Allotments 4 All
Allotment Stuff => Swap Shop => Topic started by: Jeannine on October 13, 2013, 10:19:27
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Sorting through my seeds yesterday I am toying with the idea of doing an International seed and swap parcel. I usually buy my seeds in larger sizes that I need and always have too many. Here buying the second size is very little different to the small packet so I always have something to trade.
It would mean the person who gets it last would have to ship it further, I think the last time I added a few pounds to the parcel to accommodate that.
The advantage to you over there is often you get things that you would't usually see unless you buy globally. I think the last one went to the UK, Holland and Spain after it left here.
Is anyone interested.
Offer , if it goes will be open to all A4A folks who have been registered awhile and are seen to post. Exact specs to follow.
XX Jeannine
XX Jeannine
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Hi Jeannine - 'one more sleep' and I'm on my way :icon_cheers:. If your round robin takes off you could send the package to me at my sister's (as long as it will fit into my suitcase :tongue3:).
I'll call you in a few days.
Tricia xx
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Sounds fun Jeannine, love to join in if I may :blob7: and also be happy to post back to you.
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That's very generous Jeannine. The last one was legendary. Would love to be 'in'.
Any special requests for the type of seeds to return to you? I have a bean, called 'Breglia Romano' that could be similar to your special bean (if I read and understood the description right) and would be happy to include a few seeds for you to compare.
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If I may ? No volcanoes this time! We could add a few stamps as it passes around! Nice thought on such a wet day.
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I would be interested in that too I have lots of seeds and would love to expand my lot.
I love the idea of adding a few stamps too along the way to cover international postage,
Nora
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I would love to be included. Like the idea of adding a few stamps to each parcel as it goes round too. Getting quite excited.
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:wave: me too!..please? :angel11:
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OK, you are on..Tricia it may not be ready in time for you going home as there is some stuff I want to order that will have spares in, it will be doubtful if they arrive in time but I will try my best..give me the date you Leave again, I can always send it guaranteed overnight to you if I manage it.
Markfield . absobloominglutely no volcano this time, that was awful.
Galina the seeds would be great, I will pop a few of mine with your name on so you can see too.
JayB, thank you, you can be postmistress.
For the others do you want to know who is getting it when or do you want us to play..your choice.
Is there anything from across the pond anyone wants in particular, let me know as soon as you can. Take a look at Tatianas, I am sending an order to her and I do already have a lot of her seeds already,
Do you all remember the Mayoral Blue squash..I was sent a few seeds from Queensland Australia, they were originally grown by the Mayor of Grafton who bred this very sweet small blue squash, he would not ever share his seeds, he apparently grew them for many years. After he died a relative decided it was time to share the few he had and by luck, the friend I had in Australia worked with a woman who knew the relative and he was talking about me one day at work and that he was shipping seeds to me, this friend piped up, told him the story and offered to try get me a few,, she did,. so I got just a few of what they called Mayoral Blue. I grew them in the UK the year the floods hit Hull so lost the plants. When I came here I shared the few remaining seeds with Tatiana , I think we had about 4 each we both grew them , mine were struggling and I lost two plants and I didn't think they would make it, but they did they were isolated and I got just two fruits which gave me a good amount of seed, Tatianas also did well and she now has them on here site. I am pretty confident that we are the only two folks outside on OZ that have them, so there may be a very few of them in the parcel to anyone who SERIOUSLY wants to start to grow them, but I need to know that ahead of time so I can mark them with names.
There will be some flowers in this one as my clever daughter was at a yard sale this year and came home with a box full of new , unopened , indate Burpees seeds for pennies , some annuals and some perennials. I will post what they are later and if no one wants them I won`t add them.
I wonder if Ruud is about..
XX Jeannine
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At the risk of being a party pooper there are strict rules about who can send seeds to Europe from the American continent or anywhere else in the world and vice versa - all designed to control the spread of pests and diseases.
You need to be a recognised, licensed supplier or risk confiscation by customs.
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You are not a party pooper , it is not WHO can send , it is WHAT can be sent and WITH which paperwork if need be that is important, and although you are a UNION you all have different no nos as to seeds, I am aware of them.
I definitely do not have to be a licensed supplier to send seeds to Europe. I have been sending them for years and I investigated all that the law demands so I knew what I could do. I have sent packages clearly marked garden seeds. I have even had them opened , then closed and sent on their way as the contents did not contain any seeds that were not allowed. I am VERY aware of the restrictions over there.
XX Jeannine
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I'd be glad to be part of this. I miss the round robins, though I'm well aware of the problems we had before. If it's only open to established posters that shoul hopefully avoid the problems this time.
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to anyone who SERIOUSLY wants to start to grow them
:wave: :wave: :wave: :wave: :wave: :wave: :wave: :wave: :wave: :wave: :wave: :wave: :wave:....... :glasses9:
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Yes Robert I agree, it is unfortunate but I guess we all had to bide our time and the swap parcels seem to go on so eventually everyone would be included that was regularly around. There can be a fair bit of value in one and volcanos aside I think it is sensible to be prudent.
If I can get it ready in time I will get it to Tricia to take back with her..oh yes she should be travelling today I think.
XX Jeannine
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I would love to be included.
But there is a bit but. I think I did the last one and it turned out to be very frustrating indeed. Someone stripped all the good seeds out of the packet on the way round and replaced it with out of date seeds and things they did not want. So it became a very poor deal after a time. Luckily a few people rescued it and topped it up. The postage here has changed so it has become very expensive to post things, they charge for it as a parcel and do not like anything lumpy.
I suggested people PMed the cost of the postage on arrival and departure to prevent weight loss but some people felt they were being accused. Though actually once I started that most people put in considerably more than they took out.
It arrived back to me less than 1/3 of the starting weight!!!
Also some people were very slow at sending it on. Someone had it for more than two weeks. They had all sort of excuses, but I rather said they should have put their name further down the mailing list if they were too busy to take part. I PMed everyone individually to check they were ready and waiting after that and imposed a time limit for sending it on. After that most posted it the next day after receiving it.
After that Jayb did one where she received the seeds from everyone and then send out what people requested from the list. That way is more expensive on postage because you have to pay twice, but at least you can guarantee everyone gets a fair deal and gets something worth having. In particular it is very dependant on the time of the organiser.
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I have to admit, some years ago in the Uk someone ran off with one, he happened to get it straight from me too. He vanished, I quickly got another one together and started again and we were finem I lost one in the volcano thingy and sent a new one too but the lost volcano one showed up several months later and was sent back to me as I don't think it had left Canada.
I am b=not too concerned but I will put rules on mine re participating, turnaround and some instructions for swapping in the parcel
XX Jeannine
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Forgive me asking but what is/was the volcano thing?
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Forgive me asking but what is/was the volcano thing?
When that volcano blew off in Iceland other year and caused airtraffic problems...mail got delayed and Jeannine's parcel got lost
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Always happy to take part in the exciting seed swap! Inevitably there will be those who take or give more than others but I've been involved in several parcels over the years and overall think its been great, always the fizz of excitement as you receive it! We got Jeannine to do a lottery to decide the order of receipt last time if I remember correctly, I think that worked well and there were several packets with named envelopes for specific members which also worked ok I think.
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I think before we go any further it may be a good idea to say this will not be an fat envelope it will be a parcel. I don't know exactly what UK postage is like now but I do know that it is far less than Canadian and less than the US, Canada has one if the highest postal rates anywhere so it will be quite costly to send over there but should not be costly to send around the UK or even too bad to return it.
I will do the draw again for who gets it when so if anyone has any holiday dates I need to know. I will ask for PMs later down the road.
XX Jeannine
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I've got stacks of stuff I can add when it gets to me.
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If it past my adress i can add a lot of intresting seeds.
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When will this swap take off? I am only asking as I have some stuff that won't be ready till about Christmas time (does anyone like oca?)
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Yes, I love it. I haven't had much luck with it in the past, but I want to try it again in my raised beds and see if it does better. My beans are still green and growing, so it'll be a while yet before I can harvest them.
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Thought you were growing oca in pots Robert and thinking of popping them into the church after that disastrous winter of 2010 when I lost almost all of, what would have been a very good harvest. Since then I haven't had that much luck with them either but I keep on hoping that the slugs will keep off them. Do you want me to send you some more? The best ones I had last year were the rogue ones that popped up in the greenhouse and raised bed. Sorry only got the pink and white ones left. Wish me luck for a decent harvest.
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I'd be grateful. I managed to keep them over winter, but wet weather while they were in the ground finished them off. I want to try again to see whether the waterlogging was to blame, as I suspect.
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Robert I left you a message on another posting but don't think you saw it.. the huge broadies , the ones from Guatemala that I put to test germinate have all done so, did you want a few of them along with the others, XX Jeannine
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Right you are then Robert. It will be around Christmas before I try to harvest them and am hoping for a decent crop. Last year the ones in buckets were pants - tiny (probably not enough water and eaten by slugs) so I just chucked them into my raised beds. They seem to be doing okay but time will tell.
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Yes, definitely, thanks Jeannine. I'm having a mad week trying to sort out the early stages of the process of finding a new minister for the church, and it's a nightmare job. So I've been a bit slow seeing things, though I did spot that post and reply in the end.
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Still sorting out, I have some stuff still not yet dry too but it will be coming, perhaps not till after the Christmas rush so it doesn;t get caught in that unless you all want it sooner..let me know what you all think XX Jeannine
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I think that there is enough time to start the round robin,so after christmas will be fine for me.By the way i have to sort out everything :toothy10: :toothy10: :toothy10:
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After Christmas sounds good , just when my fingers start to get itchy at the thought of the new season. Meanwhile season's greetings and here's to a little sparkle and glitter.
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Is this still happening?
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That is a good question robert is this robin still going on.I have a lot of intresting seeds to share.
:wave: :wave: :wave:
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Yes, it is still happening, now Christmas is over I can get down to this next job XX Jeannine
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Oh goody!
Tricia :wave:
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Hello Guys
I would be interested in joining the seed swap - I have some lovely south African squash and pumpkin seeds. also some sa flower seeds. Been away for a while as got divorced, sold house, moved away and had no garden - now I am back on my old allotment side a few plots down from my old one so am back in the fray of things.
kind regards
Jitterbug
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I hope you and John are well Jeannine. The UK is pretty much waterlogged, but it won't be long before we start thinking of sowing seeds for - hopefully - a successful growing season! so this is to ask you if the round robin parcel will be on its way soon?
I notice you have not posted for a while so I hope it is just winter doldrums!
Take care
Tricia xx