Aurore, thank you for this info. I was thinking the other day if some of my seeds still have a chance. Of course it also depends on the way they were stored. Still good to know. ~Natalie

longday1, I have been wondering the same thing about some of the vendors at my market. What I have decided is that the ones who are not doing great sales must have other income. They have husbands with good jobs, are on seniors pension, and at least one at my market is on social assistance. Either way, they are there as a hobby not for their full time livelihood. More likely than not they are barely coving their expenses and most only last for a few seasons. As for the expense of a commercial kitchen, I know that some people use a church kitchen, they just pay a donation to the church not a full rental amount. And where I am, only baking sold individually, for immediate consumption needs to be made in a commercial kitchen. Pickles can be made from home but jams need a commercial kitchen. Meat products must be made in a commercial kitchen. It varies from region to region and is based on issues around 'dangerous' foods that can contain pathogens. As far as hobbyists go at the market, I have mixed opinions. When hobbyists start taking vendor space from full time farmers I think the market is on a down turn. The quality of the product decreases and market politics increases. It gets really annoying when some pensioner comes in and dumps a few pounds of produce at next to nothing and I have to spend the rest of the day explaining to customers why my product costs more than his. But I am getting off topic!

i use a tea cup strainer.. and grind off all the wings when they are completely dry .... you will end up with shiny black seed ... you should be able to feel them in a viable winged seed ... the wings can add pathogens or organic material.. that rot .. and attract molds and mildews .... and indoors.. those can cause trouble ... sports have nothing to do with seed ..... a mature plant sports... seed from a sport are seedlings.. unrelated to its sporting ... you can register any UNIQUE plant you care to ... its heritage is irrelevant ... but please.. make it something UNIQUE ... we really dont need another named green hosta.. just because you think its a child.. lol ... go to the hosta library.. and smack dab in the center of the box.. is bobs seed growing notes... READ THEM.. STUDY THEM.. then ask some more specific questions .... its easier than rewriting a tome for you .... there is no hosta named whirlywind.. as far as i know... whirlwind???? .. i thought that one is sterile??? whatever you do.. have fun doing it .... there may also be some seed topics on the forum FAQ page ... there is one or two other seed growing sites.. hopefully one of the other peeps will link you up ... there is only one green hosta that come true from seed ... all of yours will be seedlings ... and would be labeled such as: Whirlwind OP .. as in open pollinated ... if you were to get something really unique.. other breeders might want to use your plant as a pollen parent ... to bring some of the traits to their breeding program ... but you only know momma ... the pod parent ... so you would provide that info at registration ... if you went out every morning.. and transferred pollen from one plant to another ... you would then have a cross.. and would name it something like: whirlwind x royal standard .... [again.. you need to get those names right.. we can help with that ...]... and then after growing it for 10 or 20 years.. should you wish to introduce it to teh trade ... you could name it anything you want ... such as: mjzzyzoff's dream ... RS is fragrant .... hence its royalty .. lol ... and getting a fragrant whirlwind... MIGHT be something unique .... and that would be a breeding goal ... but for the fact that you will probably not get an edged plant out of her .... without using a streaked breeder ... oh crikey.. the more i tell you.. the more i picture your head spinning off your shoulders.. lol ... bone up at bobs page... and come back often.. i like to see your ambition .... it makes me happy .. good luck ken ps: i am with you.. on kicking out the family.. for more garden space ... lol .... welcome to the GW hosta forum ...

Thank you for the offer, Pizzahaulic. I appreciate it, but my trader and I have already agreed to postpone the trade until I can get fresh seed later this year (it's easy to get with all the mtn. laurel trees around here ~ just not this time of year) and (s)he can get fresh seed of what I wanted. But it was awful generous of you to offer without knowing what I was getting in return. :) And for the record, I cracked open the seeds and soaked them, but they quickly fell apart ~ some shattered as I cracked them, some later that day as swelling started to happen, and some in the coming days. I think they were just too old and dried.