+All of the 3 plant swaps I've atteded have been pot lucks..and a lot of fun. It's fun to put a face with a username that you might have become familiar with on the gardening forums. My husband has been amazed at how far gardeners will travel to attend these events. Our first one was less than 10 miles from our home. Because that was our first one, we really didn't know what to expect but you learned quickly. At that one there was a fella there with a truckload of aged horse manure and he was the most popular person there! He gets his burlap bags that coffee beans come in from a coffee shop near his work, and the aged horse manure from a nearby horse farm. He bought along a short handled shovel, and he'd guide you into digging your own, how much you wanted. The gardeners there that wanted any, shoveled what they wanted into the burlap bag and the next person stepped up. Evidently he goes to a lot of plant swaps or maybe just that one in particular. I recall him posting a few days before the swap that he would be there.Amazing how many realized even fine manure gets heavy so most only filled their bag only 1/4 to 1/2 full. We were parked two parking spaces over and there was no odor..From what we could see, it looked fine, like a very good grade of potting mix. He left with an empty truck so he was the most popular person there! There were about 60 to 80 people at that plant swap.
Another thing I learned was that some plants or other items have been promised ahead of time for certain gardeners..Always ask which plants are not spoken for. I watched this one gardener unload and she had many bags with usernames of the person for whom those bags are intended. If a gardener arrives late, wait for that person to have time to set up. I noticed people were like vultures around that persons table and evidently a bag that was meant for somebody was taken. I watched from my parking space across the way in amazement..
Wear or take a hat and sunscreen and bottled water and maybe even sunglasses. Most gardeners bring along a folding table to set their plants on and a comfortable folding chair and bottled water and a camera if you so chose .Enjoy the event; you'll meet a lot of nice new friends.
