Seed Exchange, anyone?

[Czech's_chicks]

I am relatively new to the forum so I wanted to get to know some of you by doing something fun.

I am wondering if anyone would be interested in participating in a seed exchange? I would love to host and propose the following:

Ground Rules:

1. seeds need to be cleaned (best as you can especially if they are going to CA because of USDA rules & regulations)
2. seeds should be from plants that are easy to sew with provided instructions
3. seeds should be taped to a card or secured in a manner they will not be loose
4. seed amounts will depend on availability (if you have lots to spare, this should be fun!)
4. open for other rules, if you feel there should be more

Participants will need to decide if this is going to be a secret swap or if they want to know what they are getting. I would love to host and collect everyone's submissions then make sure they are sent to the recipient (this can be done by drawing of names (to see who gets who) Past swaps I have been part of required each participant to provide enough postage to cover shipping/mailing of seeds to the recipients.

We will also need to decide if seeds will be for fall sowing or spring so we can all stay on the same page. If anyone is interested, I will start a different thread for sign up and at that time we can determine how long the sign up will be open.

Wendy

 

[Sore Thumb Suburbanite]

I would love to participate, I vote for fall crops since we are all harvesting those now.
I have just harvested my dry soup bush beans, calypso and tiger eye, they both taste great (just made soup last week with them) and I would love to get more seeds in exchange, I can spare 50 of each, plus I have some black turtle runner beans which I can spare 50 as well.

come on people, what do you have?

 

[Carols Clucks]

Let me check tomorrow but I know for a garden border we have plenty of:


Calendula
Hollyhock
nasturtium



We also will have lots of Scarlet Runner Bean and pumpkin seeds galore!

 

[Dawn419]

I'm really interested but I'm just now sowing seeds for a fall garden as the spring garden was a loss due to excessive heat and little to no rain.

I do have a few flower and herb seeds to share, though.

 

[Amyable]

This sounds great! I have lots of heirlooms, that's all I grow. Can seeds be from last year (meaning the seeds I collected/bought to sow this spring)? I won't have anything from this season for a while...

 

[Sore Thumb Suburbanite]

I am also growing everything from seed savers...they are all heirloom plants...

Carols Clucks; what kind of pumkin seeds do you have? my pumpkins are still growing, but they are musquee de provence pumpkins & I'm looking for some variety next year to add to my fall decor.

hope to have some cucumber seeds shortly too.

I have gotten potato seeds out of some of the bloom's fruit; I checked in a seed propogation book on how to do it, I have no idea if they will actually grow yet, will test first.

 

[Balefire]

Because I moved I don't have anything

, but next year, I will be in

 

[Czech's_chicks]

Yay, I am so glad there is interest!

also have another idea - what if everyone sends in seeds and they get divided up between everyone, so everyone gets the same thing...we could have a 5 seed imit per veggie/fruit per person.

BUT, ultimately it's up to everyone...I'm just excited at a shot for some calendula!!

 

[elbertchick]

I have a lot of seeds that I purchased but hey are a year old, flowers and vegtable seeds lots of them but the weather and my job demands prevented me from planting do seeds go bad? They are well packaged and have never been wet or or exposed to severe temp variations? I noticed someone else asked and there was no reply. It sounds fun!

 

[muddstopper]

Quote:
To answer your question about seed going bad. Yes they do. Moisture and heat are what needs to be advoided when storeing seeds for even a short period of time. Seeds should be dried before packing. This can bee done by simply laying the seeds on a sheet of newspaper or a paper towel and placing in a window for a few days. You can also dry the seeds in a dehydrator, but care must be taken to insure the seeds do not get to temperatures of 140degrees or higher. 140* heat for 24hrs means sure death to most every kind of seed. Oddly enough, 100* temps, (think incubator without the humidity tray), is ideal for drying the seeds.

Old seeds will lose a certain amount of viability every year. This doesnt mean all the seeds will go bad at the same time, but germination percentages will go down over time. Properly dried and stored seeds can last for several years.