A Seed Saver's Garden

[heirloomgal]

Amaranth seed tassels starting to size up. There is hope for seed indeed.

Lemon Starrburst. Yikes.

'Monster' pea vines

'Tennis Ball' lettuce is done. Time to make seeds!

'Feuille De Chene' lettuce seed flowers! Yay!

'Margaret McKee Pea' is drying down! First pea seeds of 2022!

Radish seed pod problem. Too many plants, all flopped over. Not sure the solution yet....bit late for staking....

Watermelon vines. Watermelon blooms. No watermelons.

'Old Kelway' English peas. Grown in part shade.

 

[Zeedman]

But "swapsies" really only works when each party has something the other party wants. That isn't always the case. There have been plenty of times when I wanted something someone else had, but didn't have anything they wanted (since I get back so little seed from my own growing).

On the flipside I've had plenty of people feel that they shouldn't NEED to offer me anything (including covering postage) in order to get seed from me (including a few who also didn't think the fact that they lived outside the country and sending them seed could get me arrested should stop me either.) Also, I've had plenty try and force seed I didn't want ON ME. because they felt so strongly about the value of what they had that they wanted to FORCE everyone to grow it.

There are always inconsiderate, "gimme" people in any endeavor. Many of those are just hoarders who will probably never actually grow the seed I send. I have to accept though, that others might be people who are interested - but just starting out. So I try to communicate, weed out the "gimmes", and focus on those who have a sincere desire to grow the seed being requested. To me, doing so is not greed, it is saving a precious resource for those most likely to use & appreciate it

There are also good, generous people whose only interest is sharing... and there are a lot of those here. Swaps are good, giving seed freely is good, and I've done both. And granted, I for one might be enthusiastic about something that does exceptionally well (who wouldn't be? ) - but would never think of forcing seed on anyone who didn't want it. Sometimes people do send me seed unsolicited; but I consider that an act of kindness, with no strings attached. I don't know any gardener who would FORCE another gardener to grow something... only governments do that.

Like many here, having witnessed how precarious our existence is & watched many heirlooms go extinct, I just want my "babies" to be in as many caring hands as possible. No method of preservation will ever be perfect, any more than any one person or group will ever be perfect. Of the 300+ varieties I've offered seed for over the years, many may never be requested... but many others have been, some saved & traded widely. Those successes are the most rewarding aspect of seed saving. No one can ever save everything, or be expected to - but as can be seen by @Bluejay77 's successful seed dissemination efforts, one person can make a difference.

I too wish there was a legal way to send Solanaceae (peppers, tomatoes, etc.) to the U.S.. There are so many wonderful varieties out there in other countries, as witnessed by some of the beautiful tomato photos posted by @Artorius .

So to make this long story short... a big swap/seed giveaway, perhaps at the end of the season? Count me in!

 

[Zeedman]

Amaranth seed tassels starting to size up. There is hope for seed indeed.

If you feel the need for seed,
There is hope for seed indeed
But remember, be warned, and heed:
Amaranth can become a weed.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Unfortunately I would not be a good choice to start that thread because aside from Blue Jay, who has an import permit, I can't send seeds into the US! There is a complete restriction on peppers and tomatoes into the US by seed traders, and without a USDA import permit, everything else is too. It's really too bad how difficult it is to get seeds across borders right now.

Tell me about it. I just had ANOTHER group of seeds confiscated by customs because of not phyto. And THIS one I can't try again (In theory the people in Germany who sent me the last order are willing to replace it if I can provide them all the paperwork, so THAT's simply waiting on whether I can get an import permit for tree seeds.)

 

[flowerbug]

...
So to make this long story short... a big swap/seed giveaway, perhaps at the end of the season? Count me in!

i'm always in, and for those who may be around next late winter there should be the seed swap in mid-Michigan where i'll plan on attending with whatever i can bring.

 

[Blue-Jay]

Tell me about it. I just had ANOTHER group of seeds confiscated by customs because of not phyto. And THIS one I can't try again (In theory the people in Germany who sent me the last order are willing to replace it if I can provide them all the paperwork, so THAT's simply waiting on whether I can get an import permit for tree seeds.)

You need to get yourself a USDA small seed lots permit. You should not need a phyto sanitary certificate. When you apply for the USDA account choose Linden, New Jersey as your examing station. I talked to one of the inspectors last year at the Linden station and he told me the whole idea of the small seed lots permit was so you didn't need a sanitary certificate. These are just gardeners who are not going to plant acres of seed but using these plants mostly for personal use. This Linden inspector told me they are looking for mainly insect pests coming through with the seeds.

Any packages from the beginning of last year that got sent to my original choice for Examining stations in San Fransisco have all gotten destroyed. I had sent some labels out in 2020 that were for the San Fransisco station. They had emailed me and asked for all sorts of documents that I could not supply. So I changed by account to reflect that my packages go through the Linden, New Jersey examining station. I've had no problems with them. I also highly suggest you send to your party that is going to send you seed, an address label so your package is directly addressed to the Linden station. Once you have an account the station will know your address. They will look you up on their computer system by your account number to find your address and after your package is inspected they will forward your package to you. Follow the instructions they give on importing seed the letter when you get your account.

If you need any help you can ask me.

USDA APHIS | ePermits Information

www.aphis.usda.gov

 

[Pulsegleaner]

You need to get yourself a USDA small seed lots permit. You should not need a phyto sanitary certificate. When you apply for the USDA account choose Linden, New Jersey as your examing station. I talked to one of the inspectors last year at the Linden station and he told me the whole idea of the small seed lots permit was so you didn't need a sanitary certificate. These are just gardeners who are not going to plant acres of seed but using these plants mostly for personal use. This Linden inspector told me they are looking for mainly insect pests coming through with the seeds.

Any packages from the beginning of last year that got sent to my original choice for Examining stations in San Fransisco have all gotten destroyed. I had sent some labels out in 2020 that were for the San Fransisco station. They had emailed me and asked for all sorts of documents that I could not supply. So I changed by account to reflect that my packages go through the Linden, New Jersey examining station. I've had no problems with them. I also highly suggest you send to your party that is going to send you seed, an address label so your package is directly addressed to the Linden station. Once you have an account the station will know your address. They will look you up on their computer system by your account number to find your address and after your package is inspected they will forward your package to you. Follow the instructions they give on importing seed the letter when you get your account.

If you need any help you can ask me.

USDA APHIS | ePermits Information

www.aphis.usda.gov

Thanks. I'll look into it. Particularly I'm going to have to double check that the small seed lot permit will COVER tree seeds as well, which is what I needed the import permit for (non woody plants JUST need a phyto.)

Even so, I'd STILL need to talk to the German people, since my main quibble isn't that they didn't send a phyto and the seed was confiscated, but that they never reimbursed me for the money I gave then to PAY FOR that phyto they never did. They basically pocketed an extra $15 or so bucks of my money for doing NOTHING. I'd stop working with them*, if they weren't one of the only sources I HAVE for some stuff (B&T world seeds is a bit nicer to me, but since they work more along the lines of a seed clearinghouse, things tend to be less likely to be available when I want them.)

*They're 25 Euro minimum order is also a pain, as it means I have to find at least 3-5 things every time I want to order.

 

[ducks4you]

@Pulsegleaner , I was thinking of a reimbursement for somebody here US mailing me something...like @flowerbug suggested sending me garlic.
I would like to KNOW what Flowerbug spends to mail it to me, and, perhaps, I could mail Flowerbug stamps commensurate with Flowerbug's cost of mailing to offset the $cost.
PERHAPS there are other ways. Paypal?
I Don't think that the USPS is gonna be concerned about a package which contains seeds.
Do you think I should check with my attorney?

 

[flowerbug]

@Pulsegleaner , I was thinking of a reimbursement for somebody here US mailing me something...like @flowerbug suggested sending me garlic.
I would like to KNOW what Flowerbug spends to mail it to me, and, perhaps, I could mail Flowerbug stamps commensurate with Flowerbug's cost of mailing to offset the $cost.
PERHAPS there are other ways. Paypal?
I Don't think that the USPS is gonna be concerned about a package which contains seeds.
Do you think I should check with my attorney?

i send stuff out as a gift. i want nothing back personally because i'd rather you pass it along instead to others to whatever extent you feel capable of doing. i do have a limited budget and i would be able to send out more if i did collect something in return, but then it becomes more of a time thing and i'm not interested in this being any kind of a business. so i limit myself and let it go at that. in the future this might change, but i'm not sure about that...

 

[heirloomgal]

If you feel the need for seed,
There is hope for seed indeed
But remember, be warned, and heed:
Amaranth can become a weed.

Oh no!? They are ALL like that!?