Possible herb (or whatever) swap

I am hoping to grow a lot of herbs next year. Each seed packets contain so many seeds. I know we can swap seeds -- but I wonder if anyone would be interested in doing the following:

What if each of us who want to be a part of this agrees to grow, say, 6 seedlings of each of 6 different herbs for however many of us want to participate (subject to crop failures)? That way, instead of starting lots of different herbs, I would only have to tend 6 different types, so I could really lavish good care on them. Say 5 of us participate. Then we could have a swap, and we'd each take home 6x6x5 =180 plants, 6 each of 30 varieties. That way, we could each get lots of different varieties of thymes, basils, sages, alpine strawberries (they're an herb, aren't they?), etc.

We would have to keep it at some manageable number of participants -- maybe no more than 10 people -- because even at 10, that would require the grower to produce 60 plants of each variety, which is a lot.

We'd have to coordinate lists so we didn't overlap. I suppose the first person to sign up could list the plants they most want to grow, and the next person would list their 6 (being careful not to overlap) and so forth. But it'd be fun because we could get a little exotic.

And/or we could do the same thing with veggies (peppers and tomotoes might be especially suited).

Maybe this is impractical. For example, I'm not sure how we'd time the swap so that the plants would all be ready. As one who can't even get to a swap on time and who came practically empty-handed to the last swap, maybe I'm the last person who should be proposing this.

Your thoughts?

I like the idea, and you know I tend to grow an extra flat or two of plants anyway, LOL. A few thoughts...

Basils and Peppers get set out at about the same time, but Tomatoes should really be planted out a few weeks earlier (remember those really leggy extra tomatoes I brought to the spring swap?), so if you want to swap tomato seedlings that should perhaps be a separate thing... and it might be easier to just swap seeds.

Some herbs (most thyme cultivars, for example) are propagated by cuttings or divisions rather than seeds. I'd love to trade an assortment of creeping thymes for a different assortment of creeping thymes... I guess some folks might remember that I brought a couple of extra thyme and oregano plants to Hart's swap. ;-)

I'm in! Want to reserve a place, but have to give some thought to it. Even if it doesn't go as planned, sounds like fun trying :)

Sounds like a good way to get some variety in the garden without having to buy packets. I still have basil seed left from last year and I gave away 12 or so plants and had at least 18 to plant. I really want to plant 2 different varieties of basil next year -- this year I did Thai and lettuce leaf, then bought an African basil plant which attempted to take over the herb bed. I'm saving seed from those, and plant to build up my collection by buying 2 new varieties.

I should have some to swap... what are your favorite tomatoes for this region? I did orange tomatoes Ihigh carotene) this year, but wasn't that crazy about them. And cherry tomatoes, not the best variety either. I tasted Juliette's at a farmer's market and they were great. I'm definitely open to suggestions on peppers, too.

Raeben, I grew two oranges, Kellogg's Breakfast and Orange Russian 117 this year. They were both very tasty, KB a bit better than the OR. The KB has been pumping out big tomatoes for weeks too.

I would love to do this but seed starting is so marginal here I'd be afraid to. I would hate for someone to be expecting plants only to have them die on me. But I do think it's a terrific idea.

sorry, but I can't commit to this......

Raeben, I won't be harvesting seed for a couple of weeks yet, but I usually have plenty of basil seed to trade and share. I'll save seed for sure from my favorite Italian Genovese (outstanding for pesto and other culinary use), should also have seed from Sicilian Basil, Lemon Basil, Lime Basil, a purple basil (may have lost track of the variety name), maybe also Cinnamon Basil and Minette (dwarf small leaf).

I think my Thai basil ['Siam Queen' has become a bit crossed with the Cinnamonn over the past several years -- at least, the flower heads have become smaller than I remember -- so I either need to purchase or swap for new Thai basil seed this year.

Oh, and on your tomato and pepper questions...

My most reliable performers for taste and productivity seem to be 'Pink Potato Top', 'German Red Strawberry', 'Wisconsin 55', 'Stupice', 'Jaune Flamme' and 'Cherokee Purple'. This year, I also had great results with 'Yellow Brandywine', and a friend loved 'Mr Stripey', so I'll probably grow both of those next year.

For peppers, I've had little luck with bell varieties. Two hybrids, 'Gypsy' and 'Carmen' have done really well for me here.

But now we should probably get back to herbs... :-)

I haven't even finished reading the first post, cuz I want to throw my name into the hat on this one.

I'll go back and read the rest, but consider me interested. I'm a bit more interested in the more obscure herbs at this point in time - do you care about that, Happy?

Edit: Okay, I've read up. I'm very interested in this swap still, but even with only ten people, that will be a lot of plants to manage, assuming that a certain percentage will fail...

This message was edited Oct 5, 2007 8:39 PM

Question: Did you want to stick to Culinary herbs or are Medicinal herbs okay for this swap also?

Culinary for me, please... unless they smell great or attract butterflies or produce seeds for the birds or just look fabulous in the garden... LOL!

I'm pleased with anything!

Well, I won't decide on culinary herbs until this Winter. However, these are some of the medicinals that I'm planning to grow:

Astragulus
Holy Basil
Burdock
Calendula
German Chamomile
Echinacea purpurea
Elecampane
Evening primrose
Flax
Lemon Balm
Marshmallow
Motherwort
Nettles
Cayenne pepper
Sage
Valerian
Wood Betony
Yarrow
Stevia
Licorice

Wrightie, I've got a holy basil plant I want to try to keep going over the winter. At the least I should be able to get some seeds from it to start some for you in the spring.

Thanks, Miata. The above list are seeds that are already on their way though. Some of them came in a mix, so I'm getting them whether I want them or not.

Wrightie, I like your list of plants! I've got a wonderful white achillea (yarrow) that was shared from a garden that's probably at least 100 years old... it's a bit of a thug when it comes to forming a big clump, but that's a good thing when you're trying to get some backbone plants established, and it's easy enough to divide it to reduce its size (or to share it with a friend!).

Surely there must be more people interested in this swap???

Anyone still interesed? I just picked up a few more seeds, but as of now I'm already probably over doing it, so unless anyone wants anything I'll only be planting enough for myself. Plus it's my first time seriously starting seed so I can't guarantee anything, but I'll do my best.

Sorrel
Salad Burnet
Cumin
Fenugreek

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