywine drying. Thanks again.

Hello fellow gardeners! Yippy to seed saving and sowing!

I have a couple of heirloom tomatoes that I'm growing and saving seeds. I was just thinking this morning that I would like to grow another kind next year...and here I find this swap.

Hope I can still get in on the fun here!

And I love eggplant too!! It is in the top ten of my "things to grow next year" list. Would sure like some of those seeds if there are any left.

My peppers did not fair so well this year...don't know what went wrong there? Scotch bonnets are the only peppers that grew for me and I am saving those seeds also. Another reliable (hahaha) hot pepper would be nice to grow next year too.

Hi, all!
Just back from my own short vacation as Heather has left on hers! Hope she enjoys hers as much as we enjoyed ours!

~ twiggybuds ~ I had an experience like yours also this year. (Maybe we got the same mixup!) Although, I was disappointed, the "odd" variety has been identified, and, in fact, it has been an interesting tomato in salads and one that people have enjoyed getting this summer for their own salads. Then, I also had such a great crop of other tomatoes I DID want, and of others that friends sent that I didn't know I wanted until I tasted them, that it worked out fine in the end! I'm still hoping that this year I'll get the "popular" variety, one I've wanted to try for years. And I will : if not here, then I'll buy it!

~ HoneybeeNC and mrsjamiep ~ I was wondering what you might be hoping to receive from the swap. I remember when I had only 1 thing I thought I could offer in trade! Due to the generosity of friends, scrounging around markets, and even, sometimes, paying for them, I have lots of pepper, chile and tomato varieties. Some of them are not "named"; because I picked them up in markets, I call them things like "Long Hungarian Orange" or "Algerian Cherry". And a lot of them, I don't have enough seed to put them into a swap like this, but I'm always happy to throw in a few "extra" packs if it turns out I have something someone would like. Oh, and Honeybee, if you have seeds that are still in their packs, even if they are opened, if they have not gotten wet or been left in sun &/or heat, the tomato seeds are good for AT LEAST 4 years and peppers for 3, so packs of tomato seed for 2006 and of peppers for 2007 ought to be fair trade if you are generous with the count you send. You even still have plenty of time to do germination tests on older seeds.

~ alwild818 ~ Is there a particular heirloom tomato you want to add to your garden? I also had a fantastic chile year, and have some great stuff! I have 2 chiles : "Red Chile" and "Rouge de la Bresse" that produce consistently, in all summers and that ought to grow reliably for you. I'll make sure that there are extra packs included for you of these.

I'd love to get a bunch of new eggplants, but saving seed looks to be time consuming and complicated! I hope our "eggplant benefactor" will let us send him some extra stuff!

Potagere

Potagere last year I got one of yours, Puya. They produce like a machine and my neighbor robs the plants (she's welcome). I love to grow all the chilies just because they're so pretty and different. I think I have 21 varieties going this year. I've dried a bunch but have been chicken to try the hots. The puya looks wicked hot. Just wanted to say thanks.

Count me in, too. Sounds great.

Hi Potagere, I don't really have anything specific in mind but something versatile with a tangy flavor would be very nice. And your peppers sound great ~ I really enjoy growing new varieties. Thank you.

Maybe I can get some growing tips from twiggybuds!!?

And twiggybuds, you can make some nice jellies with all those peppers! I made some jelly with my habaneros that is very tasty, but the sweetness mellowed out the heat too much for me... I'll be making another hotter batch soon!! I'll bet you could get some nice flavors by mixing several varieties together to make different jellies....not only good with cream cheese, also heated it up and used it for a dipping sauce with egg roles and used it as a sweet and sour sauce. I could go on.

Allwild you've got so many good ideas that I believe you NEED some more peppers. There's a killer recipe on the canning, freezing forum...Habanero Gold. I'm very interested in trying my hand at some concoctions, especially some sweet and sour plum sauce with a little zip to it. My plums are always gone long before peppers come in but I'll be ready with my dried and frozen peppers next year. I like TexMex too. I'm sending extra seeds.

potagere,

I think I sent you a dmail earlier but, as I'm still learning my way around I'm not sure how to tell for sure...lol...so if I did sorry for this repeat if it is one...long day...lol..

I Love pepper but, on the milder side, pablanos and the like, TAMS, I don't know that much about the verieties yet to even fake it here and really would rather learn from those that do know then fake it. I have piquins...HOT little suckers....lol....but, they have great flavor through the heat...I use serano's in pico...TAMS are a low heat Jelapeno...a good cayenne (hot)or a mild chili I think I would like to try...like hungarians...

Okay rereading this I realize I'm saying: if you say try this...I will...lol...I just want to have a tongue and taste buds when I'm done lol...

Hugs,

Jamie

~ twiggybuds ~ Good to hear you got the Puya! Hope you like it. It's a nice chile, but really not too hot, just about the same as a serrano or as drinking McIlhenny's Tabasco Sauce straight! The Japone looks similar, although much slimmer, and it is A LOT hotter! Just sampled one of my White Bullet Habs: wonderful flavour, but it nearly put me into orbit; and they are still green!! Am now wondering if I'll have the nerve to sample one of the Gold Bullets!

~ allwild818 ~ We need your basic habanero jelly recipe! I'm loaded with habs this year (Thank You, Smokemaster!!!) I'll be sure you get the 2 chiles.

~ Jamie ~ Got your DMail and a reply is on the way.

Taste buds? Who needs taste buds? See above!!

Happy Sunday, all!
Potagere

Please include me; I have seeds from beautiful yellow peppers purchased at the produce market - don't know the name, but it is sweet. Also have some okra seeds, if anyone is interested, as well as some basil seeds. I grew the basil next to the tomatoes this year, and had almost no pests -- only had one tomato worm, and found that the first day, before damage was done.

Hope all vacationers have a restful time -- and for those of you on the East Coast, hope Hurricane Bill doesn't cause
problems. We lucked out on him here in FL, except for beach erosion!

Whew, those white bullets sound spicy hot!! And I like the sound of Habanero Gold, I'll have to check out that recipe!!

This was originally my jalepeno jelly recipe, using the green peppers, converted since I'm growing habaneros...next year it might be red pepper jelly! ; )

Spicy Habanero Jelly

1/2 lb habanero peppers, stems and seeds removed (unless you want it extra spicy, then leave seeds and membrane)
1 lg. yellow or orange bell pepper, minced
the juice + grated peel of one orange
2 c white or apple cider vinegar ( I used 1 c of each)
6 c sugar
6 oz liquid pectin

It's best to wear gloves while handling these hot peppers! And there are two ways I have prepared them. (I'm always changing things up! LOL) So hear goes as straight forward as I can be.

Usually, I will slice the habaneros and then quick chop, but not as small as minced.
But I have also made a puree with the peppers combined with 1 of the cups of vinegar. However you want to do it will work I think. If you puree, BE CAREFUL not to breath the fumes or get into your eyes! The orange is not necessary, but I just like the extra flavor that the citrus lends.

1. combine peppers, vinegar and sugar in a large saucepan.
2. bring to a boil and boil for 10 min, stirring constantly
3. at any time you can add the juice and grated peel of one orange.
4. stir in pectin while boiling an additional min.
5. remove from heat and skim foam, if necessary.
6. laddle hot jelly into clean hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch from top.
7. adjust caps and process 10 min. in boiling water.
8. proceed as usual.

makes five 8-oz. jars of jelly.

*** Oh I forgot: to make it hotter, omit the bell pepper and bump up the habanero to 3/4 lb!

This message was edited Aug 23, 2009 2:18 PM

Thanks, allwild!

This sounds good! But you mentioned that it was too sweet? Or have you already adjusted for that?

Thanks for the reminder Potagere! I edited the recipe to omit bell pepper and increase habanero to 3/4 lb for a hotter jelly!

I'd like to join in the fun, please.

OK, that sounds good! What colour does it come out?

My last batch of habaneros were orange, along with the orange peel, the color was a nice gold with orange specs...actually I used a red bellpepper because i didn't have an orange one LOL, so red specs also! I'll try and get a pic. Some people like to add a drop of food coloring to their jellies to enhance color.

Hi Quyen!! Welcome ~ Heather who is hosting this swap is on holiday I believe...I'd have to look and see when she is returning.

Hi everyone,

Got back from holidays a bit early.

I've emailed everyone with my mailing address that signed up this past week.

As a reminder, this exchange is for named varieties of tomatoes and pepper seeds. Please do not send in "unknown" varieties of seeds, unless you intend them to be given away as bonuses to the other participants.

We're up to 75 participants so far.

Thanks for sharing the recipes....looks great.

.....Heather



This message was edited Aug 30, 2009 1:42 PM

Welcome back, Heather!

apricot ginger and pepper relish

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I made over a gal. of this to freeze etc.
could be canned...

6 sweet yellow bell peppers
6 sweet red peppers
6 lb. jalapino peppers-stemed
12 golden bullet habaneros
6 orange habaneros
2 large red onions
1 large white onion
3 whole garlic bulbs
14 cups raw sugar
16 boxes dried apricots
1 1/2-2 qts. apple cider vinegar
4 packets pectin- optional
1 ginger root-peeled

Grind apricots,onion,garlic,ginger and peppers in a meat grinder-fine plate.
Add vinegar and sugar.Let blend in fridge overnight.
Ready to eat/freeze...

For canning
bring to a slow boil,add pectin-follow canning instructions on pectin pack for canning..


Only add enough ginger so you can barely taste it.After blending overnight it gets a lot stronger tasting.

recipe calculator for smaller batches

http://www.fruitfromwashington.com/R...onversions.php


Tonight I coated fish fillets with Carribian island spice mix.Cooked fish in a cast iron skillet then topped it with the relish.

The Orange Mutant habs I have seeds for are SUPER producers for sure.
Since I doubt you'll get any pepper seeds I don't have are you interested in getting some seeds donated for your seed thing.
I don't know exactly what right now but I do have lots of California Chile,Cascabel,Orange hads(couple varieties),Chile De Arbol,Habanero Arbol,Manzano(all colors),Lots of various C. Bacatums,a great creme colored ornamental unknown that stays yellow white forever then goes to yellow,orange then red-very prolific,covers itself with pods,Pequins and a lot more I( can't think of right now).
Maybe a couple packs of some and a bunch of others.
I've got 300 varieties already grown out there and twice that left for my winter crop once the super hots are done.

Hi smokemaster,

Thanks for sharing the recipe. Sounds delicious.

Would love to have some seeds donated for this seed exchange. I could give them out as bonuses as I'm sure many will be looking for the seeds you mentioned.

I'm sending you a private d-mail to make arrangements.

Thanks so much for your generous offer.

....Heather

Hi, Heather,

As I prepare to send seeds for this year's swap, I wonder if you would be so good as to clarify exactly what you mean by "named" varieties. Does that mean varieties whose names are so well known as to be "generally recognizable"?

I ask because I have, for example, the following:

1. "Long Red Hungarian" Pepper. Several years ago, I saw a magnificent "Corno de Toro"-type red sweet pepper in the Budapest City Central Market. I bought some, saved seeds and have grown them out year after year. They were unnamed at the Market. The variety is stable (either not a hybrid or my seed has stabilized). They are really great, long, sweet peppers that I use green or, especially, red, when the flavour get those hints of cherry. But the only name it has is my own "Long Red Hungarian".

2. "Mary's Favorite" Tomato. My friend Mary grew this tomato for several years in Seattle. When she sent me seed, she said that she could not remember where she got it it or what it was called, but that it grew well in her Seattle garden and was her favorite tomato. It's a "potato leaf" tomato, and it grows well in my much hotter and drier garden as well, generally giving fruits of about 1 lb each. It is similar to "Limbaugh's Potato Top" in everything except taste. This one has just that bit more acid that I find makes it work for a pink beefsteak. But again, no idea of the origin; I just call it "Mary's Favorite".

3. "Absinthe" Tomato. This is, I guess, a "truly named variety", because it was so named by its creator, Alan Bishop of "Homegrown Goodness" and the "Hip-Gnosis Seed Project". But it's an "almost stable" variety, still showing some differentiation into regular-leaf as well as potato leaf forms. Derived from Aunt Ruby's Green and Evergreen Emeraude, it is a late-season green tomato of impressive proportions.

4. "Gold Bullet" and "White Bullet" Habaneros. These originally courtesy of another, better known, DG member. Both these names are, apparently, U.S. registered trademark names. I don't see any evidence, however, that either pepper is PVP or PP. The owner of the copyright name won't sell seeds outside the US (perhaps because they cannot get copyright protection?), but, here they are. Magnificent, full-flavoured, sweet, hot and tiny habs. But could they be included?

I think each of these examples illustrate the complexity of seed trading. I am thrilled to have all of these plants in my garden, and I think that many participants in swaps such as this would also be happy to grow them. But . . . do they meet the current criteria?

I look forward to your reply.

Best,
Jim

Count me in for tomatoes.

I wouldn't worry about copyrights etc. on seeds.
You are not selling them.
I doubt Redwood city seed(ecoseed) would bother going after a private individual for anything.
Most of us don't own enough stuff to come near what a lawyer would charge redwood for their services...
Just call them gold or white mini habs. :)

I recently saw a White Bullet Naga Morich cross.Orange bullet pepper-super hot I was told.
I tried to get white hab naga morich to cross last year and got naga morich only.
Wanted super hot whites or white nagas.

Hi Jim,

Thanks for your question.

What was originally meant by "named varieties" were names that were easily recognized or even the official name for the seed. I'm not concerned about the marketing/patent names.

With tomatoes for example, "Paul Robeson", "Aunt Gertie's Gold", "Black Krim", "Kimberley", "Mr. Stripey", "Cherokee Purple", Brandywine Sudduth's Strain" are what I meant by named varieties.
For peppers, habanero white, or mini habanero white or chocolate habanero would be examples of what I consider "named varieties". Corno di toro as you mentioned would also be considered a named variety. As long as the type of pepper type is known and labelled accordingly that would be appropriate (ie habanero, poblano, cubanelle, black pearl, fresno, bulgarian carrot, cayenne). It wouldn't be appropriate to send in a pepper labelled "mini pepper very hot" or "sweet pepper" for example.

I'd prefer to stay away from unnamed varieties as it makes it too difficult for me to draw the line on what is acceptable and what is unacceptable. For example, we told a participant earlier that it wouldn't be appropriate to collect and share seeds from her hybrid tomato that she bought at the farmers market, because that would be the same as sending in an "unknown tomato". The person at the receiving end would have no idea what they were getting.

I don't mean to be difficult, but I feel like I'd be opening up a can of worms if we allowed seeds to be sent in for exchange purposes that did not have the proper name labelled. I've already had a number of private emails where people have said I have these great tomatoes I got at the farmers market, I have no idea what they are but can I collect seed and send them in? My answer has been a courteous no. This is what I'm trying to avoid. I don't think it would be appropriate to send unknown seed types back to people that sent in named varieties. That would just lead to disappointment.

When I say this, I am of course referring to seeds that you are sending in to exchange. If there are extras that you wish to give away as bonuses, and they are not named, by all means, feel free to send those along and I will pass them along to the participants. I know we have a number of newbies that would love to have any seeds, even if the variety is not known.

I found from the last swap, that individuals were very specific on what they wanted and what they didn't want for the most part.

I hope this helps to answer your questions. Feel free to let me know if you need further clarification.

Thanks for your understanding....Heather

Ah- but there is a pepper called Mini Sweet Pepper.

I baught them a couple years ago at the nursery.
Still grow it from the seeds I save each year.
Stable Hybrid?

I think I put some of those seeds in what I sent you.

So don't toss them when they arrive because of the name.

I didn't name them,they are what the nursery/grower calls them.
A good sweet pepper by the way.
Kinda like Cascabelle , Gypsy or Cubanel peppers.

This message was edited Sep 1, 2009 6:37 AM

Good to know. Thanks smokemaster.

Please count me in for tomatoes. I may also have some peppers to give away for tomatoes in return.

Denise

Today I received seeds from Don Shirer. Great selection Don. Thanks

I am still confused, Heather. You are doing a wonderful job describing to us what we should and shouldn't send, but I really want some Mary's Favorite from Jim. You see, if they do well in Seattle, they will do well for me since our climates are so similar. I would also love to try his Long Red Hungarian Pepper. Both sound wonderful, Jim.
PS Jim, did you get your white strawberries with the pineapple flavor to grow?

Sue

Hi Sue,

Sorry...I'm trying my best here. Mary's favourite is an unnamed tomato, as Jim had mentioned.

I'm at a loss as to how I can easily allow some unnamed and not others for exchange purposes (ie the seeds collected from the hybrid tomato mentioned earlier). That's why I wanted to stick with named varieties only for the purposes of this exchange. That would really make it too complicated for me to be honest. I really don't want to go down that path, as then we would then have to accept anything and everything that's unknown, and I know that majority of people participating would not be happy if I returned a bunch of mystery seeds to them in exchange for the named varieties they sent in. I fully expect to be handling and researching over 3000 seed packets during the course of this swap, so the named varieties keeps it simpler for me too.

If Mary's favourite tomato or unnamed peppers were being sent in as bonus seeds for the participants, that's good. I'd be happy to distribute them to the participants. The seeds that are being sent in with the expectation of being exchanged, should be named varieties.

I hope this helps to clarify. I realize there may be exceptions where people want an unnamed seed that someone has in their stash, but I have to set guidelines that are manageable given the large number of participants involved in this swap.

I appreciate your understanding.

Thanks....Heather

This message was edited Sep 2, 2009 5:10 PM

You are doing great, Heather!
If it's OK with you, I'll send some extra seeds of my unnamed varieties marked especially for Sue.
If that won't work, I can mail her some directly.
Just let me know.
Jim

PS The strawberry plants did fine, but they did not seem to be as advertised! (And they were a "named" variety, too!)

Why don't the people just trade for the unknows or whatever you want to call them between themselves?

Why should Heather have to be in the middle of something that can easily be handled on the side.

I can see things could spiral out of control if you start messing with having to keep track of all the "Play Politician Tomato wanters(great for tossing at speaches and bad plays-juicey,splatters well-tastes as sweet as a politicians lies and looks as bad as the play you threw it at) and Hot Tongue/Frozen T.P. Peppers (burns comming and going) have to be kept track of.
Especially if you get Robins , Robbin's and Robyns red or a Marie's and Mary's favorite tomato or pepper seeds.

I do a lot of sending out SASBE's and it can be a lot of work just keeping track of 10 or 15 people a week at times in the late winter when people get cabin feaver and are planning their spring garden....Gotta get started making all them chile childs grow.
Like a kid looking at the Christmas cataloges in Sept. LOL