Just wanted to remind everyone, trading begins midnight ATP Time on November 17th. As you know, that means Monday evening!! So please spend the next couple days finalizing your trade lists and adding your favorite items to your wishlist, so that Monday evening, you'll be able to view the wishlist and claim dibs on your most important items.

Early Monday I'll have the wishlist feature finished, so that you can view the wishlist, ordered from most stars down to 1 stars.

I am convinced you are all going to love the actual dibs system! Can't wait til Monday evening.

dave said: ... So please spend the next couple days finalizing your trade lists and adding your favorite items to your wishlist, so that Monday evening, ... Can't wait til Monday evening.

"Should we" or "must we" stop adding to our Offered list Monday evening? It could be good to know that one look at my Offered list was enough. Late additions make people re-scan a long list to find a few additions.

I only have 14 more seed types I'm ready-right-now to activate or add, so 2 days is plenty.

You can continue to add to your trade list all the way to the very end, BUT less people will see it.

I think it's better to try to have everything in there before the gates open, so to speak. But if you wait until trading is underway, then that's fine. You could also post a new thread here alerting people that you've added new stuff and inviting them to check it out to see if anything new strikes their fancy.

Thanks. I've entered all but two types now ... well, plus a few wish-list things I'm going to dig for and add over the next few days.

Does it seem to you that this swap-hosting feature is the first of its kind? I'm not aware of any other.

BTW, the "search combined lists" feature is a life-saver. It avoids any issues related to naming /alphabetization.

I use it to search my own swap list, for example to see whether I've already entered something one or more times. I go to "Seed Swap Beta" then "Access the full tradelist for this swap", then "View only Items from: RickCorey". Then I can name-search my own swap list.

So our wish list will list items we have started, right? There isn't some other list I'm supposed to be maintaining?

The wish list is the list of items you're hoping to get from other members once the trading begins.

To be clear, if something I have offered goes to zero quantity will the original entry remain in the non-swap specific seed trading database? For most of what I have listed I have additional seeds that I will package as I have time and I can reload those entries without re-entering them even after this swap is over, I think. Yes?

Yes Alana I believe it stays.

Yes, it stays with a quantity of 0.

Just a reminder: in ten days we'll need to have our trade packets packed up and in the mail.

Ten days and counting ...

Won't be at the starting gate tonight...granddaughter is in a play...don't think the will look kindly toward someone on the phone dibbing on seeds

I wasn't on last night except for a brief look after we came home. I picked out a couple things this morning. I am kind of holding back a little until the number of sold goes up more.

I managed to snag some before the play started.

I've saved a few tickets, just in case someone adds magic beanstalk beans at the last minute.

Or an herb from which you can make a tea that lets you retire right away.

I have extra tickets too -- I think I'm done requesting (unless, of course someone adds something I can't resist...); I'd be happy to share them if I could, but by this point I would think everyone has plenty of "dibs" to use anyway.

Rick, I'm relisting my "Blue Peter" beans as "magic beanstalks" (they definitely get tall enough, and turning from purple to green when they cook is kind of like magic)

Oh, Sandy! You temptress, you!

I kept meaning to list some yellow pole beans, but first I misplaced the two Zip-Locs I had split, and then I couldn't find the labels I had printed.

Meraviglia Di Venezia (Marvel of Venice) Franchi 2015
Yellow Romano-type Pole Bean
Phaseolus vulgaris
Early: 55 DTM.
7' vines need support, maybe tie to pole. Excellent frozen.
Sow after soil has warmed up well. Sow twice as thick, then thin to six inches for trellis, 2 plants for poles.

If you find them, Rick, list them -- I'd take a pack!

Can't say "no" to someone with a Seed Trader microbadge AND a veggie-grower badge!

OK, I know I have two packets worth even if I have to break open another Franchi-sealed pack.

I try to standardize on using "official" plant database names to reduce the alphabetization kerfluffles. But, annoyingly, these are listed in the plant database as BUSH beans, though they have 7' vines and are vigorous climbers!

Hence yellow Romano-type POLE beans alphabetize under "B":

Bush Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris 'Meraviglia di Venezia')

"But, annoyingly, these are listed in the plant database as BUSH beans, though they have 7' vines and are vigorous climbers!"

Oh, that is VERY annoying -- I'll propose a change for the DB if you don't want to.

I don't need a lot of seeds, even 10 or so is fine (especially if it means you don't have to open another pack unless someone else wants them too).

I did submit a name-change request, after Googling and finding only one site that called them "bush", and many sites including vendors all calling them "pole".

But there is no room in those plant database submissions to include explanatory text or links.

Also, I trust Franchi's listings. But I haven;t grown these out yet.

I think the two packets I split were generous for beans - like semi-full 2x3" Zip-Locs. Let someone make a few successive sowings, or save some for next year.

And opening another pkt would be fine. I had ordered something like 100 grams on sale, but they sent me multiple smaller foil pkts that added up to around 100 grams. Whimsy! But handy. Franchi sets up those foil packets to store very well.

I used to split up big packets so that I always got many trade packets, thinking "I want to give many people a chance to try this".

But now I would rather make 3-4 people quite happy, than annoy 8 people with barely-sample-size packets.