Thursday, March 19, 2015

seed swap - old and new seeds

We had a fun seed swap at my community garden last evening. I forgot to take a picture of us. We had seed packages spread out all over a big table and we were like little kids Christmas morning. We rifled through packets, took a bit of this and a bit of that, and talked about the varieties.

I've always wondered how a seed swap works. We've never had one, though people had asked for one, because I just didn't understand how to set it up. Well this is how ours worked:

- I got a big bunch of seeds given to me free as part of the publicity program at the All American Selections (AAS) winners for testing. (Varieties below.)
- Other gardeners brought a few packets they wanted to share (2-20 packets each), or came without seeds to try out what others wanted to share.
- We spread everything out on a big table and everyone looked through the seeds and took what they wanted.
- For envelops, I brought scrap paper and we used The Cheap Vegetables Gardeners' make-your-own instructions

Very fun! seed swap seeds IMG_0672

AAS 2015 winner seeds I shared (I kept some to try myself too!):
Basil DOLCE FRESCA, produced by PanAmerican Seed Co
Beet AVALANCHE, Bred by Bejo Seeds Inc
Broccoli ARTWORK, Bred by Seminis Vegetable Seeds
Chives GARLIC GEISHA, Bred by Terra Organics
Cucumber PARISAN GHERKIN Bred by Terra Organics
Lettuce SANDY, Bred by Terra Organics
Pak Choi BOPAK, Bred by Bejo Seeds Inc
Pepper EMERALD FIRE, Bred by Seminis Vegetable Seeds
Pepper FLAMING FLARE, Bred by Seminis Vegetable Seeds
Pepper PRETTY N SWEET, Bred by Seeds by Design
Radish ROXANNE, Bred by Bejo Seeds Inc
Squash BOSSA NOVA, Bred by Seminis Vegetable Seeds
Squash BUTTERSCOTCH, Bred by Johnny’s Selected Seeds
Oregano CLEOPATRA, Bred by Terra Organics
Dianthus JOLT PINK, Bred by PanAmerican Seed Co
Petunia TIDAL WAVE RED VELOUR, bred by PanAmerican Seed Co
Petunia TRILOGY RED, bred by Takii & Co
Salvia SUMMER JEWEL WHITE, bred by Takii & Co

3 comments:

Matt said...

I have to admit, I to have never been to a seed swap. I t does catch my attention. How many peple do you think need to attend? Were they all people you new or did you post it up for anyone to come? Thanks for the tips

Anonymous said...

Seminis seeds are owned by Monsanto.

kathy said...

Matt, We had 5 or 6 of us swapping. All were gardeners from our community garden. I didn't post it open for anyone, just open to a small group. I wonder how it would work open to many? It was relaxing and fun because we knew each other. I think it is best for a fairly small number of people.