Haves: Asclepias-Syrica Anise hyssop Apple of Peru - Nicandra physalodes Butterfly bush -Yellow Clematis-Sweet Autumn Cynanchum Laeve-Honeyvine Grandpa Otts-Morning glory Milky Way - Morning glory Minature blue morning glory Four o'clock - Mirabilis jalapa Foxglove-different colors Hollyhock - mix -mostly old heirlooms Liatris-Blazing star Malva - Mix Lunaria-purple flowers Hibiscus-Dinnerplate-pink and a white one Hibiscus-tall 5 feet, white with red center Rose of Sharon-Purple with red center Red trumpet vine Orange trumpet vine Wants: Asclepias - hello yellow -perennial Asclepias- upright varieties- do not need syrica the common milkweed Clitoria ternatea - bright pink Clitoria ternatea fragrans Chorizema illicifolia-Holly Flame Vine Cynanchum Varieties Matelea's - climbing milkweeds Matelea Biflora-star or twin flower milkvine Matelea Reticulata Cobaea vine seeds- light plum, key lime, lutea or flava the flava is a yellow. Campanula's Centrosema arenicola Centrosema-varieties Sarcostemma-hirtelum Sarcostemma varieties Stigmaphyllon -butterfly vine Wanted Sweet Pea's -Lathyrus Lathyrus belinensis Lathyrus Vernus Lathyrus Sativus azureus-blue Lathyrus Black Diamond Lathyrus King Edward VII-red Lathyrus Streamer Mix Lathyrus Streamer-Purple Lathyrus Streamer-Scarlet Lathyrus Streamer-Blue Lathyrus Streamer-Pink Lathyrus Streamer-Orange When doing my Seed Trades I use a Padded envelope please do the same for me! Thanks for looking Carol Dizzy45vines@aol.com

Rick, If that last was addressed to me, I should clarify that the reason I have a Wickson trunk to graft to is that a @#$%^ deer rubbed several of my trees and completely girdled my three year old Wickson as well as a Jonafree. I was hoping the wood above the rub was still viable, but it doesn't look good. I have ordered another Wickson from Vintage Virginia Apples, and since they will probably trim the tree before shipping it I asked if they could send me the clippings, or if they could provide other Wickson scion wood that I could graft to the rubbed trunk. So far no reply. I suppose even if they sent me the clippings from the new tree it might be a bit late to do the grafting. So, since I also have an old tree which might be Grimes Golden, I will probably use that as a source for scion wood to graft to both the Wickson stump and the Jonafree stump. Chuck

I always hate to disagree with my distinguished colleagues, but I find it a little difficult to get worked up about a few imported seeds when you can walk into any supermarket and find fruit from all over the world. Apples, pears, stone fruits, grapes from Chile and Argentina; raspberries, mangoes, bananas and all kinds of vegetables from Central America and Mexico --- I could go on forever. We are in a world economy, and, like it or not, we are stuck with it. Sure, you may say, all this stuff is inspected and controlled by the USDA, but I would suggest to you that the USDA capability to inspect the large volumes of imported fruit is so miniscule that you might as well call it zero. For practical purposes, none of this stuff is inspected. Controls over the types and amounts of chemicals used to produce these edibles are similarly absent. Niptrix does not have a revolutionary idea here. Many other people who have lived for years in tropical South and Central America, including me (12 years), have seen all this stuff and much more. Some of these unusual tropical fruits are pretty good, some fair, and others downright disappointing. Anything that will grow and produce very good fruit in the US is already available here, and if it's not that's because it has some major defects. Some tropical fruits like mangoes are very good indeed, and we ate tons of them when we lived in coastal Ecuador, but here we can grow peaches and apricots that stack up well against any mango. I wouldn't go to a lot of trouble to try to introduce a new fruit from Peru into the US because everything that is worthwhile and will grow in subtropical areas of this country has already been tried, and most are already available from specialty nurseries and seed distibutors. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

I think it would be best to explain what a "good posting" is by showing an example, and then breaking it down and showing "why" it is good. Let's pretend that "Gardener_Jane" has made a post that she has seeds to offer for trade. The following is her post: "Here's my list! All these seeds came from plants that were Winter Sown or reseeded in my garden. They are all hardy, beautiful, and easy to grow". *Perennials* Aquilegia (columbine, grape colored flowers) Aquilegia mix (columbines, nice selection from my garden) Asclepias Incarnata (swamp milkweed, pink flowers, will grow in dry dirt) Campanula Latifolia (mountain bells, purple flowers) Campanula Medium (Canterbury bells...nice mix) Coreopsis Mix (1'-2' mix of strong golden flowers) Hibiscus Militaris (halberd-leaved marshmallow) Inula Helenium (inula) Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Moudry' (fountain grass "black moudry") Tanacetum Parthenium (feverfew) Tanacetum Vulgare (common tansy) Vernonia Gigantea (giant ironweed) *Annuals* Cerise Celosia (celosia...candle type, cherry pink flowers) Cosmos Sulphureus (bright lights cosmos) Daneborg Lace poppy (papaver somniferum, red and white flowers) Morning Glories (lavender) Nicandra Physaloides (aka shoo fly, apple of Peru, black pod) Nicotiana Rustica (Aztec tobacco, greenish-yellow flowers) Nigella (blue flowers, nice for drying...weird pods!) *Veggies and Herbs* Italian Parsley Bok Choy Ruby Beets Bright Lights Swiss Chard Soldier Beans (12 seeds per pack) I'm looking to trade for other flower varieties I can Winter Sow in my zone seven garden. I am also interested in growing oriental veggies, ornamental grasses, and roses from seeds. I usually mail seeds out within 48 to 72 hours after making a trade, and I send my seeds protected with bubblewrap. I'd like you to do the same for me please. If you need to make other arrangements all it takes is an email...I'm very flexible. Thanks for looking at my list! Gardener_Jane Okay! Great post Jane ;-) Let's break it down to see exactly why Jane's post IS good: "Here's my list! All these seeds came from plants that were winter sown or reseeded in my garden. They are all hardy, beautiful, and easy to grow." Jane gives some vital introductory information. Her seeds are hardy for Winter Sowing, and she says they're lovely and easy to grow. ----------- *Perennials* Aquilegia (columbine, grape colored flowers) Aquilegia mix (columbines, nice selection from my garden) Asclepias Incarnata (swamp milkweed, pink flowers, will grow in dry dirt) Campanula Latifolia (mountain bells, purple flowers) Campanula Medium (Canterbury bells...nice mix) Coreopsis Mix (1'-2' mix of strong golden flowers) Hibiscus Militaris (halberd-leaved marshmallow) Inula Helenium (inula) Pennisetum alopecuroides 'Moudry' (fountain grass "black moudry") Tanacetum Parthenium (feverfew) Tanacetum Vulgare (common tansy) Vernonia Gigantea (giant ironweed) *Annuals* Cerise Celosia (celosia...candle type, cherry pink flowers) Cosmos Sulphureus (bright lights cosmos) Daneborg Lace poppy (papaver somniferum, red and white flowers) Morning Glories (lavender) Nicandra Physaloides (aka shoo fly, apple of Peru, black pod) Nicotiana Rustica (Aztec tobacco, greeny-yellow flowers) Nigella (blue flowers, nice for drying...weird pods!) *Veggies and Herbs* Italian Parsley Bok Choy Ruby Beets Bright Lights Swiss Chard Soldier Beans (12 seeds per pack) Janes list is organized well, it's in ABC order, and she's included both the common and botanical names of the plants. "Soldier Beans (12 seeds per pack)" Jane lets us know that this seed pack contains just a dozen seeds because the count is under the GardenWeb suggested miniumum seedpack amount of 24 (two dozen) seeds. "I'm looking to trade for other flower varieties I can Winter Sow in my zone seven garden. I am also interested in growing oriental veggies, ornamental grasses, and roses from seeds." Jane has suggested what she would like to trade for. She does NOT state that she is ONLY LOOKING FOR THOSE SEEDS so she may be open to other suggestions....you can still initiate a trade even if you don't have what she's looking for and she'll either say yes or no. Never take a trade decline personally. Jane may have a small garden so she only has room for her favorites. "I usually mail seeds out within 48 to 72 hours after making a trade, and I send my seeds protected with bubblewrap. I'd like you to do the same for me please. If you need to make other arrangements all it takes is an email...I'm very flexible." Jane is letting us know what she does and what she expects. "Thanks for looking at my list!" Okay....Jane is friendly and she seems to know how to trade. Initiating a trade with Jane will be a good trade experience.