Karen, that a good idea. will make a note of that.
Meridith, been thinking on your idea. Your right about costs for folks. Doing an Ike piggy swap using Suzy's guilines makes alot of sense.
One central point for seeds would work good, but what about plants? How would that work. Would if somebody wants to send liv eplants they pay for the postage or wthat gets figured out do it kinda a seperate thing.
At the moment I am on overload with projects and such til Novemer first. I busy with other Ike auctions and exams.
If nobody else wants to be the distribution center. I wil do it. We spent weeks and weks doign the piggy swap, so maybe by the time folks get things listed and asked for and evrythign set, then it will be about the begining of november and folks should be somewhat set.
Keep putting in ideas and such folks. All are welcome for sure.
Cottage Garden Seed Swap & Chat #16
Yes star I agree, the plants might be easier to just send direct. The seeds would work good though, you can get a decent amount of seeds in the smallest bubble mailer and single stamp, so it seems wasteful for people to have to send out a bunch of different ones if they only have 1 or 2 of what someones looking for.
I was out gathering seeds, and getting eaten alive by mosquitoes .... and i remembered I had to find the "Red Flax" plant. Cleaning these seeds were much easier than the "Blue Flax" seeds. and it's funny how when i was cleaning them, i was like "Wow, these look like flax seeds" [ that i toss in my morning shakes] and i was then like "doink ... they are flax." I dont recall the Blue Flax looking like flax seeds though.
I also gathered Wheatstraw and Amaranthus.
those dang skeeters are ferocious.... even with bug spray, i still got chewed up.
The mosquito's sure were brutal here today!
***
Does anyone know how to harvest seeds of the eyeball plant or tithonia?
I know Karen [kqcrna] has tithonia growing, as she has a post going in the WS forum.
So, if no one chimes in, you can ask her.
I dont have either.
and yes, the squitoes are still bad!! i got eaten again today.
All I know about tithonias is that I just pull the head off and pull it apart and throw it back down on the ground. Around here, they come up everywhere. Actually, I never have to do that, cause they just fall on the ground by themselves. I'm all the time having to thin those things out. I know it probably is different where you live.
~Lucy
>>I just pull the head off and pull it apart and throw it back down on the ground
LOL -- i do that with a lot of seed heads too. Sorta easier that way... though i will have to wait til next year and hope they - or at least some of them come back.
tcs I don't think they are a reliable reseeder in zone 5. I remember them being like the purple coneflowers. A little spiny to the touch.
Star, I love your idea and would love to share some seeds, I've been kind of busy here lately getting ready for winter so I haven't been on here so much but just wanted to let you know, I'll collect more seeds to share for them and would love it if they could put up a want list too :) I have extra seedlings that I will pot up if I can and offer them also if they come back in the spring :)
It's going to rain this evening late so I've got to get out there and get some holes dug and plants in the ground today lol I don't think I'm ever going to get caught up on my plants before it turns cold, this is my most dreaded time of the year, trying to get everything done before it gets too cold to do it LOL
I am reading the thread and trying to stay caught up just no time to respond with cleaning all of these seeds at night too. I need more time in the days and theyare getting way too short! lol
Loving everyones pictures!
Fairy, send a link when your coop starts I'm sure you will but that is the only way I will think to look for it, my brain is in three modes now to get plants transplanted in bigger pots for the winter and in the ground and the seeds LOL Plus I need to get your plants to you so they will bloom for next year :) Nope I haven't forgotten :)
I will post a link when I open it-somehow I had lost this thread-not sure how:( Does anyone know if Nicotiana, and annual salvias are reliable reseeders up here?? Wondering if I need to save some of my seeds for me or if I canh just toss a couple heads where I want them to be next year??
Fairy, both do return reliably for me (your winters are a bit colder though), but I do run into an issue that would increase further north; they both germinate so late (when the ground is really warm) they usually get frost bitten about the time they're looking really good. Seems especially so with Salvias. Self sown Nicotiana never reach the stature of those I've started indoors, always puny in comparison in my garden. If they're both something you really like, I'd recommend saving seed. I find them both worth the effort :-)
Thanks Gemini-that is what I needed:)
Here, in zone 6b, our self sown nicotiana sylvestris always out performs any started by me indoors and planted out.
I haven't grown nicotiana butI agree with Gem about the salvias, the 3 salvias I found that reseeded are just starting to flower now. I grew at least 50 plants last year so 3 reseeders doesn't count as very reliable for me : )
Hmmm-I will try it both ways then and see about the Nicotiana:)
I only had three nicotianas reseed that have bloomed and have a bunch that are all leaves but no flowers yet, doubt if I see any blooms off of them, I would rather just go ahead and grow them they are too iffy for me, I've never really tried pitching the seeds out in the spring. I've only grown annual salvias once a couple years ago, other than this year and still have self seeders from those but they started blooming late too, but they are blooming now. So I would rather grow them too then just have my straglers come up as they may :) That Bonfire that I had in the swap is what I'm talking about.
Bonfire?? Bonfire what??
I have Nicotiana [white cloud, or fragrant white -- can't recall the name]
but honestly -- i dont care for it. Too 'gangly' for me. and got much bigger than i thought.
I'll see how many seeds, that fell, germinate for next year.
I loved the 3 I had-1 was pinks and purples, the other was a salmon pink and the last was a very light-almost white pink w/ a thin pink edge to the floweres:)
I only had one salvia that was purple and white, got the seeds from annette98 on here a couple of years ago and yet to catch a seed from it! lol They are pretty too!
And guess what I discoverd when I cleaned my front bed out, a camera lantana that was planted two years ago up about two foot! It came back! lol I sure didn't see it last year and couldn't find a camera last year cause I know those seeds are good to germinate, not that I have any luck with them but I'm going to try them this year, of course it doesn't have many blooms on it but I'm hoping to get a few seeds out of it to kill this winter lol
It has been raining for a week straight here. Now it's finally partly sunny, so I was out doing a couple things and I pulled off my butterfly weed (A. tuberosa) seed heads. I realized that these are much easier to collect damp! I only took the ones that were starting to split and I just squeezed the pod to keep the fluff in and scraped the seeds out with my nail. It only worked because the fluff was pretty damp. It was much easier than anything else I've done. I have the seeds spread on a paper towel to dry now. Just wanted to share in case it would help anyone out! : )
I was organizing my pictures and I wanted to share one of the China Asters from Fairy, these ones are double. : )
Hey-mine weren't doubles-no fair!!LOL They were probably cross pollinated with the bachelor buttons that grew with them-never thought of that til just now!! What a great cross!!
Oh that's too cool, I'll have to save the seeds seperate and see if they come up the same again next year. Then you could have your own hybrid. I', sure we could work Fairy into the name no problemo ; ) I would love to be in on your co-op but I have used up my gardening budget for the year..... er my life ; )
Sorry:( Maybe if you take back your cans or something?? THink?? Or go through your car and couch for change??;)
The cans would be a good idea if they had a deposit. NH doesn't do it!! Isn't that crazy! I am originally from MA and was brought up saving cans for extra cash : D
At this exact moment in my life I can honestly say that I don't know when I've been angrier. Or more heart-broken.
Red Daylily
Pink Pinks
Raspberry parfait pinks
red verbena
lavender verbena
bright eyes verbena
pink verbena
mixed coleus
magenta petunia
blue petunia
pink petunia
pink wave
hardy hibiscus
malva
fusha 4:00
yellow 4:00
broken colors 4:00
purple knock out
red salvia
coral nymph
snaps
cherokee sunset rudbeckia
Four weeks worth of cleaning and drying. FOUR WEEKS. Most of these plants are gone now so even if I had the heart to start over again I can't. And even if I was crazy enough to try and sort through this mess there's no way to distinguish color...and on some of them the shapes are almost exact too.
I had all my containers for next year planned out in my head. My beds too. I've planned, I've toiled, I've spent hour upon hour hunched over the tray and the strainer.
The culprit.
OMG the longer I sit here the more I feel like crying. I guess I better just let the dog back in and go to bed.
LOL?
sniff.
hi lala
oh my gosh ive been thru it so i feel for you! it is either the dog, DH bumping the seed containers, or the cat jumping up and spilling..but i agree it is too much work to be wasted. ive learned to put seeds in tip proof containers or several containers inside a heavy container so they are more secure and place them in out of the way places so they do not have access. and bag them one by one and not leave them unattended.
Of course we will share our seeds with you.
pam sue
Oh Lala-I am sorry and have been there-I salvaged what I could and threw the rest out:(
Poor lala! I know the feeling. The culprit: my at-that-moment-not-so-DH.......
BTW, some people hear at Dave's do "mixed seeds swaps"...........
That was my culprit too Tuink!! Mine swept them up in a dustpan, and dumped it back on the counter-our floor was due for a sweeping, so the seeds came with dog hair and dirt speckles too!!LOL
Wow.. Feel your pain, been there, but not all is lost, ya know what ya had. So ya just list as mixed seed of...... They get transplanted when seedlings, so then it usually easier to identify who who.
I can tell ya what the petunia seeds look like if that helps. When mine get mixed I usually just try and sort what I can by size and color and there lots of folks here who know what the seeds look like and the ones ya not sure well it a grab bag.
When my baby was alive, I would forget and have the seeds out on coffee table and would forget abut how big his tail was and with one swosh there they would all go.
Some nice stuff in that mix, stuff anybody would be happy to grow.
Oh man! that stinks! I feel for you : (
If you want to look on the brighter side, at least they aren't all smooshed into the rug as well. Then you'd have to vacuum and sort through lint and seeds.
LOl-that would be a pain!!