I am officially taking names now for my unusual seed exchange. This is open to newbies and regulars alike. The deadline is Friday December 5th. This means I must have the seeds in my posession by this date. The swap will be made that weekend and seeds mailed out Monday Dec 8th.
This exchange will work like this:
- You send me your unusual seeds in a padded envelope, along with $1.92 in postage and a return address label.
- I will swap your seeds for others that I have received from other people.
- I send your new seeds back to you using your padded mailer and postage.
Pretty simple! Of course there are some other rules I have to apply to keep things working smoothly. If you are interested in participating, please read the following, and if youre interested, please email me and I will get back to you.
The first big rule is determining what is, and what is not, an unusual seed. This isnÂt for costly or rare seeds, so please do not expect or include any. An unusual seed, for the purposes of this exchange, is a seed that you probably wonÂt find in VeseyÂs or Canadian Tire. Seeds for tropical or houseplants are unusual. Seeds for plants usually sold as bulbs or live perennials are good. Heavily hybridized plants are ok as long as you know the name of the parent(s) - Hostas, Daylilies, and Iris for example (the Âbig green and white Hosta in the backyard does not count!). Echinacea ÂWhite SwanÂ, white Cosmos and Bee Balm are not unusual seeds. Ligularia, Petasites and Heuchera are examples of unusual perennial seeds. There is no definitive list of what qualifies as an unusual seed and what one person considers unusual may be very common in another area, so I will ask people for some examples of seeds that they would like to send. I may veto some of your selections if I think they are too common or if they are being included by everyone (I want this to be as fair as possible for everyone participating). Some examples of unusual seeds that I will be including are Astilboides tabularis, Clematis tangutica, Hosta ÂInniswoodÂ, Actaea (Cimicifuga) racemosa, Liatris ligulistylis, Gloriosa rothschildiana.
No veggies. I know some people will want them included, but most people will not, so IÂm putting them out of the running early on.
All seeds must be marked with a common name, if known (not all plants have common names), and a botanical name. Please note if the seeds are from a commercial source or collected. If the plant the seeds came from is a hybrid, then that should also be indicated (please give the name of the parent/s, when known).
The seeds must be placed in a leak-proof envelope. I use 2x3" ziplock type envelopes I buy at the dollar store. I recommend against using your own pre-made paper envelopes  these have a history of coming open in transit and the seeds are lost. If you must use them, then make sure they are sealed *thoroughl* with tape!!! The same goes for those paper coin envelopes  they donÂt always travel well, so tape them shut.
You may include up to five envelopes of the same sort of seed. These will be exchanged for five different seeds. This way, even people with only one or two types of unusual seeds will be able to participate. Please keep the number of seed envelopes in your padded mailer to less than thirty. Large seeds should have at least six to twelve seeds in the envelope. Medium seeds should have at least two dozen in the envelope. Small seeds should have a good 1/8 teaspoon full in the envelope. You may put more seeds in the envelope if you wish, but please do not put in fewer than suggested.
If you are sending seeds that will require refrigeration until they are planted, or any other special handling during the trade, please indicate on the packet, and I will store them as required.
There is no way of knowing what people will send in so there is no way of knowing what you will get back. It will be a surprise. You may make suggestions as to seeds you would particularly like or dislike and I will make every effort to accommodate those requests, but there are no guarantees.
Further suggestions and comments are more than welcome!
If you are interested, please email me and I will send you my mailing address.
BP
gardeng8
gardeng8
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