My Micro Dwarf Tomato order came in for 12 varieties. Heritage Seed said 15 seeds per packet, but most have 20. I was going to plant 5 seeds of each and add one packet of 10 seeds of each to the swap. However the additional seed gave me and idea - to do combination packets, each with 5 seeds of 2 varieties - to allow more folks to have a chance at more varieties. (Heritage Seed has a limit of one seed pack per variety per customer, due to limited supply.)
These cherry sized tomatoes grow on plants 6 to 12 inches tall, depending on the variety. They are intended for indoor growth in a sunny windowsill or under grow lights, but make a cute patio container plant, also. All they need to reach full size is a 6" or 1 gallon pot.

I will be listing them soon! Also coming soon - 2023 Hardy Hibiscus seeds.

Love that idea @DraDiana! ❤️

Shout-Out to anyone who would love to grow tomatoes but doesn't want to deal with all the tomato horn worms and stink bugs!

I'm an organic gardener so I never use any kind of pesticides or chemicals in my gardens, or anywhere on my property, for that matter. So, it's not usual that I have to pick bugs off of my tomato plants.

BUT, here's a tomato that the bugs just didn't seem to bother!

It's called Peron Sprayless. In my 2023 garden, it was the only tomato plant that I never had to pick any of these pests from... I think I picked one cut worm from one leaf all season long. And picked a good crop of big, juicy slicing tomatoes with decent flavor.

Peron Sprayless, Indeterminate regular leaf red slicing tomato:

Very intriguing, Christine!
I have all the micro tomatoes bagged, I'm just waiting on the ones I planted to see how they germinate before listing.
I'm cleaning and sorting this year's Hardy Hibiscus to remove bug damaged seed. I discovered using a black light makes the bug holes flouresce glowing green against a dark purple appearing seed coat. It's really helpful! I should have them all ready to list in a couple of days.

Hi Christine @wildflowers

You have stink bugs there and they did not bother the 'Peron Sprayless'?😮 Do they have rubber skins? I have stopped trying to grow full sized tomatoes myself because I couldn't deal with controlling stink bugs. The last couple years I've grown some cherry tomatoes in containers on the deck. I don't know if the bugs just haven't found them but they aren't bothered.

I will definitely give the Perons a try if you think they have a chance.

Pat

Hi All,

I just posted my first-ever swap list. Since I'm new at this if you happen to notice anything wrong with the ones I did I'd appreciate an alert. 👍🏻

All but one are newly-purchased seeds because I didn't know I'd be doing this. Thanks to Diana @DraDiana, I am! 🙏🏻

Looking forward to getting to know everyone.👋🏻
Pat

Hi Pat

Welome to the seed swap!!! We're so glad you joined. It's going to be so much fun!

Yes, we have stinkin-stink bugs! I think they're called brown marmorated stink bugs. They have yellow bellies and can ruin some tomatoes! I try to keep control of them by checking the tomato plants and the underside of the leaves for the unhatched eggs.

It could be that they didn't find your potted plant but maybe it wasn't tempting to them... I like to grow several dwarf varieties of tomatoes in pots each year and they are usually free from pests.

But, Peron Sprayless definitely lived up to its name! I kept an eye out all season and never found any bugs on the plant other than that one cut worm. I found a few stink bugs (and plenty of tomato horn worms) on the other nearby tomatoes.

Striped German was second in line as the least bothered by pests.

Peron Sprayless is definitely worth a try.

p.s. I've read that you can make a garlic spray and spray it on your tomato plants to keep the stink bugs away. I haven't tried it yet but plan on giving it a try this year.

Garlic and hot peppers soaked in water is also a good deterrent too!

I see some of you have found the Micro Dwarf Tomatoes and Hardy Hibiscus seeds I listed yesterday.

OK it's probably not a good idea to "pimp" seeds that I want that someone else is offering but! I'm surprised there are not more wishes on the Hibiscus seeds Diana (DraDiana) is offering

Most are gorgeous modern cultivars! (Except the wild one, it's a gorgeous native). They are easy to grow from seeds. Some might bloom the first year. They might not be exactly like the mother (probably won't) but they will almost certainly be beautiful.

These hibiscus are very hardy. The plants emerge late in the spring. They remain unobtrusive green "shrubs" until they burst into shockingly huge flowers in late summer. They really shake up the garden just when things are getting tired. They can be effective green backgrounds for beds until they bloom.

So be sure to dib some - after I get mine please 😄

Pat

Yes, Pat, it's time to dib some of DraDiana's hardy hibiscus! It's been awhile since I grew this one from her...

HardyHibiscus Midnight Marvel

Well, Seed Cinderella didn't notice until a couple hours ago that all entries had to be complete by the end of the 22nd.

So I've been adding what I could. They're mostly store rack seeds, sharing extras from packets I bought for my own use. Added packets of the inexpensive ones I use for baby greens and herbs. Some of those are cottage garden kinds.

I raised the quantities a little of some already listed.

Ready for the races!

Pat

@Hortaholic you can continue to add seeds during the swap too. You can also add additional packs of seeds that get dibbed, if you have more packs to offer on your more popular seeds. I'll do that sometimes, if I see something is popular, and I have more, I'll add a couple more packs.

What @wildflowers said!!!!

Christine @wildflowers and Debra @StitchWitch ,
Thanks for the additional tips!

Debra, at 6 tickets each to start I can see it will be a melee but that will be part of the fun - like not knowing what color gumball you'll get but they're all good!

Pat

Another tip, Pat ~ when you're looking at your top favorite picks, you will see how many other dibs are on that item, so you might want to consider that when you're deciding which ones you want to try to get first.

@wildflowers Good tip Christine! I did use that to push up some wishes to higher priority when I saw they might get taken. On the other hand I used it to demote some to get them out of the way if they looked hopeless.

The prime case was that I wanted to try micro tomatoes like the ones Diana @DraDiana was offering. She indicated that the available packets were very limited. So I put 5 stars on the ones with the fewest wishlists (6) and demoted the higher ones (7-9). It helped I think 👍🏻 I was able to dib two offers which are enough for me. Now I think they are all taken. Very nice offers on her part!

On the other hand it meant I have to wait for the one you're offering that I want ... tomorrow I hope.

Pat

I am adding 6 packets of assorted micro dwarf tomato seeds, commercially purchased in 2021; different varieties from those offered by Diana.

To each of these dibbed packets I will also include six seeds of 'Hardin's Miniature' micro tomato that had low germination.

Let me know if you have any questions; I hafta run off to work now, but want to get these posted for tonight's swap...

Hi All,

I added a few items after hitting another seed rack 😄
Lavender Munstead
Lupine Tutti Frutti mix
Painted Daisy mix (Pyrethrum before name changed)
Rosemary - few seeds in pack
Venidium Orange Prince

As usual I can only offer a few because they are just extras of ones I bought to use. In most cases I'm offering 2/3 or so of the pack.

I also bumped up a few previous listings by a little but now I'm afraid I'm done. Unless I find a different rack!

Pat

I just added a few more items as well.
Patricia