Okay, everyone, it's time for your input here:

1) What did you think of the timing of this swap? (Early September vs. other times of the year.)
2) Did you like the length of this swap? (This swap was about a week long...did that seem to be the right amount of time? Too long? Too short?)

Feel free to respond directly in this thread or you can Tree-Mail me personally. Let's get the discussion going...and know that it's okay if you don't all agree with each other; I will weigh all 'arguments' and use it to come up with a reasonable time for the next swap.


I should also note that I have been heavily weighing @RickCorey 's idea that he had awhile back about doing a single-day swap at some point just to try it. It would not be in lieu of our next swap, nor am I suggesting it would be what this swap would turn into, it would simply be an additional day of fun, spaced apart from the 'normal' swap (like the one we just had), to enjoy the flurry of madness of trying to claim dibs on a bunch of seeds while others are simultaneously claiming dibs. So...

3) How many of you would be interested in a one-day (crazy chaotic and fun) swap?

Hey Dnd!

For me, the swap was too early. We have such a long season here I wasn't able to list everything that I wanted. I'm still collecting seed up until pretty much the middle of Oct. here. For me alone, the beginning of Oct would be better.

I do like the length of our swap. I think 7 days is a good number. I think because of the early swap this year, everyone was still collecting and gardening so it was hard for everyone to pop in and chat alot. Not a big deal for me, nor a deal breaker. I just missed being able to chat is all, lol. Ya'll know me, I always have something to say.

I agree with Rick. I think I would like a starter (7 day) swap in Oct with ya'll and then perhaps a one time swap during the swapping season or at the end of it. Sometime between dec and feb. Believe it or not, the swap last year in feb was great. I was able to fill in holes in my garden with items that I had not gotten during the swapping season so it was truly a nice end for seed swapping for me. Plus I was able to get some things I normally wouldn't have tried for vegetables and they came in time for me to plant.

Otherwise, I can't think of anything that I would actually change about our swap. I was really happy that we had some new faces this time around and it was really great getting to know the new swappers. I really hope they come again next year as I've already ordered some flippin seed that I know is hard to find in a swap, lol. I know, I'm pitiful but I have found a couple of things new for next year that I really want to try. Maybe I'm too far ahead of the game in planning for next year?

I didn't participate in this last swap so I hope you don't mind my opinion ...one reason I didn't join was, it was a bit early for me personally...still watching grandkids...still out in the garden...still collecting seeds...okay that was a couple reasons

I tend to like swaps a bit after the Holidays when I have my seeds in order, know what I have extra of and know what I bought or will be buying to offer for trade.

Length of time doesn't matter to me one way or the other, I think 5-7 days is good.

I probably would try a one day frenzy swap for fun!

Anytime is still good with me Early like this I can offer the bulbils and small bulbs , Later their usually gone , However later I have more seeds ,, Which usually some seasons , does not matter as last seasons seeds I usually have bunches of ,
I plain did not have as many as usual sorted or ready this time ,,
That is up to all , and as to how many depends on what I have been doing ,
Not the expert at this at all from here ,, and Thank you again for a great swap

Thank you for the quick responses, I appreciate the feed back. So far, it's starting to sound like later is better, although how much later is quite varied...from October to February.
Jim, you bring up an interesting point... there are some things that may only work earlier in the season.

I'm curious on hearing more input from everyone, but I'm starting to wonder if it would be wise to make it a routine to have 2 swaps: the larger one in October, perhaps?....and maybe the one-day seed frenzy swap in mid- to late-January? Or vise versa?...

Thoughts?

I hope to hear from the rest of the group on the questions from the initial post, too.

luvsgrtdanes said:I didn't participate in this last swap so I hope you don't mind my opinion

...are you kidding? I WELCOME it! I wanted everyone's opinion, not just those that participated last time. You're part of the swap and your opinion counts, too!

I didn't join in this year either but maybe winter would be a good time to trade seeds. Most of us are stuck in the house ordering seeds anyway and can't really do anything in the garden in winter so there will be more time to sort seeds. I too am still getting seeds from plants like rose of sharon, persimmons, muscadines, maypops, blackberry lilies, vitex agnus castus, and more.

I did not participate in this swap, it was too early for me- I am still saving seeds and working in the garden, just did not have the time for it. Drying, sorting, packing them up and labeling and listing them is something that takes a lot of time. I did great last winter with the "Not from the Seed Rack" Swap, it seemed about right to me-in the deep dark days of fall-winter. I enjoyed having something garden related to do! I hope someone will host another swap this winter! Not too close to the holidays.
I also probably would not participate in a one day swap, I would possibly have to work that day-I think one would have to keep coming back to the computer all day.
I love the idea of international, but I don't know if you had anyone from another country involved.
Daniel you just reminded me to go see if I have seeds on my Vitex!

Hello, Daniel, and Mary! I didn't expect comments from outside of our swap members, but I'm really glad you chimed in! That helps me understand what draws people in or prevents them from joining.

For those of you suggesting winter as best for the swap (and concerned about time to prepare for it), I welcome suggestions. When I hosted the swap in January, a lot of people were just coming off of the holidays and cited being busy from the holidays and not fully organized and prepared for the swap in January. Others have said that February is too late, particularly for southern gardeners. It doesn't sound like we'll please everyone, but the more input I receive, the better able I am to please as many as possible. The key thing to remember is that the swap is, in a way, about a month long. From the start of trading to when people receive their seeds is about 3-4 weeks, so starting the trading in February means not having seeds to plant until about March.

Some of this may depend on how all of you prepare your seeds--do you prepare most of them for trade as you harvest them, or only as swap time draws near? I'm wondering if simply starting registration and having things planned out in the fall, but having the trading period be in January is something that would work out easiest for everyone involved. If we just get in the habit of prepping seeds in the fall as we harvest them, tucking them away for the seed swap and updating the system....then there's nothing to have to do over the holidays and when January rolls around, we're already ready for the swap. Thoughts?

I do think a little later is good BUT I don't like Jan/Feb seed swaps. I never get seeds in time to plant them. Almost all the seeds I got from last year's swap are still waiting to be planted. I have a short season so I start a lot of seeds in January. So that is my busy period. October or early November would be my choice.

I think 7 days is a bit long for a swap. I'm out of steam by the fifth day and rarely bid on anything after that. But if you cut down the time then you'd have to up the number of bids we get to start with or some people won't get all the seeds they want.

Personally I'd love to try a one day swap but I think we'd all have to agree on a day that most people would have the free time. I'm also not sure how that would work with using and gaining more bids. Does the system allow you to change the time it takes to accrue new bids?

DND you posted while I was typing. I learned it's better to clean & package seed as soon after harvesting as possible. If you leave it until you are less busy it becomes a daunting task.

I usually have the Garlic and onions back in the ground later . DnD. This suppose to be seeds and not bulbs though , :lol
Some seeds come early , Poppy , BES, Several ,
Coreopsis , Hollyhock , Agastache , Onions , Garlic , All go into the ground this time of year here , The Agastache will grow and Bloom next year , Hollyhock and Coreopsis will ? next summer sprout and bloom the following season , Takes patience with those here ,
Fun swap though when you (meaning me ) has it together ,, well, an all thing ,,:

Why not mid November as a good time. and instead of listing a few seeds a day list them all in one day but let people pick and choose over a 1 or 2 week period. Also I didn't understand the fraction thing with the seed swap. Everyone who gives seeds should get 2 or 3 picks off the bat then if someone gets a pack of seeds from you then you get another pick. Wouldn't that seem more fair? Also what happens to left over seeds?

bxncbx said:
DND you posted while I was typing. I learned it's better to clean & package seed as soon after harvesting as possible. If you leave it until you are less busy it becomes a daunting task.

What I was curious about was if you update your seed list around the time of harvest...

ediblelandscapingsc said:Why not mid November as a good time. and instead of listing a few seeds a day list them all in one day but let people pick and choose over a 1 or 2 week period.

That's actually how it is done. Seeds are supposed to be listed at the start of the swap and each day you get new tickets to claim dibs with. (This particular swap was set in the midst of harvesting time for a lot of members, so if you're noticing that a lot of people added to the swap as it was still going, that was why. That isn't typical, nor how it is intended, however.)

As for November, it would be a great time from a harvesting standpoint, but I find November is a difficult time for most people because of Thanksgiving. It is particularly difficult for me, too, as I'm often hosting Thanksgiving at my house and so I don't have the time (nor the dedicated table) for organizing seeds, even if everyone else in the swap somehow had November free.

ediblelandscapingsc said:
Also I didn't understand the fraction thing with the seed swap. Everyone who gives seeds should get 2 or 3 picks off the bat then if someone gets a pack of seeds from you then you get another pick. Wouldn't that seem more fair?

The fraction thing is actually an ingenious part of it that Dave came up with! I can see how it would seem strange at first, but if you think about what would happen if everyone were awarded a full ticket for each seed pack they 'sell', most of the seeds would be gone the first night! It would just keep going on and on in an almost unending back-and-forth that first night. (Think of it this way...if I dibbed a seed packet from you and you got a ticket, you would dib on someone else's, and they would get a seed packet, and that person would dib on someone else's who would get a ticket and then [ithat[/i] person would dib on someone else's, etc...) The fractions allow for some relaxation between when tickets are awarded so that people aren't up all night feverishly waiting to see if they are the next person to whom a ticket will be awarded.

ediblelandscapingsc said:
Also what happens to left over seeds?

Great question! Any seeds not claimed don't get sent in for sorting and redistributing. The original owner keeps them.

That said, however, in my swap we seem to have a trend going on that may or may not continue on to our future swaps: donating to the NARR. I'm tickled by the generosity of our members and several have already stated a desire to donate their extra seeds to add to a large seed gift I will send to a lucky winner in an upcoming NARR.

what is NARR?

...the Not-A-Raffle-Raffle that Dave hosts here on NGA. Here was the most recent one:
http://garden.org/ideas/view/d...

I see, and I love the thought of adding the left over seeds to the garden.org NARR. Thanks for clarifying everything DND.

DND I didn't even update my list after the last swap to take everything out! I prefer to wait to list because I give seeds to a gardening buddy I found. I only list what I have after that. But knowing the swap is coming up lights a fire under me to make my list ready!

It would be better for me to at least enter data in the database for swap seeds since that needs approval and those times can vary.

Honestly, as long as I'm given enough time to know when the swap starts I can make sure everything is ready no matter when that is.

I didn't participate in this swap either, mostly because of the timing. For me, the timing of the beta swap was just about right -- the swap started in mid November, and the seeds were sent out to participants in mid December. There is just no way I can do a seed swap during the busiest time of the veggie gardening season -- a fact I had to remind myself of more than once! But, i also understand that people in different regions need to get their seeds at different times... maybe we need swaps oriented for "northerners" and "southerners" ?

Love the swap and agree September is too early as I am in zone 7b/8a and things are still setting seed.
October/early November seems like s good time for swap. DnD you should do what works for your schedule. If October isn't good and you'd rather do in January I'm sure someone will step forward to do October swap. No stress.