Winter Sowing Seed Swap .....part 2

Winter Sowing Seed Swap, continued from
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/651635/

Started a new thread since the original was getting so long.
Alice

===============
Winter Sowing Seed Swap.
We'll limit this to 20 people, so you'll need to send 20 packs of seeds, all the same or different, along with a return address label and postage.
My address is in the address exchange.
If you're new to winter sowing check out
[HYPERLINK@www.wintersown.org]
for idea's and seed suggestions.

Have your seeds to me by November 30 so that I can mail them out before the Holiday rush and Winter Solstice.

1- Alicewho ***
2- critterologist ***received 11/20
3- claypa ***received 11/30
4- kaykay1010
5- Shirley1md ***received 10/02
6- Illoquin ***received 09/29
7- happy_macomb ***received 11/30
8- Brent_In_NoVa ***received 10/07
9- dispatcher1 ***received 11/06
10- beaker_ch ***received 11/18
11- utlucky ***received 10/03
12- cegoins ***received 10/10
13- garden6 ***received 10/26
14- lafko06 ***received 10/28
15- etravia ***received 10/18
16- Hineni ***received 10/03
17- frausnow ***received 10/30
18- pamsue ***received 11/10
19- bluespiral ***received 11/08
20- Heavinscent ***received 10/23

=================
And just to summarize:

o Use a bubble envelope or bubble wrap to send seeds to Alice;
o Include 20 packets of seed;
o The amount of seed is whatever you feel comfortable with. If you are looking for guidelines, see the Seed Trading Primer in Extras;
o Can be all one seed type or different seed types;
o You can use anything for seed packs, but make sure they won't fall out and tape is not in a location where seeds could stick. The glycine envelopes work best for tiny seeds as opposed to plastic;
o Identify each seed pack with the contents and include your DG name (see Shirley's post on 9/15 at 4:22);
o Include 63 cents in postage not coin;
o Include a mailing label with your own address on it;
o Do not use scotch tape to seal a reused bubble envelope; and
o Write WS Swap on outside of the envelope sent to Alice.








This message was edited Nov 30, 2006 4:36 PM

Good idea ;-)

Connie

I'll start working on labels & bagging this week, since harvesting & drying is pretty much completed. I know Connie is hoping I'll start with the Lion's Ear seeds she wants... Connie, are we doing a trade, or am I just tucking an extra packet of these in with my swap seeds (with your name & swap # on it)?

Anyone try winter sowing tomatoes? If so, how did they do for you?
Alice

If I remember, wintersowing.org thinks they do just fine, and Trudie included tomato seeds in the free seeds she sent to me specifically for winter sowing. So based on those clues, I'd say it'd be fine.

Critter, we can trade, don't know if I have anything you want or you can send it to alice to put in my envelope, if she doesn't mind... why don't you d-mail me what you are looking for :o)

Alice when I sent off to the WS site for free seeds, Trudi sent me some heirloom tomato seeds to winter sow... So I am assuming they do pretty good. this will be my first year to WS...

Connie

Connie, Yes, tomato seeds do WS well. A couple of years ago I WS'd all my tomatoes, had good germination but they seemed to be slower to grow which isn't a good thing when our summer heat arrives early....so last year I went back to growing them all under lights which meant they were already bigger when the weather was warm enough to transplant. So I'm not convinced it's the best method for tomatoes in my Zone, but wanted to see what experience other WS'ers had with them. I'm considering growing them by both methods this year so see if there's any real difference in growth, disease and production.
Alice

Alice, I don't have a green house or a place to grow by lights so it will be by wsing and spring sowing for me... Hope they all work out for you... Take lots of pics :o) to show and tell...

Connie

Alice, I sent in my seeds today to you.

Regarding wintersowing tomatoes, I wonder whether some varieties do better with that technique than others? Probably, what does best in one area would not necessarily do best in a different area. Many years ago, we planted cherry tomatoes, and they self-sowed in that spot over many winters - don't remember the variety. No disease in all those years - sure is different now.

Maybe I should include some 'Wild Cherry' tomato seeds for this swap. It "volunteered" in my perennial bed again this year (I put it over by the lilies initially so it would be a little isolated for seed saving purposes)... They're little currant-sized tomatoes with huge flavor. I had 2 vigorous plants this summer that grew quickly enough without an indoor start and produced plenty of tasty garden snacks!

I figure if it comes up that easily on its own, it should be an excellent WS candidate. I also had volunteers of 'Stupice' again this year that produced fairly well.... I suspect WS might work better with "early" tomato varieties, as they'll have plenty of time to produce a good harvest before the end of the season... Some of my late tomatoes barely get into the swing of things before the weather turns cooler, even with an 8 week head start indoors.

Critter, I'd love some of your 'Wild Cherry' tomato seeds. We love trying new tomatoes.
Alice

I finished fermenting another round of them last week, and the first ones are nicely dried now... I'll include several packets... :-)

oh did i say the seeds are in the mail...hope everybody likes what i sent..cuz it took forever to harvest...and the weather wasnt cooperating...we have nasty weather here

pamsue

Don't feel bad Pam, we do too :(

Jill I would love to try some of your Wild Cherry Tomato's

Connie

Pam~ I'm sure I will love any and everything I receive in this swap. The generosity of everybody here is a positive reassurance that there are and remain some good people on earth and they can be found... in the garden! ;0)

Alice, I was trying to think of an easy way to mark packets that particular people said they wanted... I have little white labels that I'm going to stick on the front of the pre-designated packets, I think... For example, two of the 'Wild Cherry' tomato packets now have little stickers on them that say "#1 Alice" and "#12 cegoins." Does that sound like it'll work for you? I'll also group the pre-designated ones together with a rubber band around them or something.

If anyone doesn't get something they're hoping for that's on my list, just Dmail me and we can trade... I've got extra packets of most things.

I finally started writing/printing label slips to slip inside the seed baggies... Not only do I need to get my seeds done for this swap, I need to reclaim the dining room table before Thanksgiving! I'll include extras to make up for being one of the last people to get my seeds in... :-)

Critter~ do you mind including a label for Wild Cherry tomato for me as well? ;0)

No problem!

If anyone wants "dibs" on any others I've mentioned, PLMK. I can put in more than 2 packets of most of these. However, if you want 10 of the things on my list, we should probably make an arrangement separately from this swap... As it is, by the time I include 2 or 3 packets of everything, my BE to Alice will be pretty full!

I know somebody else had purple coneflowers covered.... does anybody want Black-Eyed Susan, or should I leave that one out?

Here's a list of the WS-able seeds on the dining room table:

Agastache 'Honey Bee White'
Agastache 'Honey Bee Blue'
Alpine Strawberry (red)
Annual Lion's Ear (Leonotus nepetifolia)
Basil, Italian Genovese (my pesto favorite, from seeds a friend brought back from Italy)
Basil, Lime
Black-Eyed Susan, Rudbeckia fulgida
Celosia argentea v. spicata, 'Flamingo Flower'
Celosia argentea v. spicata, 'Pink Candles'
Chocolate Daisy (Berlandiera lyrata)
Garlic Chives
Hollyhock -- single burgundy, from 'Happy Lights' mix
Marigold -- tall, rangy plant with small gold blooms, self sown from anti-nematode hybrid variety
Morning Glory fence row mix (mixed and probably crossed seeds of many different varieties)
Penstemon smallii
Tomato, Wild Cherry

Critter,
That should work just fine.
I've got seeds all over the place also...seems to be a year round thing as I still have flowers in bloom.
Once the seed saving mess is cleaned up it will then be replaced with the WS & growing under lights mess and then followed by the propagation mess...always something!
Alice

Hi again Critter, everyone will already be getting Rudbeckia, 'Autumn Colors' from me, but I don't see why anyone would not want to grow several different kinds of Rudbeckia...it's the kind of flower that can fit into any garden.
I's love some of your Chocolate Daisy and Alpine Strawberry...birds never let mine go to seed.
Alice

My Black-Eyed Susan is the regular gold one... it looks like 'Goldstrum' but I'm not sure of the variety as it was a passalong plant. I've never actually WS'd it, but it self-sows with no trouble at all, LOL.

Here's the Chocolate Daisy... It did have a slight fragrance, but I'm not sure it smelled even a little like chocolate to me. It did look nice by my purple conflowers, though!

Critter~ thanks a bunch, don't want to be a pig"oink!oink! OINK! would also love any of the celosia! Thanks again, I'm looking forward to having a gorgeous garden in the Spring courtesy of my gardening friends! ;0)

I'll tag 'em for you, no problem! Alice, I've got you down for the strawberry and the chocolate daisy, as well as the wild cherry tomato. As I said, if anyone has more then 3 requests we should probably take it to a separate trade/SASBE so I don't end up making too much extra work for Alice... Alice, do you want to give me an upper limit on how many packets to send altogether? ;-)

Thanks Critter. And no, I don't see any reason to set a limit as long as they're marked differently then the ones intended for the group swap.
Alice

Alice~thank you for your generosity of time and graciousness for us all to share in this treat. BOUQUETS to you! ;0)

I would love some seeds from Celosia argentea v. spicata, 'Flamingo Flower'.If it's not too much confusion for everyone. It will be my first time to WS, but I'm already dreaming of the flowers that might grow from my first WS experience. It will help me avoid the withdrawal pains of no winter gardening. Thanks so very much to everyone for participating! LOu

I'll mark out a packet for you, Lou. Judging by the enthusiasm with which they popped up all over this spring, I'd say they're excellent WS candidates. (Not to worry, the seedlings are also very easy to pull out where you don't want them.)

Hey Critter! That's really nice of you and I'd like to take advantage of the offer by asking for both the celisoias and also the Italian Basil (any basil, actually) I saw a picture of a large pot of all one kind of the celosias (not sure which one it was) and it was really nice looking. I am hoping to duplicate it for my patio next year.

Thanks!
Suzy aka Illoquin

OK! FYI, these are "Wheatstraw" celosias, which are a bit different from the cockscomb ones or the plumed bedding plants that HD sells... They were 3 ft. tall by the end of summer.

Let's see if I can find a photo...

Here's the 'Flamingo Flower' one... 'Pink Candles' is similar but with some burgundy on the leaves.

Critter, may I prettyplease put in another oink for your Wild Cherry tomato?

Ditto on kitchen table gone to seed - in fact, half of the room occupied by that table looks like a tool shed. DH is coping nicely, but what an unattainable fantasy: a simple, bare surface with just a posy.

My vote would be to take it easy on Alice. A few extra packets and some requests might not be too much work but let's not use Alice as the middleman (err...woman) for all of this season's trades. I hate to think of all the work this will add on top of the effort required just to run the swap.

- Brent

LOL, yup, that's pretty much an unattainable fantasty here too! I have the posy, though... in the midst of all those plates of drying seeds, my new 'Iced Amethyst Showoff' streptocarpus is blooming away!

Bluespiral, you know I'll share anything I have with you! (And I know it's O/T, but so far our epi cuttings are looking good!)

I'm glad I asked, because this lets me know which extras to include rather than just putting in double packs of everything.

Speaking of which, I've been packing seeds again this morning, and I've got a couple of packets here of Salvia lyrata 'Purple Knockout' http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/64088/index.html. LMK...

Alice, I know you've been sorting into piles for us as seeds come in, but if there are any choices on the remaining ones... I've got mostly full sun and my favorite color is purple (please no gold or orange if possible, and no marigolds). But not to worry, anything that I get that I can't use I will just pass along to somebody who will love it!

Brent, I just saw your post... Alice has said she does not mind the extra packets, as long as they are marked and easy to sort out. I've got enough seeds to send at least 2 packets to everyone on the list, and it's easy enough to put stickers on some packets to earmark them for particular people. I'm certainly not trying to accomplish all my trades through this one swap, LOL.

I don't mind extra packets, as long as they are marked clearly, it's not much, if any more trouble or work. It's as simple as tossing them into the 'numbered' bags I have set up. That's why including the members number is so important. That's also why it's impossible to 'filter' who gets what seeds, with the exception of not getting your own seeds...I pull your numbered bag before distributing your seeds amongst the others bags. And since there is at least one extra pack, since you've sent at least 20, I always put the extra one into the number after yours. Hope this makes since? Not sure that I'm explaining it clearly. But this is an effort to stay fair to everyone with the number of packs you receive.
And you probably will get some seeds you can't use, already have, or just don't care for. But you can share those unwanted seeds with someone else, trade them, send them to a friend, etc..
Alice

That's fine, and it sounds like a good system. As I said, I will happily pass along any seeds I can't use. :-)

bluespiral - Karen, I received the package you sent today and all I can say is WOW! You put a lot of effort into all these and I think everyone will be pleased when they get the seeds you personally selected for everyone in the group.
And the numbers keep climbing, with the 5 packs of seeds that Karen just sent for each member...hope everyone is ready to get MANY packs of seeds. You'll need to save more containers for WS'ing!
Alice

Woohoooo! Karen & Alice, you are both just wonderful!!

Alice,
Do I need to send you a little extra postage???
If you need me too just give me a jingle and will mail it out asap :o)

Connie

Connie, No that isn't necessary, some members have sent extra postage, so it should all be covered.
Alice

I was supposed to # something? (faints) Oh dear, I didn't do that. Please forgive me - somehow I must have overlooked that Alice. I also may need to give you my new address or send a new label or something since we may be moved before these go out.

Critter, may I have some chocolate daisy and Agastache Honey Bee Blue since Mama Alice said it was okay? :D

And if not, I'll be happy to d-mail you for an off the list trade.

WE GOT A HOUSE!!!! And there's not a single flower in the yard (big wide-eyed look). And the landlord said "garden away" :D :D :D
Ahem, but d/h said "no flower in the front yard" (sniff, pout, whine) He wants a 'manly tree and grass' yard. Pffft. I'm putting flowers by the mailbox, I don't care if he gets mad. Hmmm, maybe I could toss some seeds there when he's not looking and claim nature not nurture??

Thanks again to everyone who is making this soooo exciting. I can't WAIT!

~Sunny