Native Seed Swap Info

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

Thought this might be of interest to some people here on the natives forum. There is a brand new group seed swap system on over on AllThingPlants that they just finished testing. The second swap is starting to take signups and the theme is US natives, wildflowers, and hibiscus. I just joined the site to try out the new system and it seems pretty neat.

Signups are open until the swap portion starts January 4th, with seeds being returned at the end of January. I'm hoping enough people are willing to join to make it happen. The host is capping it at 20 I believe. I don't think there are as many users on that site as on GardenWeb so I thought I would reach out to some people here.

It is similar to other group swaps, but streamlines parts of it. It lets you add a list of things you have to share that is linked to their database. Other users can choose items they want from the list. Then you get a printout of what you have to send to the main host, who just has to pack items together for each recipient and mail things back to the swappers.

The initial forum post about it which should be viewable without an account.

http://allthingsplants.com/thread/view/43829/New-Seed-Swaps-Coming-to-ATP/

Link to the signup page (athough you have to be logged in to view it.)

http://allthingsplants.com/apps/swap/view/2/

Below is the info copied from the swap page.

The theme for this swap is US Native Plants, US Wildflowers, and any Hibiscus. Since this swap has been put together on such short notice I will except cultivar of Natives and Wildflowers. This swap is open to residents of the 48 Contiguous State.

You must send the seeds that were requested of you, regardless of how many packets you selected to receive. Only offer seeds you're willing to send.

Make sure each pack of seeds is properly labeled with plant binomial name, when it was harvest, purchase or received in trade, and your screen name.

When the swap is over package all seeds going to one individual together in one ziploc or other bag of your choice and label with the recipients screen name. Do not send individual seed packs, it is not the host responsibility to sort your seeds.

Be sure to include $6 to cover the cost of returning the seeds to you.

Enrollment Begins: December 7, 2015

Trading Begin: January 4, 2016

Send Seeds to Host: January 11, 2016

Deadline for seeds receipt by host: January 22, 2016

Finished: January 30, 2016

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Comments (4)

dandy_line (Z3b N Cent Mn)
8 years ago
Sounds too complicated, and why the expense? I like things just the way they are now on GW, even tho they try to change its name.
molanic
Original Author
8 years ago
Well I think it should simplify and standardize things for large group swaps from what I've read about it. I just joined the site to try it out. I like that I can browse the available items and just click on them to get growing info and pictures from the site's plant database.

It is a brand new system, but the 21 people in the first test swap seem quite pleased with it. A lot of the hosts for the group swaps seem to prefer just charging a set rate and using the "free" priority mail flat rate packaging so they don't have to weigh anything or reuse envelopes. It does cost more than first class, but if it makes the process easier for them I am fine with paying that much for one or two large swaps a year. That shipping preference is not something unique to this swap. The other wish list swap I often do here on Gardenweb is the same way.

Since the Houzz takeover I know many are not happy with the loss of some of the functionality for seed swaps here. The wish list swap was moved to the Cubits site for that reason. There also is apparently some big change at Dave's Garden that many are unhappy about. So, some people are switching over to the AllThingsPlants site. I thought I'd give it a go too. Variety is the spice of life!
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In my opinion, if someone sends you a ton of seeds, say fifty or so of one variety , surely they don't anticipate you using that many, so may want you to use those extras towards other trades, but I have also found on other sites this is offensive to certain traders, personally it doesn't offend me, and when others are trading seeds from their trades, the only thing I would expect is they let the other recipient know, they are not your seeds, and came from a trade. Since some traders to keep close records of traded seeds, you also don't want to be blamed for mislabeling, poor germ. Etc., so my advice to you would be when adding traded seeds to your available lists be sure to note that they came from a trade, also most traders will say in a note or private discussion about the trade that here are some for you and some to trade! At least in my experience, now as far as number of seeds, that is usually discussed in detail once trade is established BEFORE sending it, let them know how many you have and they will either accept or deny the trade, but really who needs fifty tomato seeds, or even 20 tree seeds, so be open about the number, general rule of thumb for me, tomatoes and veggie....I usually do 10 unless I have more than enough of them, flowers are approx. 25, most commercial packed seeds are coming with this amount as well ( prices are high seeds are low) if they a itty bitty seeds, then I would measure one 1/2 tsp or something larger seeds like peonies and camelias are a smaller trade around five or six, it really all depends on what you have , rare items will usually be smaller as well as they are harder to come by. Hope this helped....
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docmom_gw
8 years ago
Molanic,

I would love to be involved, but I don't know the scientific names of all my plants, and I don't know which ones to list as available, because I don't know how many traders might want them, so I don't know if I have enough. I'll try to check out the sight more closely. The first time I tried, I didn't get through, but I was in a rush.

Martha
molanic
Original Author
8 years ago
I have some where I don't know the exact species also. The host said that was fine and posted in the swap forum some examples of different ways to add things to the swap. The nice thing about this type of swap is people only get what they select themselves. If you describe the plant but aren't quite sure on the name, people will know that when the decided if they want it or not. You can also add a picture and note about it directly to your swap list. If you list a plant that matches one in the database it will be clickable so people can get more information about it there.

I saw on the one thread over there that you did join the site, so I can post more about it over there. Only thing is I'm still not totally sure how e-mail notifications work on that site so I thought I would post here to be safe too. You should get notifications of new posts and messages on the top of your homepage over there when logged in, maybe just not many e-mails though.

Native Seed Swap Info

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dandy_line (Z3b N Cent Mn)

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Native Seed Swap Info

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dandy_line (Z3b N Cent Mn)

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