2013 Seed Swap

[bacpacker]

There was a similar thread that went around last year. I know from my perspective it went very well as i was able to pick up several different seed varities from several different folks. IMO it is the best way to try out new stuff to see how it grows in your particular area.

Here is a list of what I will have available later this summer for any perspective swaps.

Red Burgandy Okra: this stuff grows well and the okra pods are red and doesn't get tough as quick as most every other kind I have tried.

Black Diamond Watermelons: 10-15 lb round melons. Red Flesh, Very tasty.

Sugar Baby Watermelons: Small round sweet melons. maybe 3-5 lbs each. pretty prolific.

Winter Squash: I don't know the name of this one as it was passed on to me from a friend on the old site. The squash get to maybe 3lbs or so. They look to be a ButterCup varitey.

Waltham Butternut Squash: The gold standard for Butternut's.

Hales Best Cantaloupes: Same deal with Catnalopes.

I may have some other stuff as well, but I need to sort seeds and see what all I have to spare. These are all up for swap and I should have enough for multiple swaps of each. Lets see what everyone has this year.

[Stormfeather]

So how does this work exactly? How many seeds do I need to send to swap? Are they Heirloom seeds? Will they grow ok in other regions?
Im only asking all this, well, because theres no such thing as a stupid question.

[bacpacker]

It varies a lot. Some folks do a set number of seeds. I try to send enough, depending on how many I have available to plant a decent crop. Enough to harvest some and collect seds for the next year.
I only swap open pollinated seed. I dont trust any hybrid to come back true the next generation.
As far as regions, I really dont know. That tends to be a growing season thing in most cases. Also some crops are very tempramental with temperture swings. About all you can do is try.
And you exactly right, there are no stupid questions.

[Sniper-T]

I'm in again. I screwed up my garden this year by planting too late, and not getting my greenhouse started months earlier (my bad). I have a similar list to last year, I just need to make a few updates.

People I sent seeds to, how did they do in your regions?

[bacpacker]

Sniper, my garden was a mess this year to. I cut way back on what I planted. Your seeds and those from Taz I decided to keep until next year when i would (hopefully) have time to care for them properly.

[Socalman]

What a great thing to do! This keeps the genetics of the various varieties moving around. I never keep seeds from hybrids, they are almost guaranteed to be be either sterile or revert to one of the parent species.

A great source of heirloom seeds is Seed Savers. They have an online catalog at www.SeedSavers.com