Hi Perkybarb (love the name) Why not make a post to your actual thread of Seeds, Seeds, Seeds for Postage? I'm betting there will be more replies to it as members won't see this post and connect it with the other post. If folks still continue to post to it, I can/will close it in big red bold if you like. I know often even if the OP posts that the offer is closed that folks don't bother to scan the replies to see if the offer has changed or been closed...in a hurry I expect....or excited about the offer. Sue...rbb

Hi, I would like to trade for some giant leek (the only giant I have is musselburg giant) ramp seed and giant pumkin seed. Thanks, Maricybele

Of course, you are in a much colder zone, but I think more plants are lost from poor drainage situations than actual cold. You will be surprised how much your seedlings will grow next year. If they don't overwinter their first year, it is quite possible they would not overwinter if mature, sort of survival of the fittest. If it helps any, I've started seeds in August before & planted them outside a few weeks later, most all of those, if not all, came back in the spring. We don't get nearly as cold as you, but these were pretty small seedlings when I put them in the ground. You would need to put lots of stuff on your lasagna bed, remember that it will decompose. Look up lasagna gardening & you will find lots of information. I've never done the actual lasagna bed, I mix in a bag of garden soil, manure, & peat in as well. I wanted to plant immediately & just felt better than planting in very loose stuff. Or maybe if you shred the leaves before adding to the mix, would be better, I didn't think to do that to mine. It worked fine, everything grew well, but the leaves seemed to mat down & didn't decompose as fast.

Hi Kim: A couple of years ago, I asked the same question: "How do you store all your seeds? I'd like to have a system that will allow me to find what I want fast." A friend from the Wintersowing Forum described her system. I liked it, and tweaked it to meet my needs. VEGETABLE SEED Sort and store seed packets by season / soil temperature when seeds are sown (cool germinators and warm germinators) and by food type (e.g. leafy greens, root crops). I use ziplocs. "Warm TPO" holds tomato, pepper, okra, and eggplant seeds. "Warm - SBC" has seeds for squash, beans, corn, cukes, gourds, melons. "Cool - Root Crops" holds seeds for beets, radishes, turnips, carrots, onions. "Cool - Greens" has seeds for kale, collards, lettuce, peas, and other greens. These four categories correspond to the main waves of seed sowing. I store the seeds in each category in gallon ziploc bags and label each bag (Cool - Leafy Greens - kale, collards, mustard, cabbage, broccoli). For some vegetables (e.g., beans, tomatoes) and flowers (e.g., zinnias, poppies, cosmos, sunflowers), I have a ton of seed. When I have many packets (like tomatoes), I put these seeds in a separate sandwich bag, label it (stick on label or 3 x 5 card), and put it inside the large gallon ziploc. This system makes it easy to find what you need. As my seed addiction grew, the system grew with me. I started with quart ziplocs for the four categories. Now I use gallon ziplocs for the categories, and individual sandwich sized or quart ziplocs for some vegetable seeds within in a category - tomatoes, peppers, beans, peas, etc. HERBS I grow a few herbs, less than vegetables or flowers so I store all herb seeds (warm and cool germinators) in a one quart ziploc bag. FLOWER SEED If you have flower seeds, the system is similar. You store seeds by sowing time /soil temperature (warm or cool) and type (perennials, annuals). The four categories correspond to the sowing seasons. Hardy perennials (HP) are sown in cold months, may need cold stratification. Hardy annuals (HA) are sown in Feb-March (in warmer areas, we can sow hardy annuals in the fall). Tender perennials (TP) are sown after your last frost (for me, that's March, you may have a later date). Tender annuals (TA) are sown after your last frost. Inside the main category bags, you can sort things further (Tomatoes > Container" or "Tomatoes > Main season" or "Hardy Annuals > Bee food"). I doubt you will have so much seed that you need to sort in that much detail soon - it usually takes years to amass so much seed. I used to grow a lot of perennials from seed- one year, I planted seed for 2,000-3,000 perennials. That was one of my big mistakes - it's easy to plant seeds, but it's not so easy to transplant hundreds or thousands of seedlings. Last year, I was expanding the vegetable gardens. That took all my time and energy so I didn't sow any perennial seed. This year, I continue to expand the vegetable gardens but I want to grow some perennials. I may plant the young perennial seedlings in vegetable garden beds. Hope these notes help you! Pam