3rd Annual Appalachian Seed Swap Public Event ÷ By Appalachian Sustainable Development When Sunday, December 4, 2011 Time 2:00pm until 5:00pm Where Slater Center , 325 McDowell Street, Bristol, Tennessee Description Please join us at the Slater Center in Bristol, TN as the Appalachian Farmers Market Association celebrates the close of the 2011 Farmers Market season with the Appalachian Seed Swap. If you are a saver of seed, if you enjoy planting new vegetable and flower varieties, or if you would like to grow and/or save seed from locally adapted varieties, this event is for you. This yearâÂÂs event will feature a presentation by Ira Wallace of The Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (SESE) entitled âÂÂHeirloom Seeds �" Sow, Savor Save.â SESE will also have a booth at the seed swap offering an assortment of open pollinated seeds for sale. This event is free and open to the public �" you do not need to bring seeds in order to attend and enjoy this event �" light refreshments will be provided. If you will be bringing seeds for the seed swap, plan to make labels for your seeds so that folks will know what you have (see example below). We will have blank labels available at the swap for those who need them. Also plan to have sealable bags to put your seeds (or otherâÂÂs seeds) into. The idea of a seed swap is to allow folks to share seeds and information with each other, but not everyone will have seeds to swap- if you wish to make seed packets available for sale, that will be allowed as well. Label Example: Bush Bean: Irish Annie (if from British Columbia the name would be Ireland Creek Annie) This bean originated in Ireland and found its way to British Columbia before reaching the USA. These beans are from a friend- Irishman- Shane Ross who gave me 20 beans and now I am giving 20 to one of my friends. The beans breakdown quickly due to their thin skin and make their own sauce working well with other beans in soups. They possess a wonderful flavor. Daytime warmth of 60 degrees or more, resistant to mold and mildew, bush habit, about 24â high, sturdy, high yields, 75 days to harvest. Wily Seedropper (123) 456-7890 For more information about the Appalachian Seed Swap or about the Appalachian Farmers Market Association, please contact Tom Peterson at: 276-623-1121 or tpeterson@asdevelop.org Appalachian Famers Market Association �" www.appfma.org Directions to Slater Center: Travel east on State Street from Volunteer Parkway/Commonwealth Drive. Pass under the Bristol âÂÂA Good Place to Liveâ sign and make a right turn onto Pennsylvania. Take your next let onto McDowell. The Slater Center is the big brick building on your left. �" Call 423-764-4023 if you get lost.

Sounds like fun!

Well this was a blast! My only regret is that I didn't get there sooner, so missed meeting some of the people. Assuming they were anywhere near as friendly, enthusiastic, as the folks I did meet, that's a shame. As the last one to leave, it's believable when I say, I would have enjoyed yakking for a lot longer... yeah, I'm a talker, LOL! James, thanks especially for the Cycads and confederate rose, really cool stuff! I have some questions for you, will shoot you a note later. Also brought home what seems to be Neomarica and Billbergia, among other cool stuff (and of course, TONS of seeds!!) I still have a few things left from my list, if anyone wants to do a mail trade, or receive for postage reimbursement, just send me a private note. Well worth the 2+ hour drive, looking forward to the next one, tentatively aimed at national seed swap day in January. Count me in, and hopefully more gardenweb'ers too. - Tiffany P.S. James, this is my true love, foliage plants in a hanging basket, thanks again for the awesome stack! Pictured below is a "normal one" but I've taken things to a new place this year. Here is a link that might be useful: TV news story

Hi Tom, Last year was the first time I went. The farm staff had a presentation first - last year it was about a senior citizen/teen gardening project. There was seating for it but not enough for everybody. In the meantime, the children's seed art was in the room next to it. Once the presentation was done, the farm staff and other contributors set out their seeds - mostly in labelled bulk bags with coin envelopes and a pen or 2, for people to help themselves. I'm sure zip bags with slips of paper are fine. It helps to bring your own pen or marker, and a bag or pocket to stash your acquisitions. I hadn't known ahead of time how to do it so I'd already packaged up little packets with name and description. As it turned out, I'm glad I did because it wasn't a situation where you agree upon a trade. People just take what they want. The atmosphere was similar to the Incredible Edibles Clean Out Swap on the Round Robin Forum (which I recommend). You donate the (viable) seeds you know you really don't need, and have a possibility of picking up some stuff you've been looking for or just new things to try. In the meantime, a lot of people who have nothing to share may end up with a good percentage of it (can you count your contribution as a tax deduction if you go home with less than you shared?). I would say bring only the seeds you can easily spare. Most of the other contributors seemed to stay by their seeds - not to trade but to answer questions. One person even brought a seed catalog so folks could look up the pictures, etc. Because I had put descriptions on all my packets, I felt comfortable just setting them out on a spare end of a table for people to take as they wanted while I milled around the other tables looking for what I would like before it was gone. It was crowded last year and I didn't ask if that was normal. I wonder if the economy brought out a lot more gardener wannabees. I don't know how it will be this year but if a lot of seed savers bring our extra seed, we should also have a good chance to pick up things that we want. Last year, I mostly saw vegetable seeds (which was what I was looking for) but did hear some buzz about flower seeds being offered. I'd say a lot more people were interested in veggies, but flower seeds would not be inappropriate. Once the presentation was over, it was pretty much all standing and milling, so extra chairs would not be helpful. Indeed, if it's as crowded as it was last year, it might be nice to clear some of the chairs out of the way so there's more room. A small fold-up table might be useful if it's easy to carry. It depends on how many people show up with seeds to contribute, because they do already have a few tables. The seeds didn't get brought out until after the presentation, so the only reason to show up early is to get a closer parking spot and a chance to sit through the presentation (which lasted a little over 1/2 hour if I recall). I would guess that there were roughly 40-45 adults but the economic downturn (or cabin fever) might have increased the crowd. If anyone else has been to this event before, please share your experiences.