Thank you so much for this advice. I just started doing the WS method last winter with seeds I had already purchased so I didn't get in on any of the newbie offers - wanted the seed to go to someone who would use it. Then I started reading up on the seed swaps and wanted to be sure I would have something to trade this next season. So thanks for the warning. BTW - I had a very successful spring. My poppies finally germinated - never had that happen before !!! I'm thinking next year, I will WS most of my tomatoes, peppers and basil too, besides the flowers.

I have been a member of Seed Savers Exchange since 1999. The organization was formed to preserve varieties that might otherwise disappear. It should not be viewed as a seed catalog. Heritage Farm grows out and preserves thousands of varieties of fruits and vegetables. Members grow out varieties that they offer through the Yearbook which comes out in February each year ( not quarterly) . This year there are 20,443 total listings and 12.920 unique varieties. Members request seeds from other members directly and pay for them with their order. There are two kinds of members-listed--meaning you have seeds offered in the yearbook -and unlisted which means you are not offering seeds. For small seeds ( like peppers, tomatoes, etc. the fee is $2 per sample of 25 seeds for listed members and $3 for unlisted members.There are also categories of listings--HAS means any member can order the seeds, LQ means the member has a limited quantity and only listed members can order them, MR- refers to seeds in danger of being lost and means the recipient agrees to re-offer the seeds through the exchange and these are also available only to listed members. There are probably more varieties of tomatoes offered than anything else but there are a fair number of peppers. Each page as about 30 varieties on it. There are four categories. This year there are about 12 pages of "Hot" or hot C. annuum, 3 pages of Sweet bell, about 7 of Sweet non-bell, and about 5 pages of "other species" of hot peppers. They range from the common to the unusual. I have a very large collection of peppers at this point but am still able to find many I don't have and a couple of real interest--for instance one listed as Aji-var. Rocotillo which is a C. chinense and supposedly the one Jean Andrews talks about. I have grow the C. baccatum version but have not been able to find this one which the source found in a Mexican grocery store. Another was Nioi offered by the Heirloom Seed Saving project of a high school here in Maine. This pepper grows wild and was collected on the N. Mariana Island of Tinian. As you can tell I am a believer in this organization. This year I offered 19 peppers but have offered more in the past, including tomatoes. I also belong to the Flower and Herb Exchange which is an affiliated organization for those preserving flowers and herbs. John Here is a link that might be useful: Seed Savers Exchange

The purpose of Seed Savers Exchange is to preserve varieties of heirloom and other open pollinated varieties. They maintain thousands of varieties at Heritage Farm. Members also maintain thousands of varieties and exchange them among themseleves. Without the work of the exchange and it's members many varieties would no longer be available. Though they do sell a small portion of these varieties to the public they should not be viewed as simply a seed source. So, you are right that if you are just interested in obtaining seeds it's probably not worth $35. John

I don't think it's necessary to buy the source book at first. With over 3,000 varieties listed in the Yearbook, which comes out not always in Feb, although that's a target date, there's plenty to chose from. And as a long time Life member of SSE I don't think SSE membership is for everyone. Don't get me wrong here, being a member helps very much to further the goal of SSE which is preservation of OP varieties . But I'd prefer to see folks join who have had some experience in growing tomatoes and that's b'c a certain percentage of seeds you request may not be pure and you need to know how to rogue out plants and you also need to know how to save seeds in terms of reoffering varieties that you might request. And while reoffering is desired, not everyone does it, unfortunately. And I agree with what jackbenny said above, in that the Yearbook should never be seen as a seed catalog. After a person has grown lots of the more common varieties offered commercially, then I think it's fine to go searching for the more rare varieties that are offered there. The other fact to note is that there are listed SSE members and non listed members and as mentioned above, listed members list their varieties in the Yearbook and those seeds are available to both listed and unlisted members but the cost/pack is higher for unlisted members. Currently, for US members the cost of a pack of tomato seeds is $2 for listed members and $3 for unlisted members. A few folks like myself ask the same price for both listed and unlisted members. So by all means if a person is interested in preserving genetic diversity I would urge anyone to join SSE if not for obtaining seed, then just for helping SSE with your membership monies. SSE has been an important part of my tomato life, as it were, LOL, and I've made many good friends through the years. I joined I think in 1989, and it's been a great experience for me. There's also a PUBLIC catalog with about 40 or so varieties that anyone can order from and the online version can be found at seedsavers.org Carolyn