Hey Rick,
Hope you're doing well. Thanks for organizing this for all the newbies. I just stumbled across this thread.
I can round up some flower seeds to donate to your cause. I'll have to go through my stash, but know I have a bunch of extras that I probably won't be planting. I get a little carried away with seed purchases sometimes :) I used to do a newbie seed offering on another site, but I just don't have time anymore, so am more than happy to pass along some seeds to you to share.
Am leaving on vacation July 23rd, so probably won't have a chance to sort through my stash until after I get back the middle of august.
Meanwhile, while it was top of mind, thought I would post here and ask if you could resend me your address. I'll put a package together for you when I get back from holidays.
Thanks.....Heather
CLOSED: Free Seeds for New Bees July 2011
Thank you, Heather! And future New Bees will thank you.
May I add a slip of paper praising your Tomato & Pepper Swap and saying you MIGHT do it again in future years?
>> I get a little carried away with seed purchases sometimes :)
Me too! I have a big pkt from Hazzards of "Black Russian" tomatoes that I hope to send to your next swap, if you do one.
Corey
Hi again,
I'm definitely "considering" hosting the tomato & pepper seed swap this year. I'm always tentative until I do it....LOL. May have to kick it off a bit later this year because I have to wrap up an estate I'm administering when I get back from vacation. I've probably already committed myself to hosting another swap...without even really knowing it. I've been buying some extra seeds here and there throughout the spring to use as bonuses....just in case I decide to host another swap. How crazy is that? BTW..Hazzards is one of the places I buy way too many seeds from as well. I'm of scottish descent, so can't resist a good deal...even if I don't need it.
We've had a very cool wet spring, so many of my plants are delayed. Did manage to harvest some pulsatilla purple pasque flower seed this morning, so I'll be sure to send that your way as well. Hoping to be able to get an even larger variety of seeds from my garden by mid august. I might be overly optimistic though.....I just looked at my tomato plants and many of them don't have tomatoes forming yet.......aargh. For someone that plants as many tomatoes as I do, that's just not fair :)
I do have a ton of perennial flowers in my gardens, so if you cross your fingers for me, I might have luck at getting even more seeds to send in for your newbie offering.
>> Did manage to harvest some pulsatilla purple pasque flower seed this morning,
Very cool! Like this? ->
Pasque Flower . . . . . . . . [P Zones 4-9]
Pulsatilla vulgaris . . . . . . . 6-12" tall - - drought tolerant
WS or stratify
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/511/
>> so if you cross your fingers for me, I might have luck at getting even more seeds to send in for your newbie offering.
Haaard to tyyppeee wiiith crosssed finnngers but GREAT! Thank you.
I found what seem to be seeds from grape hyacinth, but they might be from hybrid plants.
Corey
Yup...that's my Pulsatilla. They are always the first to bloom in my garden. There's even been years they've popped flowers through a blanket of snow...they're hardy little guys. Gardenfiles indicates zones 4-9. I am in zone 3a and it's been growing very well here for several years. Just in case there's someone in a cooler zone that wants to give it a try.
>> They are always the first to bloom in my garden.
Cool! Here in Zone 8 they might not even notice that it's 'winter'.
Corey
Don't pay the ransom ....... I've escaped!!!!! LOL
Somehow I lost this thread and have been searching high, low and sideways for it. Finally went to Corey's home page and searched for threads started, and, well ..... here I am!!! Glad to be back "home".
Now out to water before getting ready for work. It's just TOO DARN HOT in the evenings. 108* today. Sheesh. GOD, PLEASE send us some RAIN!!!!
^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^,
Patti
Hiya Patti. This newbee was missing you. :D
RickCorey;
I mailed you my envelope way back in May around the 22nd, and you even sent me a message saying you recieved the envelope, yet to this day I still have not received anything from you. I have messaged you several times and you said you were still waiting on the box of seed to arrive to you from previous person doing the shippings. Ok it has been well over 2 months and still nothing.
What is the problem here, you have all my info and stamps so why am I still waiting?
lisatx-might i step in here and say to please be patient. i think corey has taken on a job of huge proportions, not to mention he works full time and is doing this on a volunteer basis. also, the seeds could have been sent to you and the post office could have misdelivered them. from what i read on this site and others, he is a very organized, conscientious person. also, judging from his posts only, very generous with his seeds and help.
this said, i would happy to share some of my flower seeds with you, i way overbought this winter. just send me your address.
I sorta forgot about this thread myself, i hope all is going well with the sorting and sending. I'm in no rush for seeds as I'm beginning to find myself running out of places for them.
Hi Lisa,
I'm sorry, I have not sent them yet and others have been reminding me by email. On July 5 I Dmailed you saying I got The Box(es) and would try to get yours to you in a few weeks.
I'm just busy at work, busy with guests, and wish I had time to be busy in my garden, which also needs a lot of work.
I owe several people New Bee seed packets and do finally have some ready to label and go, but didn't get aound to that yet either. I will try to get caught up. Thanks for nudging me, I've been feeling guilty.
When I signed up, I didn't fully realize how little "free" time I have during the work week, or how many weekends are "spoken for", and how many other tasks I have to do on "free" weekends.
>> job of huge proportions
Thanks, risingcreek - it does turn out be daunting. But for the last few weeks, it's more like I've been caught up in other things.
>> he is a very organized,
For the first few months, that might have been part of the problem. I had to reserach things and sort them so I could find them, since I don't know what a lot of these seeds are form looking at a two-word name. That took a lot of time when garden and house work fell behind. This month, I've been catching up on home & garden.
I still don't have any system for knowing what zone a perennial is hardy in. When y'all get your seeds, it would be good to look up each name to see if I sent sent tender perennials to people in Zone 5.
I think Robin may have "just known" what everything was, but many names are Greek to me, or Latin, or, worse, a common name that means dozens of different things in different regions.
>> conscientious person.
Used to be, try to be! When I get caught up, hopefully I will be again.
Corey
Yes, give him a break!!!!! He's a very good guy and contrairy to what people might believe, just from looking at a box of seeds in a round robin seed exchange, I can see where it might get overwhelming.
I say "hats off to you Corey" for offering to pick up the Newbies box and take off running with it. If people can't be appreciative of a lot of free seeds, only having to pay a little bit of postage, I say send their stamps back to them, minus the one it takes to send them, and let them go buy them at the store. There are a lot of neat seeds in the newbie box that you probably won't find in stores.
RELAX Corey, and don't let it get to you. You already have a full plate and volunteering your valuable free time is priceless to all the newbies.
Patti
(Edited to say Corey is a 'good' guy ..... not a goo guy. However, that may fit too. lol)
This message was edited Jul 28, 2011 4:41 PM
Don't jump on Lisa, I've been saying of the smae kind of thing to myself. Though thanks for letting me off the hook so easy.
As with my cat, if I don;t yell at him occasionally, he develops bad habits.
Lisa has been waiting months, and her WANT list would have been easy to fill, she wasn't picky and I should have just grabbed a handfull and shipped it. I think I got distracted by people with detailed lists, and of course "organizing" the stash and splitting and labelling big bags, spending too much time on those.
My evaluations at work always say "don't focus so much on the details", and I still haven't figured out how to do that. But in software, if you don't get ALL the details right, the plane crashes, and then they don't seem like such small details any more!
Corey
Lol these are seeds not software, relax! Let it be fun too. You're doing a really good job, a job most wouldn't take on, so just keep going. We'll nudge you if need be, but take some time to stop and smell the roses, or whatever is growing in your garden!
Outlaw, I heard your message and took it to heart before signining up. Robin closed the deal by claiming that people were used to slow delivery.
Online chit-chat, looking at flowers, thinking about compost, visits from my SO ... I don't think you shiuld encourage me to take life any MORE easy than I already do!
Corey
i need to plant now (zone 10 a) for my fall crop....can i get my seeds, please?
thanks.
SoFla
I know yours are ready, I can get it out in the next day or two.
I edited the first post to say how slow I might be. I think even my Dmail warnings were not strong enough.
Corey
lol @ Corey. You always take things in stride dear friend. Just remember the old saying "keep it simple, stupid" ^_^ and don't let it get you overwhelmed. You are doing a bang up job!
>> "keep it simple, stupid"
Other people seem to find "simple" easy or natural. Not for me! What's easy for me is wallowing in hundreds of intricate details lovingly organized and individually cherished and encouraged to multiply into yet more detailed details. (Maybe this is OCD?)
Summarizing and FINDING the simplicity is something I find difficult & baffling.
Things are never simple unless you ignore all the beloved details!
My problem isn't that I "can't see the forest for the trees". I don't notice the trees because I'm so into each crevice in the bark and each vein and insect-hole in each leaf.
Yes, it slows things down and contributes to being late - ask any of my bosses.
The only way I can wirte an email to management is to first write what I think the email should be, and then summarize it.
Then boil the summarry down to an extract.
Then shorten the extract to a bullet list.
Then delete everything but the bullet list.
But each of those steps drives me crazy, like pulling hairs out of a cat.
Corey
personally, i would prefer to wait and get seeds where someone has paid attention to the details, rather than just some haphazard assortment thrown in an envelope (slight exaggeration but you know what i mean) and i am not saying that is what used to done, cause i am too new to know. just a generalization
I'm sorry, corey; I'm sick right now and when I posted I wasn't really paying attention and I realize that it may have come off *itchy. :(
I appreciate all you're doing.
Wasn't you SoFla ..... I was speaking more towards Lisatx1966. She was pretty abrupt and almost downright hateful in the post she made. I took it personally, even if Corey won't, because I know what kinda person he is.
Oh, btw Corey .....I have something for you. Have actually had it myself for several weeks (you can write me a hateful post now if you wish). I have it in the envy, just keep forgetting to: 1) open up the address exchange 2) look you up 3) Carefully put your address on the label in legible writing 4) Carefully put my address in the return area 5) Tape envy closed 6) .......................... oh, to heck with this, that is making ME CRAZY!!!!! I just haven't done it yet. LOL
my opinion:
i think the bottom line is that this is a volunteer effort. we all could have bad days (or weeks or months) or not get something done in a timely manner, but common courtesy should not go out the window when making requests for a speedier delivery. the tone of the post did not sit well with me either. my first thought was, hey, you are getting a lot of seeds for the price of a few stamps, be patient. my second was, how rude. my third should have been this is none of my business and butt out. (way to late for that one)
kc
lol kc
To put it in context, I got two polite Dmails from Lisa reminding me. No problem. Also, it wasn't like she gave me a detailed list to search for or wanted pernnials hardy in Zone 3.
No problem with SoFla either - or do you prefer your real name?
The only problem is taking the time away from my garden on a weekend ... no chance I'm going take time away from my DSO when she's visiting ... or fail to bulldoze and shovel out and vacuum the living room before she visits.
I HAVE finally found big enoguh boxes and a "system" so it's fairly quick to pack the Stash, tubs, bags, lists and envelopes and stack them together where I work on them, instead of carrying a few at a time from living room to 'hidden away'. That got tedious and annyoing after doing it a few times!
I forget if this was the thread where I mentioned her reaction to hearing me tapping away on the keyboard to DG:
"Are you propagating with those Flower Ladies again??!??"
Crit, one reason I go overboard with laser-printing address labels and seed labels is that my handwriting is awful-squared. It looks like an illiterate 5-year-old trying to write while being driven over potholes in a car with no springs.
risingcreek,
>> personally, i would prefer to wait and get seeds where someone has paid attention to the details,
Robin paid a lot of attention, and I heard many praise her choices for them. She had several advantages, like knowing what all the names meant, and things like whether they were annuals, perennials, tender prennials, flowers or trees. Like, 20-30 times more than I do.
Apparantly there are several Seed Angels who sent her seeds repeatedly, and she could immediatly connect just the appearance of the seeds and the name of the donor with all the details about that plant.
Especially when it came to one-word or one-syablle synonyms, I'm often clueless. I guess most gardeners know what a "brug" is, but I still have to look it up each time, and that DG Plant Files screen that says "1,237 matches found" is eventually going to make me throw my monitor through the sliding glass door. Usually what I did instead was to move such a pkt into the "Ask Robin" bag and email her 5-10 questions at a time. Concievably, this fall, I'll find out that I've already learned more than I realize.
I think the effective part of my stem is handling the dividing up, labelling and categorizing, once I figure out or Robin tells me what is what.
And I have been gradually realizing, for three years at least, that I will ALWAYS plan to do three times as much in the garden as I possibly can, and HAVE TO limit my plans to 1/3 or less of what i wnat to do right away.
NB or no NB!
Corey
Corey, I'm happy to research seeds for you, if that would help at all. I'm definitely no expert, but I'm reasonably knowledgeable about plants/seeds and love researching anything plant-related. For example, if you gave me the name of the seed and the information you would like to have for your labels (i.e. annual/perennial, zone, how to sow, sun/shade etc), then I could go about finding out as much of that info as possible. Just a thought....if you're interested just let me know :-).
This message was edited Jul 28, 2011 4:46 PM
wow robin must be amazing. i was not referring to her but just stating in general. please do not think that i was. i have not been a member long enough to know anyone but corey as the newbie seed person. i have, however, traded with people that arent organized, and, to my shame, have to admit that i am not orgranized at all. i have taken on my cousins garden and her seed collection and i am trying to get them sorted, and it is not easy cause i have to look everything up. that is just one persons little stash. imagine all the seeds you must get. i know the ones i sent you were not very well labeled. (late apologies for that)
i have traded with some people that are amazing organized, lovely labels, nice pictures on the labels, all sorts of info. i so admire that. mine are lucky to have the name and date (unless i bought them).
kc
>> wow robin must be amazing
Yes! Her usual response to any fragment or sylablle of info I send her is like "that's just what it sounds like: ...." and then gives all the info i could ask plus a link to DG Plant Files.
>> have to admit that i am not orgranized at all.
I would say that I'm organized ... just ignorant and busy.
>> i have taken on my cousins garden and her seed collection and i am trying to get them sorted, and it is not easy cause i have to look everything up
Please forgive my falling down laughing "YEAH! I know what THAT's like!!!"
>> i know the ones i sent you were not very well labeled.
I can tell you exactly where that envelope is still parked, I've looked but not yet split or filed them away into categories. Mostly veggies, right? We're shomewhat low on those. My recollection of the contents was "mostly fully labelled commerical pkts" but I may have forgotten. I remember "lots" - thank you!
Commerical pkts are easy. I can just read off the names, and copy the info. Very rarely I'll check Plant Files, for example if I don't trust "easy to grow" when I suspect they may need stratification. In my experience, almost every commercial seed packet is "easiest to grow", "best variety", "best flavor" and tolerates conditions anywhere in the solar system, yet never invasive. Like Lake Woebegone, where "all the children are above average".
Which reminds me: "how to grow" for veggies is best looked up in "Johnnies Selected Seed" catalog or the Territorial Seed catalog. Great tips!
Corey
sunnyg,
Even before reading the next post, I saved a link to your dmail along with your offer! Thanks.
When I have time to dig into the 2-3 big "reasearch these seeds" bags, I'll alternate between asking you and Robin. And if stumped, i'll ask here, but FIRST need to catch up on sending out seeds. Remember the mission, Rick!
Before I signed up for all of it, I was just printing up the labels so Robin could split big bags into trade-size pkts.
I started borrowing pictures and using a color laser printer to include a picture. that was fun, but the printed info kept changing and I didn't wnat to use the printer at work TOO much. But getting permission took time, a pic takes up 30% of the label, and the hardest thing to discover is what color and variety something is!
Your offer made me think about the list of what I try to find and record on the label:
I try to find all these:
common names, nicknames and maybe Latin name
variety (if known)
color (if known)
year harvested (on commercial pkts, I subtract 1 from "year packed for")
from whose garden or donated by who - I REALLY like to include this
Annual / Perennial & Zone / tender perennial grown as annual / Biennial
hybrid, OP, heirloom, unknown, sterile seeds
"kind of thing" - flower, tree, vine, shrub, edible
will grow in containers / needs trellis
inches tall or feet tall
inches apart (in rows or dense-packed? I never know)
reseeds, spreads by runners, divide rootball, cuttings, layering
invasive (I never know under what conditions - always someone can't grow it all, and someone else can't kill it)
drought tolerant, clay tolerant, deer tolerant, slug tolerant!!!
rotate to avoid soil diseases
FULL SUN, PART SHADE, SHADE
keep moist, needs good drainage, needs rich soil, do/don't fertilize & when
how to sow (inside X weeks before last frost, DS outside X weeks before or after frost, WS,
"sow on surface", "needs light" "needs dark" "needs cold moist stratification" "soak before sow"
days to harvest (from sowing? from transplanting?) but that's so variable "mid-season" or "early" is better
season of bloom, thoguh i suspect that is very variable by climate & whether it is first year or established.
good for cutflowers, needs deadheading, pinch the tips
... I know, I always want too much detail. But once I figure out WHAT it is and find some source of reliable info, I AM going to fill that 2x3 label with everything that fits.
Corey
You may be able to get it all on the label, but will need HIGH POWERED magnifying glass to read it!!!!!!!! lol I think you may need a 5x7 label.
Step back Rick, relax, take a deep breath, *in my best BOSS's voice* don't get into so much detail. lol A lot of that info people can look up themselves on the 'net if they need it. I look mostly for common name, height, color, sun/shade/part shade, etc., and that is about it.
corey-sent you a dmail re:new address
Corey - when you started posting on the thread about the labels you were going to print I thought you were out of your gourd.
I believe my original assessment was correct.
Find a common name to go with the botanic name. Organize them in alphabetical order and BE DONE WITH IT!!!
If people have specific requests that makes it easier. Over time you will become more familiar with your collection of seeds.
You are NOT omniscient. I known that from reading your posts in other threads. :P
Peace. I appreciate all you do, and I'm sure that everyone waiting for a seed packet can understand the demands of work/life and the daunting task you've undertaken.
A.
my personal opinion, i appreciate all the info on the labels. otherwise, back to the computer to look each one up and figure out some way to write it on the package. the older i get the more help i need to remember stuff !
Yeah... I was given a great box of seeds, my favorites are from bakercreek with all kinds of info on them then some with just the common name and Latin name so i look those up, but then i got flower seeds from a friend and some are just a picture in a tiny bag with the common name. That seems great till you try to get that little folded up picture out of the bag to see what it is and dump seeds everywhere!
My POINT is in regards to the incredible burden it is on Corey and how extraordinary it is that he has endeavored to pursue such a complex and tedious project on a volunteer basis.
Surely the sign of genius or OCD.
Loveya!
A.
Genius or just plain nuts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LMAO Love ya Corey.
Gosh I love you all .....Dialogues and seeds make the world go round. Keep on keeping on Corey...f I had a hug button I would push it....Isnt it just amazing the things a seed can do......I am here if you need help...
BTW I just got home form a glorious vacation...
PS Dont sweat the small stuff...there is always a bigger picture
Actually, copying the details is easy and takes little time. It is finding out WHICH variety was received that's hard.
Any given common name for a flower applies to 10-300 actual varieties, some of them quite different, like "annual not perennial".
Once I actually guess "pretty sure" what the short name on the pkt MEANS, copying details takes almost no time. Printing, cutting and stuffing a label with 10-20 lines of info takes no longer than printing a label with a one-word name plus a question mark.
Or, I'm just plain crazy for details! A special kind of OCD that some seed traders have: "O. Seed D."
It was making up the detailed labels that first tempted me into signing up.
(P.S. Late late last night I had an idea. I could send out the "look these up" big bags of singleton pkts to people who "just know" a lot of plants, or are willing to look them up, and ask them to label the basics like:
- - annual / perennial / hardiness zone
- - flower / vine / shrub / tree / herb
- - need WS or stratify
That's enough info to let me sort them into bags from which I can fill requests much much faster
I was already planning to take two days vacation this week to catch up on picking & shipping things out, when ... see next post.
Corey
A HUGE package of seeds just arrived from Heather (hmacdona from Calgary).
And Nancy NF2932 is sending several batches of saved seeds from her garden.
THANK YOU both!
I've gotten enough details for labels for their "bulk" donations (pkts so big they can be split up into multiple individual pkts).
So I'll add those to the third post on this thread, and I encourage anyone who has donated seeds in the past, or indeed any "friend of the thread" who plans to donate in the future, to ask for any they're interested in.
coming from Nancy NF2932:
lavender breadseed poppies Papaver somniferum http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/238/
Yarrow, Sneezewort, Achillea Froelich, mostly pink
"Meadow Phlox" / "Wild Sweet William" / Phlox maculata 'Alpha' / Perennial Zone 3?
----
received from Heather (hmacdona from Calgary)
Clarkia elegans "Double Mix Clarkia" 18-24" tall rose, salmon, white, purple & crimson
Blue Licrorice (Agastache) tall Perennial
"Tidy Tips" / Layia platyglossa / Layia elegans (Family Asteraceae)
. . . Annual Wildflower Western USA
. . . Velvet/Fuzzy-Textured foliage, herbaceous, Silver/Gray
. . . drought tolerant, reseeds even in Zone 3
Nemesia, Annual, part shade
. . . aromatic blue blooms, glossy herbaceous chartreuse/yellow foliage
. . . Requires consistently moist soil. WS, Bag seedheads
Chilean Glory Flower / Glory Vine / Eccremocarpus scaber (Family: Bignoniaceae)
. . . Tender Perennial Zone 8a flowers first year from seed
Pulsatilla vulgaris / Pasque Flower / Anemone pulsatilla / Anemone serotina
. . . drought-tolerant Perennial Zone 4
. . . nodding purple blooms very early spring through summer
. . . deciduous foliage is deeply divided with soft silvery hairs
. . . WS, direct sow fall, stratify indoors?
Tricolor Daisy / Chrysanthemum carinatum / Ismelia carinata
Sunflower "Moonwalker"
Larkspur, "Rocket" Annual 24-36" tall
Cosmos "Bright Lights Blend" / Cosmos sulphureus, drought tolerant annual reseeds freely
Corey