Dear Carol,

Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the time and effort you put into organizing, planning and operating this seed swap. You have officially earned your Angel's Wings!

I dare anyone here to be disappointed with what they receive back in return. I am sure you did your best to even out the distribution as much as any human being possibly could, and we'll all just be happy with what we get, right gang?

Sorry the box was too small. I was a little worried about that, but not humongously worried. I probably should have sent my first shipment in the same size box I used for the second shipment. (I hope Diane's box was large enough! LOL) As for the gift, you are so welcome. I hope it works well for you and lasts as long as mine has. The miracle isn't that mine is still working in its third or fourth year---the real miracle is that I haven't misplaced it or buried in the dirt or mulch or something.

Diane, I know that it is more blessed to give than to receive and I know you feel that way too, and if the circumstances were different, you would have given way more than you are receiving this year. However, the last couple of years have been a challenge for you with the loss of your seed stash and then the loss of DH's job. So, just feel the love and well wishes packed in with your seeds, and we all know that in future years you'll be back to 'unloading' your excess seeds on all of us.

Carol, if any of us actually do receive our packages as quickly as your post office says, I'll be impressed. (Tomorrow? Are they kidding? After all the trouble the packages had making their way to you???? LOL)

OK, y'all, the great mail box watch is on. I hope we all remember to come back here and tell Carol when the packages arrive so she won't be worried they didn't make it to their destination.

This has been such fun. I feel like a child on Christmas Eve waiting for the jolly old elf to arrive.

Dawn

Carol - again, my hat's off to you for this undertaking! I read in dismay your description of how you had it all charted!!!! I'm a paralegal and I don't recall ever going thru all that to keep track of evidence for a criminal case! LOL! But we're talking seeds here and our gardens and that's MUCH more important! I'm sure you've done a marvelous job! I'd bet that postal worker wishes she COULD have been a part of it! I know I have friends that are already envious!

I'm sure I'm going to be happy with whatever I receive because I had IMMENSE fun putting mine together. I worked probably over 5 hours packaging mine and it truly made me happy to be able to share so anything else is icing on the cake! I'll be watching my mailbox this week and will post back here when it arrives. (yes, I'll be watching because I got to take the rest of the week off of work! Yea!!! DH doesn't know it yet...hehe...I'm being just a bit onery not telling him yet.)

Many hugs of thanks, Carol!!! I'm with Dawn...I feel like it's Christmas Eve!!!

Paula

Carol,
Following up with everyone else's "Thank You". I really enjoyed this swap. It was really nice to meet you today and thanks for meeting me with the seeds. My kids and I were so excited to see what we got we couldn't wait. As a matter of fact, we went through the seeds in the parking lot at Radio Shack!! lol
I am so grateful and appreciative for all the different kinds of seeds I rec'd. I pretty well have everything for my garden for next year now. The only thing left to do is to start wintersowing. I've got my parents saving 2 liter bottles and milk jugs for me!! I just have to go get me some potting soil now.
Would love to do this again, anytime!!!
Blessings,
Melissa

Diane, The USPS package tracker shows that your package arrived in your town this morning at 8:37 AM and was sorted at 8:59 AM. I would have thought it would have been delivered today if there was someone there to sign for it. Otherwise, I think tomorrow will be the day. Have fun. Carol

I GOT IT!! I GOT IT!!! Can you believe it? It really was delivered the next day!!! DH went up the hill to our box just a few minutes ago in this cold for me. We were both like little kids opening the package! (well, okay....more me than him.) But I'm so surprised and grateful to all of you for the variety of goodies!!! Probably 80% of the seeds are something I would want to try but due to time and me being such a novice, I wouldn't have made the effort to find them but now I can do it all!!! I don't know which I'm more excited about - the beets, the okras, the tomatoes, the greens, the carrots, the beans & peas, the pumpkins (not the variety I had)...oh my! Too many more to mention but I'm elated!!!

Thank you, thank you, thank you all!!! I'm very much a Christmas person, but I do believe this year I could just skip it and start my new seeds in their little pots!!!! Come on February!!!

Most appreciating,
Paula

First of all I want to apologize for not being on but my computer crashed...again...ugh. But I'm back up and running. Carol, I'm glad you have your table back and thanks so much for putting this on. It was soooo much fun :-) I'm sure I'll be thrilled with whatever's coming my way. I had a ton of fun getting my pack ready to send to you. I'll be on the lookout for my package and will let you know when it gets here. Bye for now, Mandy.

Better watch Carol and Dawn they will make addicts out of all of you. You will all be breaking out more garden area. Jay

Our package arrived today. Who said herbs weren't to be had?! Thanks! There's a lot of ... work... in that little envelope! That's a LOT of seed!

George on behalf of a very happy Jerreth

Too late, Jay. I'm already plotting out more area to grow all the wonderful new things I've just gotta try. And that's because the already established area is going to be strictly tomatoes and peppers along with some greens.....and garlic. So just who was the contributor on that one? ha!ha! My garlic is all up except the Red Estonian but I'm not giving up hope yet!

So who else is thinking of expanding because of all these new gifts?

Mine came today too!! After 40 years of gardening I am still learning so much from people on this site. And what I have learned from this swap is that a lot of people keep more seed on hand than I do this time of the year. For years on a budget--4 kids, one salary--I bought just as much seed as I thought I would use twice a year and planted almost all of it. And I was so busy putting up that I never took time to learn to save seed. I guess it became a habit because even though all the kids are gone, I am still not in the habit of saving seed. But George and Dawn are making a convert of me and I hope those of you who got some of the Cherokee Stripe beans that I saved from the plants I grew from seed George gave me this summer will enjoy them as much as I did. Thst is one tasty bean. And next year I have his pumpkins to look forward to. I'm becoming a seed saver.

Thanks, Carol, for organizing this.

George, Jerreth only got a small portion compared to the others, but I was glad that we could grant a few of her wishes.

Paula, that's amazing that you got yours so fast. I am so glad that you are pleased. If I got 80 percent right, then I'll consider that good.

There were lots of things in these packages that I would have been happy to grow myself. It was all I could do to part with the Goliath tomato and pepper seeds but I shared just like everyone else. Who knows, I may not even like them, but I had wanted to try some.

Melissa, I wondered if you would make it home before you had to look through the bag. LOL

I will admit that I kept the celery from Jay. When we had a thread where he mentioned celery, I was the only one that responded, so I thought maybe I was the only one that wanted to give it a try. I think I am going to build a raised bed with a little extra sand in it and see if I can make it work. I cook with celery, and I eat it in salad, but I could live the rest of my life without eating raw celery and never miss it. My friends in Alaska had a farm in the Matanuska Valley and they grew celery. That is the only time I have ever seen it growing but have always wanted to try to grow it. That was also the first time I ate beet greens. She pulled those beets and I watched her clean the whole thing and wondered why. Then she cut up those little tender beets and those beet greens and put them in the pot to cook. I loved them.

In Alaska, we had a Church farm and we grew potatoes and carrots and brussel sprouts and I don't remember what else. We had acres and acres of potatoes and when we would take our turn to work at the farm we had these big potato washers that reminded me of concrete mixers. Those potatoes would come out of there so cold and you had to pick them up and put them in perforated plastic bags. My fingers would be so cold I could hardly move them to pick up the next bag. It was OK though because you knew that they were going to the storehouse to help families that needed food.

I was almost as surprised as everyone else when I sat down last night to look at my seeds. I just had a stack too and every now and then I would throw a pack that way. I couldn't even remember what I had put over there, but I got some good stuff and I am anxious to try them. I hope everyone gets their package tomorrow. Carol

Dorothy wrote: "I'm becoming a seed saver. "

Seed saving can be a really good way to live more frugally. For instance, I received two plants of what I call "Frank's Thai Hot," for Fathers' day, back in 2003. My kids gave them to me with the price tag still on them (expensive!). But since then, I just grow my own, and, as many as I want. That's just one example.

George

And since in years past I was soooo frugal in other ways, I don't know why I never made the effort to learn to save my own seed. I never even thought about the difference between hybrid and o.p. seeds. I am now learning that a lot of plants that I raised for years were in fact o.p. and I could have been saving my own seed.

It's easy enough to let a few spring planted plants go to seed in the garden and make seed. I've now let radishes, spinach, beets lettuce, beans, and some herbs do it, but I don't know so much about overwintering. And since the main part of the garden does get completely tilled in late winter I will have to find some out of the way beds to see if I can raise my own seeds of some of this stuff--or perhaps just plant a little bit in the spring to bolt and make seed.

Anybody here ever save seed from broccoli, turnips, mustard, cabbage etc.

Dorothy,

Some years I have saved a lot of flower seeds, but not nearly as many veggie seeds. In my case, it never fails that I get completely overwhelmed by trying to water, weed, mow, weed-eat, harvest all the veggies and then either cook fresh or can or dehydrate or blanch and freeze, and often all of that food preservation in the same day, and often day after day after day. For me, though, the bigger issue is that I grow so many varieties that I fear cross-pollination would occur. I could (and probably should) grow fewer varieties and with better isolation and then I could save seed (if I found the time) with less fear of cross-pollination. But, I don't grow fewer and fewer varieties...instead, I grow more and more every year. My bean and cowpea list is starting to get as out-of-control as my tomato list.

Every year, I say to myself "I am going to save more seed this year" and then every year I don't. Maybe 2010 will be the year I actually do save more seed. I used to save seed of virtually every flower I grew, but that was when the veggie garden was one-fourth the size it is now, and also when I had lots more flowers. (The flowers have lost lots of ground to the veggies, but also to the encroaching shade of the trees we planted when we first moved here.)

Dawn

It is Christmas Day today at our house because my big envelope of seeds arrived from Carol this morning.

I am speechless.

Carol, When I opened the mailbox and saw that huge envelope, I about fell to the ground. It took all the restraint I could muster to walk the 300' back to the house before opening the envelope, although the temps in the early 20s also did encourage me to return to the warm house before tearing into the envelope.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, one and all for the many, many amazing kinds of seeds. Thank you once again, Carol, for all the sorting and counting and keeping it straight.

There are so many more packets of seeds than I expected to receive. I am just stunned, astonished and amazed. We have a truly amazing, giving group of folks here.

Where will I put them all? I think I'm going to have to give serious thought to hiring someone to plow up the front pasture, which sits between the current garden and the county road. It is really awful clay, but if I get it plowed up soon, I could pile up tons of leaves, straw, hay and compost on top of it all winter long.

Thanks again, everyone, for the seeds you sent! Thanks, again, Saint Carol, for all your hard work.

Dawn

Oh, good Lord, you guys!!!! I am just blown over!!!

We were gone most of yesterday doing our monthly grocery shopping, not getting back until after bedtime. It was absolutely killing me, knowing Carol said they should be here. Ack! The entire way back, I chanted, "Don't forget the mail! Don't forget the mail!" I think hubby was tempted to make me walk the last few miles.

No signing required, there it sat in my mailbox, and it nearly jumped into my hands when we drove up! Then I had to wait for the drive from the mailbox to the house! Then there were kids to shoo to bed, bladders to empty, groceries to carry in and put away! Ack! Ack! Ack! It is truly amazing that I did not simply twitch myself into a quivering pool of anticipatory goo on the floor.

*breathe*

Okay, so I cannot even begin to describe this ginormous box of goodies!! I will take photos because you will not believe it!

Back later with proof.

Diane

Well I parked myself on the couch with a book this morning and sat there until the mailman showed up. I was out the front door before he had a chance to finish stuffing the envelope into our box. He smiled at me as he continued on. I guess it was obvious I was anticipating the mail today lol.

I'm like a kid in a candy store just staring at all these packets spread over my counter. I almost don't know where to start with it all. You guys are all so generous :-) Carol I don't think I got any of my own stuff back and I got a ton of goodies--you did good :-) I hope everyone's as happy with their seeds as I am with mine.

I built a new raised planter in anticipation of the romaine so I'm good there. But Hmmm...now where am I going to put all these pumpkins and cantelope and squash?...:-D I think I'm definitely expanding my already expanded garden. Good thing DH hasn't put up the far fence yet!

Mandy

Diane,

So, the appreciation of simplicity and planting fewer varieties is gone, right? Good, because there is no place for that kind of attitude here. Here, we all want to plant "more, more, more".

Mandy,

Just go ahead a get rid of all the lawn. Ooops. I guess you can't do that yet....kids gotta have some place to play.

So many varieties.....so little time and space.

Dawn

I got mine today!! It is amazing! There are so many things that I had wanted to plant but hadn't gotten to yet. I don't know where I'm going to put everything! Maybe if I plant just one seed from each packet I'll have enough room! Or maybe this winter I'll just have to make more beds. Thank you so much everyone!!

Just think containers, containers, containers, and it's amazing what you can squeeae in. Who needs flowers? LOL

I don't remember offhand how to post a pic here and I'm too lazy to go looking right now but I just posted a pic of the seeds on my blog -- link below.

Oh, my gosh, guys!! The box contained everything I could possibly need for 2010! And 2011... 2012... LOL Thank you so much, everyone! I cannot even begin to thank you all properly but I will most certainly pay it forward -- and hopefully some of it backward as well.

Thank you!

Diane

Here is a link that might be useful: Seeds!

Carol,

I need flowers! I love flowers! However, I do confess that my growing vegetable obsession is squeezing the flowers into smaller and smaller spaces every year.

Containers, containers, containers. I love them too even though fire ants invaded all of mine this year.

Diane,

Wow oh wow! What a nice shot of all the seeds!

I hope you enjoy the seeds and that they grow well for you. Karma, my friend, karma. All the seeds/plants you have shared with others over the years just returned to you, so to speak.

I guess you'll be busy figuring out which ones to try this year and which to save for future years.

Seed swaps are such fun.

Dawn

Ok so it was pretty obvious it was ME who didn't anticipate how many seeds we would be receiving back. I sent the same sized envelope with 2 extra stamps (advised by the mail lady after we had a 10 minute discussion about the return envelope)..... and we were both WRONG. Sorry soonergrandma I will make it up to you!

Wow I am just in shock... A few weeks ago I finished redesigning my spring beds, charting what seeds I had and what I needed for the 'expansion' hehehe. So the past 3 days I have been CHOMPING at the bit trying sooooo hard not to hit the 'send button' on my online spring seed order! Oh it was so hard....I have to say it took a lot of inner strength LOL!!!! Well I just wanted to say "Thank You" to everyone SO SO SO SO SO SO MUCH!! I crossed off 70% of my seed list this year!!! (good thing I didn't hit that button) UMMM HOW DID THAT HAPPEN??? I kept picking up the seeds saying "OMG THIS WAS THE EXACT ONE ON MY LIST..... OMG THIS WAS THE EXACT ONE ON MY LIST!!!... OMG....!!" I feel so blessed to have found such a wonderful group of people. I might not post very often, but I visit the forum everyday.... dream.... and take notes. :) So again, thank you! (Oh and I had to get my pencil back out to rethink expanding my expansion hehehe)

Danni Girl

Carol,
I just want to add how nice it was of you to do this. I really appreciated it as it allowed me to send some of my extra in one box to one address and then you had to do the sorting and dividing. LOL. I know what is involved from the offers I've made. More work involved than you expect. Thanks so much. I know your efforts brought smiles to many faces and will brighten the holidays for them. I feel fortunate to be a part of this gardening family. Jay

Jay, You are so sweet. You can appreciate me anytime you want and send those fine seeds my way. LOL

I think it was a good swap, and a good indication of the giving people that frequent this forum.....and we definately did what we wanted to achieve and sent Diane a "large garden in a box". I don't think she will need to buy much unless it's for that big corn patch she is going to plant.

We weren't as cold as you were last night but we went down to 19. I had been outside several times this morning while everything was still frozen, but went out again after the sun had come out and melted the thin layer of ice that had formed. It was still cold and I was hurrying to get back in the house where it was warm. I went across my garden at the end of a cattle panel where the dirt was packed from having walked on it. When I did the turn, I hit a slick spot and landed face down on the muddy ground.

I told my husband on the phone that I had fallen and he wanted to know if he should come home. I said, "Well no, I'm not a wimp and I didn't break my glasses or any teeth and everything else will heal." I wasn't hurt bad but I will probably look like it for awhile because I scraped the skin on my nose and forehead and kind of jamed my glasses into my face. I am feeling a bit of soreness tho, but I'm lucky not to have had a "real" injury.

I sent you a little package too, but there are no surprises in yours. LOL I wanted you to try Dawn's new tomato and George's pumpkin, and I needed to send your cowhorn okra anyway. Hope you can find room to plant them. I know you're elimating the chicken pen, and I guess you could move that fence back and give those quarterhorses a little less room so you can plant more tomatoes. LOL

So far everyone has received their package except gamebird, so I hope hers is there today. Maybe she has it and just hasn't posted yet. It was all fun and it sounds as if everyone is happy.

We started with a request for 20 packages of seed, and I handled well over 500 packages. At one point, I was thinking, I am not sure I could have done this if 25-30 people had played. I think I have a system now, so it should be easier each time (if I ever do it again). At the end, I made a little sheet with a listing of veggies i.e., greens, radishes, beans, corn, etc., and I started looking at each package to see if I had pretty good distribution (not counting Diane). I had a mark in almost every block so I decided it was good enough and I packaged them up.

We had a very good variety of seeds but we had a few things missing that surprised me. Had it not been for your large number of tomatoes we would not have had nearly as many for everyone. We had very little cabbage. Almost all of the radishes were Cherry Bell. I don't think I saw any butternut squash or scallop at all.

I think that I placed my final seed order this morning and don't need any seed for 2010....and more. I will still probably put in a Dixondale order, but it is better if several people do that together so I am holding off on that one.

Wow, it's all the way up to 34 degrees. I think I'll go pick some lettuce for a salad. That is, if I can stay upright long enough to get into the house with it. LOL

Jay, Carol is our 'Seed Swap Angel', isn't she? Now I guess we can go ahead and celebrate the holidays with our families later this month, because we've just had our Seed Swap Christmas here.

Carol, I am sorry to hear about your fall and hope you don't wake up black and blue and sore tomorrow.

I'm happy we all got seeds, but happiest that we were able to help Diane rebuild her seed stock.

I was looking at the Mesonet map around noon and was surprised how cold it had remained statewide. Our Mesonet station has been out of service since the snow fell, so I actually had to go outside (she says, in mock indignation)early this morning and check our own thermometer instead of just clicking on the computer screen. Last night was our coldest night this fall/winter.

I thought we had a pretty good variety of stuff in the swap in general. Because I already have a long, detailed and specific grow list, I know I can't plant everything I received in the swap in this spring's garden, but I think I'll be able to squeeze in at least half of it. I can plant others as succession crops.

If it wasn't so wet here and so cold (39 degrees is today's high at our house), I'd probably be outside breaking up ground to enlarge the garden. I might try to do some of that in a few days....just as soon as the wet ground dries. There's nothing like a big envelope of seeds to start you dreaming/planning for the planting season.

About all that's left now is for me to get my Dixondale order in (thought I'd have it done by now, but I've been busy doing other stuff) and finish procuring seed potatoes.

Dawn

Well our Mesonet recorded 19, our airport 17, and a friend of my husband said it was 16 at his farm this morning. The sun came out so it was not frigid to be outside in the afternoon, but it didn't go above mid 30's all day.

Actually we had an amazing amount of different seeds. I was in another veggie swap that I just got a week or so ago and I got two packages of butternut squash in that swap, so I guess that is what made me think about the squash part. My DH would be just as happy if I didn't plant butternut. He is a veggie lover, but he just doesn't care for that one.

I am not a good potato grower. For no better than I do with them, I am better off to plant something else that produces well in that space and just buy my potatoes at the store.

I will likely order onions from Dixondale because of their merchandise, but the only time I bought from them, I had a problem. I ordered leeks and onions, and I think it was a total of 6 bunches. It came in one short so I called and they said they would get it right out to me. Well they did, but they charged me again at the price as if I had only ordered one. If they credited me with the first one, I never did see it on my bill. If I had known that I was paying the individual price, I would have just cancelled the one and let them give me a refund. It kind of irked me so I haven't ordered again, but I probably will (maybe).

Carol,
Your problems with Dixondale surprise me. And I beiieve everything you said. And the reason it does is because I have had my fair share of trouble with their shipping but they have went above and beyond. I had good results with Red Bull which they discontinued about 2 years ago. They replaced it with Red Zeppelin which has never did well here. They sent them free this last year so I could see if it was the onion, the year or something else. They still failed. Anyway I said ship them by USPS. They shipped UPS and being that I'm not here during the day took them back to the distribution center which is 120 miles away and said I had 3 days to pick them up before they sent them back. I said send them back. They shipped out another order the next day by USPS and no additional charge. When I ordered last year I made it plain I wouldn't order unless they were shipped through the mail. And they said no problem. Well I came home one night last spring and had a notice they were shipped that day by UPS. I emailed them and told them the problem and a few of the problems I've had with UPS. They shipped out another order the next day and said to keep the other order if it showed up. The mail order shipped a day later showed up two days before the UPS order. The UPS box was beaten up badly and a few plants hurt. I took them to work and let my coworkers split them up. They loved them and they did well for them. I have placed my order for next spring already. As I've heard several places are short on some onions. There was several nurseries and greenhouses carrying their onions around here last spring. So my experience with customer service has been good. You might look around and see if any place close to you carries them.
Also my package was in the mailbox when I got home. Thanks so much. Just what I wanted. Jay

For the last several years I have seen Candy onions in the early spring at Walmart. I don't know what company provided them tho.

Glad you got your little package Jay.

Carol, My potatoes do very well if the weather cooperates and less well if the weather doesn't cooperate. So, a good potato year happens about every 2nd or 3rd year, but I keep trying and I think I'm getting pretty good (knock on wood!) at raising them. Now, if only I could figure out a way to get the weather to cooperate a little more.

It is unfortunate that you have had trouble with Dixondate because I do believe they are one of the better onion plant retailers. I've never had one bit of trouble with them (knock on wood again).

I've never seen Candy here locally, and by 'here' I mean both in southern OK and in North Central Texas. If it ever becomes available here, I'd probably buy it locally. The local firms usually have the same old same old stuff like Texas 1015Y and white granex and a yellow granex and a red burgundy type and they're usually either from Bonnie Plants or in an unlabeled crate. I hardly ever even see Dixondale plants here at garden centers or big box stores. I have nothing against Bonnie Plants, but their onion varieties aren't the ones I want to grow.

I'd be deliriously happy if I could find Candy and Red Candy Apple locally, but until that day comes, I'll buy from Dixondale.

Jay,

I'm really feeling lucky now because I haven't had any Dixondale Farms or UPS problems either. Our regular UPS driver is great and, if we are not at home, he leaves the packages on our screened-in back porch with the porch door closed.

Y'all, I have no idea how many onion and leek plants Dixondale ships in a year, but I'd guess millions. I know I read a gardening newsletter early last spring that said business in general was up 20-60% for companies that were selling seeds/plants last winter/spring, and that Dixondale's business was up 28%. I cannot imagine how hard it must have been for them last year to meet that increased demand for their products. Keep in mind that many seed/plant companies had about a 15-30% increase in 2008 followed by the bigger increase in 2009. I wonder if their business will increase again in 2010, or if it will level out.

Onions are hard to grow too, in terms of getting them to grow successfully without bolting if a prolonged cold spell hits and without stalling if a prolonged wet spell hits. When that happens, I blame the weather. A lot of people, though, tend to blame the onion company and I just shake my head because the onion company certainly cannot guarantee we'll have perfect weather conditions after we transplant their onions into the ground.

I have some 'Candy' seed so I could start my own, and maybe I will, but it is hard for me to start any plants and give them the proper attention during the holiday season. Once the holiday season is over, I'm only about 6-7 weeks from my onion transplant date, so it is too late by then to start seed and have them as large as they need to be by mid-Feb.

I'm thinking of growing my onions in a low tunnel to give them extra protection from the cold nights. I haven't tried onions in a low tunnel, so I don't know if it would impair air circulation enough to be an issue.

Dawm

Dawn,
Enjoy and appreciate your UPS man. We had a great one till about 3 years ago. He would set packages in the vehicles ect and leave a not on the door. At least set them up high so the dogs runniong around wouldn't get into them. And the squirrels will tear into any box that smells good to them. The one now just dumps them off like he did my microwave today. I've asked him to set them in the back of a pu and if small enough in the front seat. It don't matter if it is raining or snowing he just throws them outside. That is if he leaves them. If it is one that needs signed for he just takes them back and they say I need to go to Garden City to pick them up. He knows where I work. Last year after all the troubles I've had I was on vacation and he stopped and wanted to leave some packages with me so he wouldn't have to go out there. I said no. ONe reason was I wouldn't be out at work for a week. I have a great mail delivery lady. So prefer that. Anything at work we need delivered safe and fast we use Fed Ex. I think onions should do well in a tunnel. Yes I know many ran out of seeds early last year. And already seening some out this year. A few I was wanting to try although I have enough so no big deal. Like you I'm ordering what I really want early. Jay

Dawn - The front cover of the Dixondale catalog says they sold 85 million CANDY plants last year.

I'm sorry I haven't posted in so long. I've been sick, my husband's sick. I got the package on... Monday? I don't know, but it was a while ago. Thank you so much! So many seeds! It was like Christmas came early!

gamebird - Sorry you are so sick. Please be very careful because there's a lot of bad stuff out there this year. I am just glad to know that your package arrived safely.

Diane - I enjoyed seeing the picture on you blog with all of the seeds spread out. I didn't count them and I never had them spread out like that. There are some really generous people on this forum and in your case there is a special gardening angel in Love County that sent me a huge box of seeds for you. She remembered that in years past you had come to the swaps and shared you plants with everyone and felt bad that you no longer had a seed stash (like some of the addicts on here). I put in you basic seeds so you could play just like everyone else, but others sent packages marked just for you. We expect great things from that garden in 2010 and want to see pics.

Since the last box has been delivered, the swap is officially over. I hope everyone is happy with what they received and that your gardens overflow with food next year. Thanks for making it fun. Carol

Jay,

I do thoroughly appreciate our UPS man. He is a local resident and he really cares about doing a good job. Our mail delivery lady is wonderful too and she tells me she intends to retire soon--probably before the end of February.

Carol, As soon as you said "85 million", I remembered I had seen that on the catalog when it arrived. I wonder how many hundreds of millions of onion plants they sell overall? The funny thing is, back "in the day" they sold only by the truckload to huge commercial operations. When Jerry Parsons (a TAMU researcher responsible for so many great plant varieties introduced over the years that I can't begin to explain his incredible career) made a comment that home gardeners couldn't buy a good, decent, virus-free Texas-raised onion plant in the entire state of Texas, the owner of Dixondale took offense at that statement even though he only sold to big commercial growers himself. However, it was true. Back then we had to grow "imported" onion plants of dubious quality.

Eventually, the son-in-law (I think, or maybe the grandson) of the Dixondale Farms owner began selling individual bundles of plants to home gardener. That made Dixondale the only onion plant supplier in Texas (there were 7 or 8 or 9 of them back then) to sell to home gardeners. Of all the Texas-based onion plant suppliers, the only one that was in existence then and is still in existence today is Dixondale. The home gardener market literally saved Dixondale. How amazing is that?

Gamebird, Sorry to hear y'all have been sick and hope you're feeling better soon.

Carol, I can't say it often enough---thank you for making the swap happen!!!! I know we all were a part of sending seeds to Diane and I am just happy I could be a part of the effort. I hope if one of our members ever suffers a seed disaster in the future, that they will let us know so we can help them start over too. That's just what good people do---they help each other---and we have so many good people here!

Dawn

First of all, I just want to say that I am eternally grateful and blessed to have stumbled across this forum!!! I originally came across GardenWeb because I was looking for seeds and have done several seed swaps. But, then as I checked the site out more I found this forum. I was surprised to see one just for Oklahoma!! Anyway, I started posting on here and reading others posts and just love it! There is so much information and advice that I don't even need to go anywhere else. When I have a question, I just post here. Thank you all for all your advice. I have come to feel like this is a friendship on this forum. I haven't met any of you personally, except Carol, but it warms my heart when I read your posts. Like I'm reading about my own family. So, with that said...I hope you all have an abundant garden this next year and that you are fruitful and blessed.

Carol, Thank you so very, very, very much for the seed swap. It was great!! As soon as I could I called my grandmother and mom to share the joy I had from all my seeds. I plan on sharing with my mom and dad this year. From just meeting you the one time, I sense a spirit of sweetness, compassion and love.

gamebird, I'm so sorry that you and your huband have been sick. I'm with Carol..be very careful because there are bad illness this year and some people just don't get the concept that if you're sick....stay home!! I hope you are feeling better.

I am with many of you on planning a bigger garden space this year. I have a small one from last year, about 20x18. But, now that's not big enough. I plan on growing my cucumbers, yellow squash, and anything else vining up against cattle panels. A friend does this and his garden is just beautiful. I would like to plant quite a few things so I can share with others, but will have to be picky because of space. I know I will plant quite a few tomatoes this year. I got quite a variety in the swap, so will try quite a few different ones. I also share with my neighbors when we have a few extra. Oh, and my kids want to do a farmers market. But, I don't think we have enough room to get that big of a harvest. They do love gardening with me. They have picked on my seed swiping habit!! lol. If I know someone that has a flower or vegetable or something I would like to have, I just ask if I can get some seeds from it!! I have even found myself picking up seed pods at a nursery, or Wal-Mart that have fallen on the ground. They're just going to sweep them up and in the trash right?!?!

Just one last thing on the swap..............it totally filled my heart with warmth and joy. Just to know that there are still good caring people out there who want to share their "fruits". Sometimes I wonder what this world has came to and why people are so hard. Thank each and every one of you!!!

Dawn,
In many cases where I end up doing business comes down to customer service. A product is only as good as the service behind it. UPS used to be the preferred shipper by most in this area. Not anymore. The old deliverly man was always 5 or later leaving town. The new one now leaves at 3 or before many days. Why? Less deliveries and pick ups. The same goes with garden sites and other places. I will pay a little more for good and courteous service. Our mail lady has a husband with health problems and I can tell when she is off. I get others mail ect. And too often we take them for granted. I will say with my problems Bruce has emailed me several times. Last spring when I got the email about my shipment being sent by UPS it was after regular business hours when I read it. I sent an email and also left a voice message thinking it would be the next day when I heard anything in return. In about 15 minutes I got a call saying he was eating out but had got the message on his cell phone and would check on it when he got home. Within a few hours I was sent an email saying they would be sending out another order the next morning and apologizing. Not many places offer that kind of service for 600 or so plants. I've been very impressed. Still thinking about ordering Red Bull from another source as it did well here. Bruce said it didn't in many areas so they dropped it. So another case of what does well in one garden won't in another.

Mspriggs,
Yes this is a great forum. And I feel fortunate to be able to visit it and a couple of others I frequent. This is usually the first one I check every morning. Have to keep an eye on a couple of enablers on this site. LOL You say 20 x 18 and I can remember when mine was around that size. Just a warning they tend to keep growing. As Dawn says my horses are keeping an eye on me everytime I take a plow or tiller out towards the garden. Their grazing area is decreasing. The advantage I have here is that all of my property I don't have pens or buildings on would be good garden area. So too easy to expand. I think I will put up a permanent garden fence so it doesn't keep growing by a few feet every year. And for many things containers is a good alternative. I have just started using them in the last two years. So if a person has space there is ways to get around bad soil ect.

Dawn on the chat this morning PV was talking about his clay soil and how hard it was to work it and I thought of yours. Jay

Melissa,

If you think we had fun swapping seeds, just wait until the plant and seed swap in the spring. It is sort of like a family reunion....even though a lot of folks haven't met face to face yet. For those of us who have attended previous swaps, it is a chance to renew our acquanitances with other forum members and also to meet new folks. It is fun to have a 'face' to put with a 'name'.

Honestly, though, calling the spring garden party a 'swap' is a little misleading because that implies we only do even-steven trading, like, you know, I give you plant A and you give me plant B.

The way it really works is more like a giveaway because we all pile up our plants and seeds on tables or on the ground and then encourage everyone to take whatever they want or need. No one keeps score and says "so and so brought 8 plants and took home 17" because no one cares who gets what as long as everyone gets something.

Sometimes people bring door prizes and a door prize can be anything under the sun. Often the door prizes are gardening-related and might be items like tools, cute flower pots or other decorative items, used gardening books, etc. This year, it seemed like almost everyone took home a door prize, and that was really cool. George even brought fresh goat milk!

We all bring covered dishes or drinks or ice or cups/plates/napkins, etc. and have a covered dish luncheon.

Somebody or sometimes several somebodies take photos and post them on the forum.

The worst part of the swap is that it cannot last forever and we all have to pack up and go home.

So, if you think a mail-facilitated swap was fun, just wait until we get together to share items in person. It is my favorite garden day of the year!

Dawn

Jay, you say containers are good too? I have heard of a lot of people garden in containers that don't have the space. What about bell peppers? Would those be good in containers? I've also thought about putting my cucumbers in containers and then placing the containers next to a cattle panel for vining purposes. But, my question is...how do you know how big the container needs to be? Also, what do you think about watermelon and catalope in containers? My garden area is fenced in with a small 2 foot fence where the openings are smaller on the bottom so varments can't get in. We have lots of rabbits around here and that does real well on keeping them out. Our fence posts are actually the old posts that went to our old soft-side swimming pool!! lol. We found a dead cat in it last winter and I guess when it tried to get out it clawed holes in the side. So, we burned the liner and saved the posts. Anyway, I would like to extend the garden. We've only got a half of an acre and I've been begging my husband to extend my garden. The only thing is that I don't have a tiller and my ground is so extremely hard to till. My husband calls it "gumbo". When it's dry, it's really, really hard and dry!! But, when it's wet; it's sticky, stick together clayishly wet. I added compost and peat moss last year to my garden spot and it seemed to help. However, I need to add more this year. I do have a strawberry patch back there. I would like to build a raised bed for those because they are starting to take over. Also, I have other veggies I'd rather have that we eat more of.

I have a tiller. But to tell you the truth, I prefer hand tools. Tilling seems to make things worse with Bermuda grass. But with my hand tools I get more of it out.

This year was my first to attend the spring swap. I wasn't clear on the "swap" part. Things I brought, I just gave away. Others just gave me things. So, maybe, I'd call it a swap ;) For me the best part is meeting everyone and talking in person. NO ONE looked like I had envisioned them!!

George

I think you can grow most things in a pot that your can grow in the ground, IF your pot is big enough. Peppers grow very well in containers. I took a cantaloupe from Dawn's plants at the spring swap and grew it in a pot. It had been growing in her warmer temps, so it got a slow start here, but finally took off. It trailed on the ground, climbing the tomato cages near it, and anything else it could reach. I thought the first one would never be ripe but then it produced about 8 big delicious melons for us and a few for something else that decided to sample them. I just had the pot in my side yard and not inside my garden fence.

I have had better luck with cucumbers in the ground but it could have just been the type I planted. I grew my yellow scallop squash in a container also. The plant got huge and produced for months.

Year before last, I grew all of my peppers in pots and they did fine, however, if the pot isn't big enough the plants will not be as big but they will still produce. Tomatoes need a really big pot unless your are growing patio plants or a small determinate. Dawn will probably answer also but I think she plants determinates in a five gallon size and indeterminates in a half-whisky barrel size pot. Jay lives in ranch country and has access to feed tubs. Lucky him.

This year I had my plants growing in pots for the early season because my garden wasn't ready for them. In mid to late July, I carefully removed them from the pots and put them into the ground, moving all of the potting soil with them. I thought they were full grown when I moved them, but once they were in the ground, they grew much taller, so obviously the pot was to small.

"NO ONE looked like I had envisioned them!!"

George, We were all prettier, RIGHT?

Mspriggs,
I've read of gardeners raising about everything in containers. Yes peppers should do as well in them as tomatioes in my opinion. Although to this point I have only raised tomatoes in containers. I'm blessed with great sandy loam type soil. And have plenty of room. The main reason I started using containers was because I had several people asking me about using them and how. All I knew was what I had read. My sister and BIL and my nephew all need to use some kind of container due to the bindweed problem in their area. They have both used old tanks in the past but then the wind, birds, ect carry the bindweek to them and they are fulll of it. I have been able to keep the bindweed at my boundaries. After the first year of growing in containers I also found an advantage in that I can place the containers around trees, buildings, ect where they have wnidbreak and afternoon shade. Another advantage in your type of soil is drainage. You can get better drainage during extremely wet periods. I know Dawn has used then a lot longer than me and sure she will drop in soon and add her knowledge. Her and George are also have more experienced with your type of soil. My opinion would be raised beds, containers and lots of mulch and compost in all areas you plan to plant. I know Dawn has made some wonderful soil out of her clay. I used a shovel only for years. Then have used a tiller mainly the last ten or so. Two years ago I bought a tractor and have most of the attachments so I can use it. So basically I do it the lazy man way when I have to work the garden. Last year I did very little tilling. Some areas received non. This year due to suggestions I needed to turn my soil over for disease reasons I used a mold board plow and then will run a tiller over the top to smooth it out. Also hopefully I pulled up some deeper fresh soil to mix with what I've admended for the last 15 years. Many of my readings are high. In my opinion I try to avoid as much tilling and disturbing of the soil as I can. But will if I feel it is needed. In the end using containers, raised beds or buidling up what you have and planting in it is a decision that varies with each garden and gardener. You have to take everything into consideration and decide what method or combination of methods works best for you. Jay

Carol said: "George, We were all prettier, RIGHT?"

Well, I guess....
If we get to go to the 2010 spring swap... I'll get to go through the surprise all over again, since I can't remember what people looked like now! (Okay, so I'll admit, I sometimes surprise myself when I look in the mirror ;)

Probably one of the most interesting things about friendships in this kind of environment is that so many factors we normally have access too (appearance, sound of voice, the way a person dresses, knowledge of how a person dresses, etc.) don't factor in.

Years ago, when we lived in Hidalgo, Mexico; I met some guys on 40 meter CW (ham radio/Morse Code). Every Saturday morning, for over a year, we had a round table conversation, in code. One guy lived in Marietta Georgia, one in Toms River, NJ; another in Tinton Falls, NJ; and then there was me, in Mexico. I was in my 30s. The next youngest in the group was in his 70s. We had a BLAST, dubbing our group "the gang." Then, after a couple of years I went back to my native NJ. The two NJ fellows came to listen to me preach in my home church and we got to meet. Again, WHAT A SURPRISE! I don't know what I was expecting. But they didn't look like I thought they would! They probably were thinking, "George is so much younger than we had envisioned."

George

OK, y'all, this thread is so active I can hardy keep up, but I am going to try.

Melissa, We are so glad you stumbled across this forum too.

Containers are a great way to garden but they do require very careful attention to watering. Also, the soilless mix to fill them is expensive (often, when filling up my containers, I mix up my own soilless mix for far less than I'd spend buying a name brand soil-less mix/potting soil).
The size/productivity of your plants is limited by the size of your container so for most things, the larger the container, the better. Also, during periods of hotter weather, containers may need to be watered daily and in the hottest 100-degree-plus weather, perhaps twice a day. The easiest way is to hook up a drip irrigation system and put it on a timer, especially if you are away from home a lot.

Container gardening could be a whole thread in itself. I'll start a container gardening thread today or tomorrow and try to lay out some of the basics. Containers do not have to be fancy containers though....I use Tidy Cat litter buckets, which I have saved and used the whole decade-plus that we've lived here, and I spray paint them dark green using Fusion paint made especially for painting plastics. I also use Sunleaves grow bags.

With clay soil, it takes years of constant amending to get it into really good shape. In the past I have only expanded my garden a little at a time....by adding an area maybe 40 to 60 feet long by 5 to 6 feet wide. Gumbo clay needs all the help it can get but it can be turned into great soil over a period of time. Our formerly red clay in the garden area is now a nice brown clayey loam because we've added organic matter to it for ten years, so I finally feel ready to start another garden spot....in three different places. However, they all will get fairly minimal improvement this winter (because I'm going to be working on 3 fairly large areas at once) and then every year I'll improve them more until they finally have pretty good soil. With clay the issue is that the particles of soil stick together and the prevents water from soaking in as well as it should, it also ensures that when the soil dries it is as hard and impenetrable as concrete so water just rolls off the surface and doesn't soak in, and it makes it hard for plant roots to grow. Technically, plant roots do not grow in soil. Rather, they grow in the air spaces between soil particles. Clay soil particles clump together so tightly that there are no air spaces for roots to grow in, and that's why we have to add tons of organic matter....to break up the particles of gumbo clay.

The reason raised beds work so well with clay is that they put your plant roots in improved soil above the regular grade of the surrounding area. That allows water to drain down out of the beds to a certain extent. When 12.4 inches of rain fell here at our house in one day last year, I expected to lose my entire garden. You cannot expect ANY vegetable plant to survive that kind of flooding rainfall in clay soil. What did I lose? Only some onions and potatoes and a few corn plants that were not in a raised bed. Had I not had raised beds, I would have lost everything.

George, We get more of the bermuda grass out by hand tools too, but in certain areas the ground is so clayey that we have to break it first with a tiller. When we do that, I rake out/remove by hand all the grass runners and stolons I can afterward, but it is hard to get a lot of it because it has been chopped into tiny pieces. Eventually, over several years time, I mostly win the bermuda war.

Melissa, For hand tools, buy the absolute highest quality tools you can find and you'll never regret it. A high quality hand tool is a thing of beauty!

Jay, I have bindweed in two places here and despite everything I do, it seems impossible to erradicate. Some years it isn't as bad, and this was one of those years....or maybe I am gradually winning the war. I hate bindweed as much as I hate bermuda grass and Johnson grass.

Carol, I love containers and have found them to be lifesavers in very wet years like 2007. None of the plants I have in containers come close to approaching the size/productivity those same varieties achieve in the ground, but they do well enough to satisfy me. This year, there were several tomatoes that produced exceptionally well in feed tubs....including Chocolate Stripes, Momotaro and Scarlet Red. I wish I had 100 more feed tubs (I only have six).

Y'all, I have to agree that no one looks the way I pictured them but.....I am going to stay on everybody's good side by saying that every person I met at the swap that I had not met before was younger, thinner and prettier than I had imagined. The one thing I already knew though was that every one one of them had a big heart of gold beating there in their chest and that was confirmed when I met them.

Dawn

Okay, you guys have done it. It's all your fault. Hubby is out there right now expanding the kitchen garden again, expanding & rebuilding the fence. We're turning out the chickens, new goats, and new hog to it to do the hard work over the next month or two.

All your fault, people! ;-)

Diane

Go ahead and blame us. We can take it! I hope the chickens, goats and new hog are good workers. LOL

Dawn