Think Spring! Seed Swapping DISCUSSION for Feb. 16 swap

Ooh, I love oxalis! I'd love some of those tubers. :) And I just realized I forgot to update my wish list. Thank you for the reminder!

Jill, if you have any more pens left, I'd like one silver and one black.

Sally, I'd like to try that nasturtium.

This message was edited Feb 9, 2013 2:54 AM

Yea I'd take an assortment of oxalis as well. My garden is a wooded garden with good filtered light. I am interested in perennials that naturalize well but aren't in conrtollable.

Yes ssgardener, you got them.

Jill-

Roses posted that she grows "Arugula Rocket" which has softer leaves and does not bolt so quiclky.
She saidthat she got the seeds from you from some kind of Group Buy from Italy.

Would you still have some of these seeds? I'd like to grow a few plants of this one.
Will check the seed supply at HD too. Thanks, Gita

I have a feeling come next year I'll be on here, begging for plants!!! Gotta love flat-rate shipping! :) I know all the properties I'm looking at has 1/4 acre lots, so I'll actually have room to plant! I was doing some research & the soil is not user friendly - but, it won't be the heavy clay!! I'm sure there will be no planting this year, both due to time and energy, but just wait until next year!!! I'll be a planting/rototilling fool!

Bec--

When are you actually moving?

I wanted to forward something to you--a You Tube of cars driving on the Norwegian Atlantis Road.
It is both scary and beautiful.
Would you D-mail me your e-mail? Unless you have already seen this road in films and are not interested.

Gita

Terp, I think the Oxalis triangularis (not solid purple, but purple with a sort of star in the center of the leaves) is supposed to be hardy here, but the others are tender / lift in fall.

No problem on the pens; Jim just picked up another set for us.

You know what I am surprised about????

Here it is--only a week to go, and so few people have posted their "wants" or "haves" yet.
Is it the case of --same people--same seeds---so no need any more?
I, for one, added 13 new seeds to my "haves" list this year. Look for the *** on my list.

I guess not everyone is as anal and organized as I am--or try to be. Of course--I have all this free time...
I couldn't sleep at night if I still had to accomplish all that in one week's time....;~O

I can't even imagine how Jill functions by now--with all she is doing!

Gita

Paul--

You are into Bonsai--right?

I have a book: "Simon & Schuster's Guide to Bonsai".
Would you like to have it?
G.

purple oxalis is hardy at my castle so it probably is for Paul at least in chosen microclimates on his site.

It is Hardy? Hmmm and the green is not??

Gita- not practicing it but enjoy the art of it. Initially I thought no but after a second thought I'd love to read it and pass it on.

Sold!!!

This is a belated response to Aspenhill’s questions about Milkweed earilier in this thread. I grow 7 or 8 species of Asclepias, none of which are A. syriaca. If you want to save yourself headaches, promptly sow your A. syriaca seeds in the nearest trash basket. It is by far the most aggressive of the Milkweeds, is considered a noxious weed in many quarters and will end up where you don’t want it. Asclepias speciosa is a western species, growing primarily west of the Mississippi River. It is hardy here but its native range suggests that our more humid eastern climate is not to its liking, so I have not attempted to grow it. Asclepias incarnata is a fine local native, as is A. tuberosa, a very hardy orange species that is the second most commonly seen Asclepias species in this region.

There are many Asclepias species that are suited to our local climate and easy to grow. Species native to Virginia not previously mentioned are:

A. amplexicaulis-------Clasping Milkweed------------pink
A. exaltata---------------Poke Milkweed-----------------white
A. lanceolata-----------Few-Flowered Milkweed-----orange and pink
A. longifolia-------------Long-Leaf Milkweed-----------green/white
A. purpurascens-------Purple Milkweed----------------purple
A. quadrifolia-----------Four-Leaf Milkweed-----------pale pink
A. rubra------------------Red Milkweed-------------------pink
A. variegata------------Red-Ring Milkweed------------white w/ red ring
A. verticillata-----------Whorled Milkweed--------------white
A. viridiflora------------Green Milkweed ----------------green

Seeds should be surface-sown and either placed outside by late February, or given a month in the fridge before moving outdoors for best germination. Once planted in-ground they do not transplant easily because of their taproots. Most will grow with part-day shade.

Thanks, David! That's a great summary. I didn't realize there were so many native Asclepias... I'll be on the lookout now. :-)

David,
I looked at my records from last season, and you had given me A. verticillata (whorled milkweed) and A. perennis (white milkweed). Ok, sowing my A. syriaca seeds in the nearest trash basket now LOL. I guess A. incarnata is a keeper.

Roses and Jill---

I walked over to the Burpee seeds just now (I am at work) and we do carry the Arugula "Rocket Wild Roma".
That is the full name on the seed packet. International coillection..
Harvest 35 days. $1.19 a packet. Will buy 2 packets...such a BIG spender--I is!!!

Gita

Gita, I'd take a little pinch of that Arugula if it's not too much trouble, just to add to a cutting lettuce mix. Thanks!

Jill--

I will give you a whole packet of the Arugula seeds....I can buy another one next Sunday.

It says on the back of the packet that this one has a stronger taste than "regular" Arugula.
Whatever that means....Roses said it tasted "sweet". I guess that can be subjective...
G.

Gita, thanks, but a little pinch to try really would be fine. We have several new-to-us greens we're going to try to grow this year!

I think I said (or meant to say) that it's VERY spicey!

Hmmm...I do not do many foods that are "very spicy"....I still will try to grow a couple.

Maybe I should just stick to buying Arugula in plastic bags at the produce dept.

There were no other Arugula seeds at the Burpee display. Only these.
So far--we have not gotten any other brands in.
We do have Martha Stewart seeds (they cost more!) and Disney seeds.
G.

Disney seeds ? Sheesh.

ROFL! The Disney seeds are probably still cheaper at HD than they will be when we go to the House of the Mouse in June... Joyanna is SO psyched. I want to take a tour of their greenhouses!

I think the seed packets even have a Disney character on them--maybe Tinnkerbelle? or Mickey Mouse?...
Will have to check....

The look really out of place next to all the garden-looking Burpee seeds....

I guess if you can make 'toys' out of 'seeds' by putting characters on them, that may be serving a higher purpose!

Offtopic. = I glanced up to the high, metal structural ceiling of the grocery store and saw a Dora mylar balloon had come loose and was up in the metal rafters. Dora sure was Exploring!

LOL,

Dora, Dora, Dora the Exploooorah!

***
UPDATE: I just put in an order for enough polymer moisture crystals to last until Joyanna goes to college... unless I share! I'll have a final price on them soon (when I know shipping), but we got an extra discount, and it looks like it'll be around $5 - $5.25/pound for the medium size (about the same size as "soilmoist" and other brands you'd find locally). That's an awesome price!) We'll have small crystals and powder available, too. I only got 2 pound bags of those, so we may be doling it out by the quarter-pound, and it'll be more than the medium. I ordered 10 pounds of the large size, as well, which I like for planting trees, shrubs, and other large perennials (I just mix a few in with the medium crystals). I like the small crystals for miniature violets and seedling flats. The powder makes a great "gel" for dipping/planting or wrapping/shipping bare root plants.

If you want to discuss any aspect of the moisture crystals in more detail, please start another thread for that so we can stay focused on the swap here. The crystals have their admirers and their detractors, and it's a pretty polarized discussion, not unlike the debate over using peat moss or the older one re. pressure-treated lumber.

***

I'm finally getting around to sorting out some SEEDS today! LOL I'll post a list soon of a few things I've already packaged up. I also have a lot of single packets to share...

Does anybody else like the idea of setting up one table for "free to good home" single packets? I'm wondering if anybody else has "orphans" in their seed stash... Most seeds are good for at least 5 years, some for much longer... and if it doesn't get planted by somebody, then for sure it won't sprout!

I usually put out a couple of baskets with these random seeds, but I thought we'd have the room this year to give them a table where everybody could sort through and find treasures. ?

It might be good to have a pot of "Please just TAKE these seeds" as it feels kind of selfish to take too many from any one box being passed around.

That's a good point, too. And if we have a table to use for treasure-hunting from that "pot" rather than just my little basket with the "free to good home" sign, it might make it easier for people to drop by, look to see if there's anything they can use, or even drop off their own "orphan packs." Any leftovers, I might hold onto some for next year, and the rest will be shared either with new gardeners or with next year's Piggy Swap (which has provided a lot of the "orphan packs" I've offered in the past few years).

Remember, just because it's neglected at the bottom of *your* seed box doesn't mean somebody else won't think it's a "find!"

OK, now I'm feeling like I need a pirate treasure chest for that table... LOL

Soooo---

Would older and unwanted seeds be also acceptable in the "Orphan Seed Stash?"??
I have a qt. zip-loc baggie full of odds and ends--Maybe someone would like to scatter these
and see if they grow.

I will bring them anyway....Gita

Sure! Think of it as "The Island of Misfit Seeds." Whether they're new seeds that are just not "treasures" to you or seeds in an older packet that you just don't think you'll plant again in the next few years... those would be candidates for needing "a good home!"

Most seeds are "good" for a lot longer than people think. Even if the germination percentage on a pack of tomato seeds has dropped by as much as 60% in, say, 8 years, if the pack has 15 seeds, you'd still get 6 seedlings.

If your seeds got wet or really hot during storage, then maybe not... but most of our seeds have fortunately stayed out of flooded basements & hot attics!

I forgot to ask for red castor bean seeds and just a little bit of spinach seeds.

Greenthumb, what a comprehensive list of milkweeds! I'm really excited about hosting some butterflies this year.

SSG, I have some red Castor Beans.

...and I have some spinach seeds. I don't plan to grow spinach.

Will put what I have in a baggie for you, ssssssss......Gita

SSG, the list may be long but many of the seeds seem impossible to come by. I am still searching for Asclepias lanceolata, longifolia, quadrifolia, rubra and variegata. If you run across any of these, please count me in or pass along the source information---I'll do likewise.

David---

Are you still clean-shaven? Or--were you outvoted on keeping it that way by your DW?
We will see...

I'll not spoil the suspense.

I finally got a few seeds on my "haves" list last night. Hoping snow storms stay away this weekend!

ss gardener---

I have you down for Spinach. Correct?
I will also put in a baggie of Cilantro seeds. OK?

Let me know--Gita


Buttoneer---
I will see if I have any Epi cuttings that have just been put in to root. They root so fast!
I have 2 kinds--both bloom red.hot pink.

Are you still interested? let me know---Gita

Jill--

I will give you some seeds to try out and see what happens. A Mystery.....

Story: Last year--this woman at my HD was having lunch--and she was eating a BLACK
sweet pepper. It was shaped and looked just like a green pepper--but it was black.
She said she got it in a Grocery Store. I have NEVER seen one--have you?

Well--I took the seeds from it and am wondering if it would actually grow and produce
a black pepper again. What are the odds???
You are the perfect "Guinea Pig"....you grow all kinds of things. So--I am giving you some.

I may seed one or two seeds myself--just out of curiosity. Then we can compare notes......:o)

Hey--what do you know?? I Googled it and there really is such a thing! WOW!!!

http://www.reimerseeds.com/mavras-sweet-peppers.aspx

Gita