We should see a lot of action next week.

Esperenza,
Please don't feel silly. It's was a perfectly good question. I'm glad you asked so that it might serve as a gentle reminder to those that haven't, that it is getting close. Glad you asked.

Can't list mine until I get home next week. Haven't been home since before thanksgiving so I haven't even had a chance to go through my seeds from the last two swaps yet, can't wait to see all those goodies!

So until then, Merry Christmas to all my new friends here.

Merry Merry Christmas Seedies!

So, I have been rather quiet due to holiday busy-ness, but things have somewhat calmed down and now it's seed time!

@Adrian8231 - Welcome! I saw your post in the wish list thread and wanted to welcome you to both garden.org and to the seed swap! I sent out an email earlier with important information on the seed swap, please read it (and the FAQ) and let me know if you have any questions. We're happy to have you join!

Got my seeds listed finally :)
~Michael

Can't wait for the big day!

Whoo-hoo! It's starting to get real! I have to admit, having it right after the holidays lends to it the notion of being far off and only an occasional thought between the bustle of the holidays, but now that it's only a week away, it's finally starting to hit that the excitement of a swap--and a one-day only swap, no less!--is upon us.

Yes! I added all the seeds I have today, and I'm ready!

Ooopphh,

Finally got home to get my mail and all my seeds I've ordered and received in the last two swaps, plus some extras that Thomasjones sent. I've got a bit of work to do before i can post mine!

Oh my, Karen. That's an awful lot to do in a short time! Thank you in advance.

Karen, your table full of seed packets looks like lots of fun and lots of work as well. I had over 300 packs of seeds to organize after recent swaps and orders. Looking for some advice from other swappers. How do you organize your seeds? I have received all kinds of different packaging: coin envelopes, poly bags, paper pockets, even some origami. Do you repackage yours so they are uniform or do you leave them the way they were sent? I would love to hear everyone's input before I receive another shipment of various seed packets from this swap.

Thanks to all and Happy New Years!

I try to make them all uniform mostly so they fit in my storage containers. I've gotten so many seeds in the last couple of months I'm having a hard time keeping track of them all! So no more swaps or orders after this one until next fall!

I'm also not a fan of plastic because I'm the Queen of Static Electricity. I try to change those to paper just so that I don't lose all the seeds when I try to sow them. Either that or they won't get out of the plastic bag.

But for commercial seeds I don't change them because they usually have pictures or growing instructions on them.

Richard, I keep mine alphabetically in photo boxes from the craft store. I usually leave them packaged as is but will put them in a paper envelope with the name if they are in small packs so they don't get lost in the box. I have ones for annuals, veggies and perennials. One for morning glories and one for vines. I keep my trades in a separate box and my special seeds in another. I am lucky to have a separate room for my seeds and work station with shelves for all my stuff. It's my "plant and seed cave"

Richard - seed organizing is like asking someone for the best way to make a steak: ask twenty people and you'll get twenty answers, LoL! I was keeping mine in a binder with inserts that have a bunch of pockets on each page (index card or photo size, top opening), but I found that the seeds kept falling out the top of the pockets, unfortunately. It was, otherwise, a great system for organizing and viewing the seeds, but they just slipped out too easy. I started to use/transition over to a new system that works moderately well: a library-card filing system (or a unit designed to be like that). Mine only has six compartments, so I'll likely have to upgrade to something like this, pretty soon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0057PMLUA/ The card catalog idea works pretty well, though, and I use index cards as alphabetical separators for my vegetables. My flowers I organize by edible and non-edible. [Non-edible flowers are organized by cool colors (whites, blues, purples) and warm colors (reds, oranges, yellows, etc.), but that is clearly not the best way for everyone.] If you do go that route, make sure to get something bigger than you think you will need, because you will undoubtedly outgrow the smaller ones. And also make sure you find out the **internal** dimensions of drawer--very important! As to your question about unifying the type of packet that you put it in, it isn't a bad idea, but a word on that. Elena is right, some seeds (particularly poppy seeds, etc.) are more challenging to get out of baggies. I have some paper coin envelopes for that reason, but they take up a LOT of space and usually require more time for labeling (or re-labeling), so be prepared for that if you use those. They do have far better upright support than plastic bags, however, and may make it easier for you to sort and sift through. I currently use a mixture of plastic baggies and coin envelopes when storing seeds. No matter what you use, make sure you know the interior dimensions of what you'll be storing your seeds into so that you can purchase the correctly-sized seed bags/envelopes.

Karen ( @rockpile1369 ) - What a wonderful stash of seeds you have! Were you the one that recommended MIgardener here on garden.org? If so, I really have to thank you, I am really pleased with purchasing from them, I like purchasing from local businesses, and their prices are very good. (Most of what I am offering this time around is from the order I placed with them.) I also like that they mention the nutritional benefits of the veggies on the back of the packet. As for listing your seeds, please make sure to do so soon. I know it's a daunting task, but you'll want to make sure to get your seeds in the system in time for people to review them and put yours into their starred wish lists!



As a side note, did anyone else know that tonight is a SUPERMOON? I still feel that this should also be considered a blue moon since it is the second full moon of the month (the first was on December 3), but oh well. It's enough that it's a supermoon, I suppose.

Thanks for all the input. This is my first year swapping. I have collected my own seeds for a couple of years and traded with a local gardener. After participating in several individual exchanges and two seed swaps my collection of seeds has really grown. I haven't repackaged anyone's seeds but keep them separated by type of seed. I leave my purchased seeds in their original packaging, mostly for the information that's included. I'm with Elena, no more swaps after this one. I'm already going to have to fire up the tiller and make some new flower beds for all these new seeds I have.

I'm super bummed, I don't think there's any way I could pack and list my seeds on time, so I left the swap. Next time!

@Joolie
I hope to see you in the Fall swap(s).

@rockpile1369, what a wonderful haul but you're right, a lot of work too!

In getting my seeds ready for the swaps I've come up with a new system of organizing/storing them. I had a bunch of legal sized envelopes from my DH's work. Cut in half width-wise they are about the size of a seed packet. I write the name of the seed on the upper right corner and stack them, library catalog style, in a cut down cardboard box. Purchased seeds stay in their original envelopes. When I pack seeds for swaps I put the little plastic envelopes back in the cut down/commercial envelopes. I had thought of keeping the seeds I'd planned to plant separately but for now will keep them together.

@Joolie, Thank you for the idea of keeping them in envelopes. We will miss you in this swap but look forward to sharing with you the next time.

My basement stays about 68* all year. Is that suitable for storing seeds or do they need to be in the fridge?

Libby, I didn't know it was a supermoon last night but I'm not surprised. I loved seeing it.

Julie - I'm so sorry to see you have to leave the lightning round. I do understand, though, it's a busy time of year and trying to get all of your seeds in can take a bit of time. If you change your mind and think you can get your seeds in today and tomorrow, we'd love to have you back. Otherwise, I look forward to seeing you in the fall swap!!! I hope you had a great New Year's Eve!

Leslie - I love your envelope idea! I might spin off that idea and cut envelopes to use in my binder. If I cut the envelopes in half and taped/stapled the sides of it, I could attach them as pockets on a piece of paper to put in my binder and use that to take outside. I'll have to give that some consideration. .....and I'm glad you got to see the supermoon last night. It didn't look much bigger here, but we had a clear sky last night and the ground was covered in snow, so it looked so incredibly beautiful last night.