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?
