Do you trade seed (besides the NARGS exchange)?

Submitted by Broekhuis on

Hi all,
When I got my start in gardening, more than ten years ago, I was a very active seed trader - the internet still felt new those days, and GardenWeb was a good place to find trading partners. Although I still collect seeds every year (and donate to a few society exchanges), I find that my seed trading activity has just about come to a halt: I still exchange with a few long-time trading partners, but I'm having a harder time finding new trading partners on the internet. GardenWeb is no longer as useful - their trade lists don't have a "use-by" date, so a good fraction of the lists are several years old, their owners no longer active. Also, I've arrived at a point where I appreciate a more "serious" approach to seed trading, with full botanical names, some idea of the seed's vintage, and a good shot at finding out-of-the-ordinary selections.
So I'm wondering - do you engage in seed trades? What are the best forums to do so? I'm halfway considering setting up a seed exchange on my website, incorporating features that I miss on other sites out there; but I'm quite aware that it is somewhat unlikely to gain critical mass in today's over-crowded world wide web. And I certainly don't want to create something that duplicates a perfectly good existing resource - maybe I just haven't found the best venue yet. I'd appreciate your thoughts and comments.
Rob

Comments

Submitted by Peter George on Mon, 12/24/2012 - 11:44

There is a good deal of seed trading that goes on within NARGS. The Forum is an excellent place to notify members what you've got available and for you to find out what you get for your seed. Why not start now with some available seed and see where it goes?

Submitted by cohan on Mon, 12/24/2012 - 12:04

Hi Rob- this forum has a section which has some activity:
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?board=70.0
You can post both wishes and offerings..
SRGC also has a similar feature, and on both fora you can find some things offered you wont easily find elsewhere.
Also, on both fora, many offerings are made in threads specific to particular types of plants, so it's also good to read threads about kinds of plants you are particularly interested in..
Looking forward to seeing you post a topic at the link above letting us know what you have and are interested in :)

Submitted by Weiser on Tue, 12/25/2012 - 08:58

To take Cohan's suggestion one step further You can always sent a private message to another member of the forum if you see a plant you are interested in. I have traded a lot of seed using this method.

"Do you trade seed (besides the NARGS exchange)?"
The answer is yes I do. I also send seed to two other society seed exchanges: Eriogonum Soc. and American Penstemon Soc.

Submitted by Cockcroft on Tue, 12/25/2012 - 10:44

I send seeds to the NARGS seed exchange but also trade seeds on both the NARGS and SRGC forums.  Many of the seeds I offer are ephemeral, so it's great to have the seeds planted at an optimum time.  I usually just advertise what is available and forum readers reply, either directly or through the forum message service.  It's a great way to meet others who are interested in the types of plants that I grow.

...Claire
Enjoying a wet, no white, Christmas -- Happy Holidays!

Submitted by Broekhuis on Thu, 12/27/2012 - 08:37

Thanks for your replies! My challenge is that I have hundreds of seed varieties, so which ones should I mention in a one-off post? I enjoy arranging trades of ten or more varieties, so it helps to have trade lists to peruse. GardenWeb is good for that, but as I mentioned, it's become somewhat less usable in recent years.
In any case, I'm going to follow the forums here a bit, and see how I can participate.

Submitted by Mark McD on Thu, 12/27/2012 - 08:50

Hi Rob, I know a number of people who do this, they maintain a list in a simple text file (such as in Notepad on Windows). Announce the availability of your swap list in a forum posting, asking people to send you an email or Forum PM (personal message) if they're interested in seeing the list.

Nevermind, it seems you already did exactly what I suggested:
http://nargs.org/smf/index.php?topic=1229.0