Anyone who has a question about how the swap system works, how to create a trade list, or how we will proceed can ask it here.

Do you send a check? Who is it payable to? What do you package each kind of seed in? How many seeds minimum per packet? What is the average number of seeds swapped per person?

I participated last year, so I'll share my observations.
The host will send her address info closer to time to send your seeds, which covers your first questions.
Most of the seeds last year were in those small ziploc bags (you can get them in Walmart craft section by the bead and jewelry making supplies) but some were in commercial envelopes or handmade ones.
There doesn't seem to be a minimum, since people are dibbing, they can decide whether it's worth it ir not. From experience, larger quantities of common seed is expected, but rare seeds may only have half a dozen in a pack.
Every day you get so many tickets, which goes up each day (so day one you get 3, day two you get 5, etc.) Also, for each packet you offer that someone claims, you earn more tickets.

Don't know what the average number per player is, but I know it's more than will fit in your garden. I passed along a ton to other gardeners, and still have more than enough for a dozen gardens.

Thanks @okieheart. You are more concise than I am. I have to use as many words as possible.
This is what I was typing while you were responding.

You can send a check, money order or well concealed cash to me after the swap ends. You send it with your package of seeds that people selected from the list you add. Your questions about adding seeds are addressed in this thread: The thread "Important Information and Instructions" in 2nd Annual "Not from the Seed Rack Seed Swap" Any seeds, all members.
A link to Dave's swap instructions tutorial is in there too.

The biggest difference this year from last is the cost of postage. This year the postage amounts assumes you want first class unless you specify otherwise. That information is in the opening page of this swap.

To package seeds you can use ziplock baggies like the ones you purchase in craft stores for beads, make your own paper ones, or use any "found" or purchased packaging you like. I often use old seed catalogs to make easy origami packets. I found instructions for a similar packet here: https://gardenvariety.life/ori...
The number of seeds per packet is up to you based on what you think people will want. Because the form you use to list your seeds on asks you to specify the number of seeds it is up to the person spending their "dibs" to determine if the number you offer is worth it.

Last year thousands of packets changed hands. 3059 unique seed types were offered. Most people claimed more seeds than they "sold". The number of packs each person offered last year ranged from 5 to 341. 161 was the greatest number of packets any particular individual claimed, most were in the 60-90 packet range.

If you still have questions after reading over the information in the linked thread, please ask again.

So, I've noticed something and I'm kind of excited. It looks like the start times are now based on our time zones, rather than the oh-so-confusing Greenwich Mean Time! A change for the better, unless I'm somehow misreading something.

Thanks Erica,
At some point in the last swap Dave announced that this had been or would be adjusted in the system, but there was still a warning that we needed to adjust for Greenwich Mean Time just a few days ago, so I was waiting to ask Dave about that. I can't find it now so either he already removed that warning or I'm looking in the wrong place. Let's ask @dave to confirm that we are all set, please sir, and I may have to make a minor change on the main swap page.

For new participants, there are a few helpful features in the garden.org swap system that I want to point out.

To help you claim the seeds you want quickly once trading opens there is a link in the top box on your swap page called "access your wishlist for the swap". It's not only a repository for a list of your favorite seeds, you can rank them 1-5 in order of desirability by clicking on the stars below the entry. The system will order your preferences from 5 stars and work down. You can work from it to claim seeds in order of preference on those first couple of days when competition is fiercest. You can open this list prior to start time to avoid searching through the big list. Having a prepared list will increase your satisfaction with the swap.

To help you prepare once the swap is over and you are organizing your seeds to send in, links to printable summaries of what seeds were claimed from your list and by whom are automated and links to those will appear on your swap page. There is no need to do anything but bundle or package the seeds you have "sold" each person by individual, then cut out and add the list of what they should be receiving to the package. If you are not able to print it out, you will need to hand copy the list for each person to add to the bundles.

One more. As the number of seeds in the full trade list grows it can be hard to discern what has been added since the last time you looked. The "recent events for the swap" link in your info box is handy for seeing what has been added or removed recently without scrolling through the alphabetical full trade list catalog.

Alana,
This may be a silly question, but I'm a newbie. It seems that most people only list 1 or 2 offers of a variety. I know this may be an impossible question to answer, but here it is. Is there any advantage or strategy in limiting the number of your offers? Really looking forward to this!

Thanks,
Richard

(Yeah, I'm jumping in again when someone directed a comment to someone else)

When I'm bidding, I look at quantity of offers. If there are 20 of one item and 2 of another, I'm probably going to bid on the one with 2 first. I still have a pretty good chance on gettimg the ither one another day.

Personally, a lot of my offers are things I received in bulk swaps that I didn't have room for this year, so I only have 1 or 2 available. Or I only have a couple bagged right now & want to see how much interest there is before bagging up a bunch more. Last time I had to bag some during the swap & I'd like to save myself the hassle this go round.

Okieheart,

Thanks for your response! It makes a lot of sense. I also hadn't considered the process of unnecessarily bagging more than I need or more than anyone wants. I've received some bonus seeds in trade that I probably ought to list as well. Between bidding and bagging, the week of the seed swap could be pretty busy! Thanks again for responding.

poisondartfrog said:there was still a warning that we needed to adjust for Greenwich Mean Time just a few days ago

Where did you see that? For the host control panel, you have to set your dates in absolute (GMT) time, but for every other part of the swap, from the participants' perspective, all times should be shown in their local time.

I can't remember, Dave. I tried to find it but can't. Maybe I dreamed it. I will try to figure out what I saw this evening.

Richard, If you list one or two of something and those get depleted you can edit your offering and add an additional pack or two anytime before the end of the swap. On the other hand, while everyone will start with 4 tickets on the first evening, you can earn additional tickets in real time as your seeds are selected. The bonus is optimized on the first night and the return diminishes each day, so that's a consideration for some.

Also, when you look at your swap list you will see that some of your items have been starred as favorites by other players. Not everyone that places seeds on their wish list will end up selecting them, but that will give you an idea of how much interest there is in particular seeds.

My question is what are acorns?

Acorns are rewards for contributions you make to the site. Details are here: https://garden.org/special/aco...


Once you have accrued some you can spend them on Not a Raffle Tickets, special badges to denote your special interests, or gift them to other people whose post, photo, or idea you appreciate. They are transferable.

I am drying seed heads now, hoping I have enough interesting things to swap. This is my first year in this garden. Many surviving transplants didn't bloom this season.

Hi everyone! I am busy collecting, winnowing, drying, packaging up, labeling seeds. I also just put in an order to the Whatcom Seed Co. They have all kinds of weird stuff (I love weird plants). Once I get it, I will split each packet in two (few seeds per packet) and put them in the swap too. I doubt anyone else will offer seeds for Pachypodium saundersonii. What was I thinking... Wow it is going to take me hours to go through the Swap list and decide what I want. This thing is massive.

Now to the real point of my post- I see a lot of new names in the list of participants, some have not listed any seeds yet. The whole computer swap program is a bit complex (and fabulous due to the complexity!) and I think it might seem overwhelming for someone new to it. I would volunteer to spend a bit of time helping a Newby to navigate. I think getting on the telephone while both are looking at the computer might be really helpful, I could talk you through how to post your offerings. First though, all Newbies should watch Dave's Youtube video on how it works, it is terrific.

I'm a little late to the party but I'm here now.

I'll start adding seeds as time allows. I've been collecting, drying and packing seeds for the swaps for months now. I'm hoping to have some nice offerings again this year.

I wont have time to play games just yet but will post a few before swaps end.

Lisa

I'm still unclear on the timing of the beginning of trading. If it shows as 8 PM for folks in the Eastern Time Zone, does it show the start at 7 PM for folks in the Central Time Zone for example?

Yes, that's right.

Thanks!