CLOSED: 2014 Spring Round Robin Seed Swap

Greetings:

Welcome to the spectacle that is the 2014 Spring Round Robin Seed Swap!

EDITED TO SAY: The Robin will take flight on March 13, delayed by some random acts of God like icestorms and power outages. :D

This swap is reserved for the following participants and this IS the flight path!
Each participant should contact the next person on the list when after they receive the Robin to ensure the next person is ready to receive. If you do not have a response from the participant, please let me know, and I will try to get them by telephone. If we can't reach you we won't send it to you!! Please check in daily if you can, just to see what's going on. Thanks!

Annette (Nanny23) - KY -

James (Juhur7) - IN

Robin (Mipii) - MI

Amanda (Badcat) - IL

Gypsy (Iowhen) - IA

Stephanie (Minnessipi) - MN

Dee (DomeHomeDee) - CA

Sylvia (Shorty_CA) - CA

Sue (Cheer Mom) - AZ

Becky (StillPlaysWithDirt) - TX

Sandy (IloveJesus99) - TX

Tina (Jokenna) - TX

Garry - AR

Sherie (FlSunshineGal) - FL

Kevin (GaMadGardener) - GA

Kerrie (Chickory31) - NC

Beth (bethw336) - NC

Mike2147 - NC

Return to Amanda (AmandaEsq) - NC


This IS the flight path. If you don't see your name here, please let me know so I can work out the flight path.

If it is convenient and does not impose undue burden on participants we may, on a case by case basis, continue to accept participants.

EVERYONE:

Please ensure that the HOST has your current shipping address, telephone number, that you are a paid subscriber through at least May 2014 and that you check in on this thread on DG daily so we don't have to chase you when the Robin is headed your way.

If we don't hear from you - we won't ship to you. Your name will go to the end of the list, and you may receive the Robin on its return flight.

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RULZ:

In the interest of FAIRNESS to participants
and to maintain the INTEGRITY of the Round Robin tradition
we each agree to:

(1) Treat the Robin as an individual swap taking the same time and care with our contributions to the Robin as we would with an individual trade;
(2) Take what you want, give what you can, generous in contribution and modest in appropriation - particularly if the amount of seed in the Robin is scant;
(3) Contribute only seed of known origin (commercial seed, harvested from our own garden, etc.) not older than 2011;
(4) Package our seed contributions to the Robin in clear plastic zip lock bags and/or glassine envelopes so that contents are visible and easily accessible by other participants in the Robin;
(5) Properly label our seed contributions to the Robin with our DG Name, common and botanical name of species contributed, and date of origin (PREFERABLY ON PAPER LABEL INSIDE BAG/ENVELOPE);
(6) Respond within 24 hours to communications from other participants and HOST of the Robin by dmail, telephone, or other means deemed acceptable by the HOST;
(7) Post on the main thread the arrival and departure date(s) of the Robin into and out of each participant's possession;
(8) Maintain possession of the Robin not longer than 4 days including holidays and weekends;
(9) Ship the Robin to the next participant as directed by the HOST;
(10) Submit USPS tracking/confirmation information by dmail to the HOST only, not by public thread;
(11) Be a good sport; and/or
(12) Be hung in effigy and/or ostracized forever by participants and/or HOST for failure to follow these RULZ.

*******************************************************

We are a friendly bunch dedicated to seed swapping and hoarding.

Many of us have participated in this time honored tradition hosted in the past by Susie (deejay9). Some of us have not participated in the Robin before. Please feel free to ask any questions of the HOST or participants on this public thread or by dmail.

Thanks for playing and for unabashedly pointing out any flaws or errors inherent in the HOST's logic or lack thereof.

~Amanda


******************************************************
Image courtesy:

http://birdcallsradio.com/2011/07/15/bird-calls-bird-of-the-day-for-july-15/

This message was edited Mar 3, 2014 7:22 PM

This message was edited Mar 13, 2014 5:59 PM

Here is the 2014 Spring Round Robin HAVES and WANTS thread:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1352117/
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1352117/
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1352117/

Thanks for asking, Amanda, but I'm full up for this season so not doing Round 2. I'm already running out of room, and have many, many more essentials to get started. I just took this pic and the timer has turned off the grow lights, but you can get the gist...

You have quite a crowd though, looks like it will be another good one!

Yep I'm still in for round 2!

Sue G

Sue!

I am going to ship your doorprize from Fall Robin for guessing landing date as soon as I can get myself to the post.

Just a little something to say thanks for playing.

Hope all's well - Pam you are so far ahead of me it's not even funny. Every year I say this is the year, but this is just not the year. ;)

xo
A.

Anybody have any gourd seeds? I'd love to try some this coming year. I don't know if I get enough sun down in this canyon, but I'd love to try anyway. Maybe I should do them in the greenhouse, I do melons in there and they seem to like it.

Dom Luffa , and their 2 or 4 a $ at the dollar store around the corner .



This message was edited Mar 15, 2014 11:17 PM

juhur7-Not to worry, I am always getting into trouble!
However, we will keep the chit chat limited to this thread as requested by the HOST. and maybe we will stay out of trouble!

Amanda- Sorry, it was a slight misunderstanding of the RULZ. I am still a little unfamiliar with the protocol here. Jumping back and forth on these threads has made me a little dizzy ;)

dee-what kind of gourd seed are you looking for? I might have some birdhouse gourd seed left, I will check and see.

This message was edited Mar 6, 2014 12:39 AM

That would be perfect. I have two daughters who are both bird crazy. I bet they would like to make some bird houses.

Any word on which direction that bird is gonna fly, Amanda? Is take off still scheduled for 3/10/14?

Intended flight for Monday, but GEEZ with this ice storm I don't know if I am coming or going.

I think the Robin is supposed to fly North in the spring, but seeing as how it just came from there I suppose it will follow the same flight path from NC thru the south up the coast and back across the plains, the lakes, and so on...

Where is Susie or Pam or Kathy to answer that question for us?! :D

Still looking thru the box. It IS amazing, the amount of seed we have this season.

Thank you EVERYONE for making the Fall Robin a HUGE success.

A.

That south to north path would make "weather" sense to me. Especially if there are temp sensitive seeds - not that the whole country isn't below normal temps lately.

Hope you don't lose power Amanda!

Well, I think the south to north idea is great! :)

Someone shared some very Large sunflower seed in the fall robin & I thought that I Had saved out a pk for zoey & when she came over last night to go through the sees we did not find them.
if anyone here happen to find any in the robin or if you have any to share I will be happy to send you postage .
if ya know of other good seeds for her to plant let me know .
she's adding to her garden bed this year . she has planted painted lady beans , & Hyacinth beans so far , every day she comes in to check on them :) her words are WOW :) she wants to take it to show & tell but it is to cold out side .
those sunflower seeds were about an inch long or so never seen them before. hope someone can help me .

Guess i should ask Amanda would it be ok to have a pk from the robin.

Just read about the Path of your Robin & I thing you should go back towards the North ONLY For the Fact That they have a chance to get the seeds planted its a little late for the south .
No I Maybe wrong about that sorry don't meant to step on toes .
THIS IS JUST MY 2 CENTS BUT NOT MY ROBIN :)
NC-KY-MI-IN-IL-IA-MN-CA-AR-TX-AL-FL-GA-NC

Dome Im putting some bottle neck gourd seeds in :).

I think Amanda lost power? What am I supposed to do with my seed? Send to her or put in the box when it makes it here? I dont have her address.

Amanda...Sorry to say but I'm thinking I'm out this second go around. I've got stacks of packet in the backroom just waiting for me to start them I remember from last year that I did the second time around and never got any started til this winter...lol. Glutten me..lol.. I have soooo many to transplant at the moment..lol. What am I doing on the puter..lol!!! It's tempting tho....soooooo many people this go round and new ones too.... I may regret it later but I'm thinking I'll just lurk........

Was there any seed from me left in the box? Do you need more? LOL. Kathy

I'm the one with the giant sunflower seeds and I do have some left. I can mail them to you direct if you'd like. They are monsters, I have some that just sprouted and the sprout leaves are like an inch long . . . very prehistoric looking.

Hi Kids - I'm a lot less active here than I had been in the Fall Robin. Sorry.

I hope the warmer temps and longer days (except hey - I'm "springing forward" today - lose an hour or gain an hour?) will bring up my happiness quotient.

I imagined the Robin should fly north, so that's the way she shall go. The Robins around here are all looking for food, afternoons warm up and they are all at the curb on the sidewalk waiting for a worm. When it snowed a couple of days ago I threw out some small red grapes for one, and she was so pleased!

Anyway - still pushing packets of seed around, trying to decide what box to use. Priority mail is not the way to go - well at least not one of their flat rate boxes.

I'm going to say this too - and you can debate the merits of it - if the box gets so big that first class mail costs less, then send it that way. The whole idea of sharing seed is to save on costs.

I, for one, grad student who is ____ broke, will be looking at this as an option. Often first rate mail will get there before or as fast as Priority mail.

Thanks.

A.

Amanda- You are right about the first class vs priority mail. A lot of times the First class will get there just as fast, at a cheaper rate. But would a day or so difference in delivery time hurt anything? If there is a sizeable difference in the cost, I say go the cheaper rate. Times are tough.
I usually take the box to the Post Office and tell them give me the rates for the different options. Priority Flat Rate and Priority package rate sometimes fools you, if it isn't very heavy or very large, you can send a larger box for less, just depends.
That is why I drag it down to the post office and let them figure it out.
Anyway that is my opinion for whatever it's worth.

Oh Dee Yes please I thought i kept out a pk for zoey to plant but we cannot find them fo I must have put them back into the robin. can you tell me the name of them so i can look them up & Know how tall they will be so i know where to have her plant them . Going up into the 40's this week so i hope this snow will MELT .

When I Started the robin over 5 yrs ago we always used a Priority box & it cost about $10. then it grew & we did a Flate rate Med so everyone would pay the same for the postage no matter where it went it was always the same rate .

as long as you keep out the Big bags with shaf Out & Limit your
seeds to fill a 2x3 or a 3x3 baggie & Push out the air you can get 200 pks + of seed in a Priority for about $10. but then if they charge for milage :( Or state Your going to pay the same as a Flat rate med$12-13 dollars .

& you cannot buy a pack of seeds for under $2. & Most places cost you 2x the postage for 1 pk of seeds .

They are Helianthus annuus "Mongolean sunflowers". I found you in the address exchange to I'll just stick some in a bubble envelope and send them out to you. I'll send plenty as they tend to have a lot of duds. I originally just thought the guy who sent them to me must not have enough pollinators but we have a bee hive so they should all be viable. Who knows, just put twice as many in as you want, or if you germinate them in paper towel you can tell which have seeds in the hull really easy.

Well dearies, I did post a photo of the box which was packed to the brim. I have serious doubts it will get into a large flat rate box which will cost at least $15 - $17. That IS a lot of dough. Yes yes the cost of seed. Still, I have been unable to participate when I couldn't afford to ship.

So.

I think first class mail will arrive in as fast or same time as Priority Mail

AND you MUST pay for a DELIVERY CONFIRMATION with your package so we can track the Robin in case it disappears.

Still pushing seeds around.

More later.

A.

p.s. If I haven't got your name up there in lights let me know!!!

amanda..is there alot of different things in there than in the past go around (flowers, perenns especially) or is it alot of the same type of things that were in ther first box? Sounds lik it might be worth a second look depending on the answer...lol. Kathy

I think I will have to opt out this time. Not only do I have more than enough seeds, but I will not have the time to devote to keeping up with the threads and all that. I am building new "Square Foot Gardens", as my old ones are falling apart. Just 9 of them, 4' X 4' in redwood. This time I am painting a color wash on them. Each one a different color. And I am mixing the colors myself. I am a little annoyed at the guy at the "Paint Spot", as I requested 3 primary colors, black and white. Well the red is not red, it is a cherry red. It is making my mixing more challenging, since we live 20 miles from town.

When I go into town on Tuesday, I will check with him again. I won't ask for a refund, but just a pure red. No, I will not be painting any of them red. I got a pure yellow, and I could not imagine painting pure yellow either. It is a wash...diluted with water, and I dilute with water as I paint as well. Something new since I have never painted before. It was just an idea that I had in my mind for a long time. The green one is already in the garden, waiting for me to fill it up. I will have to take some pictures...if I get the time.

Evelyn, did you use the soil mix advised in the book last time? I did in my raised beds and have not been happy with it. Too much perlite and not enough loom. Every year more perlite surfaces and I end up mixing in more manure. I need water retention in my beds, not more drainage. I only mention this because you are in California too and it's not wet here. It's so important to get the right mix, it can make all the difference in success or failure.

I already posted this on the haves and wants thread *oops*, but was hoping for a thumbs up or down from the self proclaimed, 'Seed Nazi' herself ;)

This message was edited Mar 15, 2014 11:18 PM

Lol Juhur! I'm finally sitting myself, been raking dirt all morning, regrading the yards that were full of low spots, and regraveling the driveways. I'm whipped!

This message was edited Mar 15, 2014 11:19 PM

I'm going to look for that Kellogg's SBC. I'm building some beds for banana canna in my back yard tomarrow and they will need some top soil mix in them. I use the beds so I can put down wire to keep the gophers from eating the tubers. Little devils drive me nuts, thank god for my daughter, I call her the gophernator, she sets traps for me.

If you can't find the SBC, they (Kellogg's) also have Gromulch and Amend, which are both excellent products. I will be conducting an experiment to see which one is better than the other. I just use them straight as a base, then mix with peat and vermiculite for the top.

I found the SBC and it was a good price, $10 for 3 cu. ft.. I do occasionally use Amend, it's a good product. I also got several bags of manure to mix in. The bed is for banana cannas and I'm sure they will appreciate the nitrogen, but I don't want to spend to much on the project I will mix in leaf mulch from under the oak trees to fill it out, it will probably be about 1/2 additives and half dirt and leaves from under my trees. I'll take a picture. when I'm done.

This is crazy, but I got to the post office to learn that they were still closed due to power outage from ice storm on Thursday. My gym is about a mile from there without power also. I wasn't thinking.

Well I'll get to a different post tomorrow. Sorry gang, but as you know, there is no order in my chaos. :p

A.

This message was edited Mar 15, 2014 11:20 PM

Has there been a "flight path" established? Just wondering when I'll see this fat little robin!

The cat . . . too funny. A gopher left a mound right in the middle of my new seed bed, little so-and-so.
Well, here's today's work . . . the banana canna beds. I grew these from seed last spring and they were busting out of their gallon pots! I had one of these in my garden last year and it got so tall I could barely reach the seed pods to collect the seeds! There's some room in the the front of the beds for some shorter plants.

Lol at Juhur! Our cat disappeared a few months ago and just today I was feeing guilty because I had a moment of relief when I realized he wouldn't be rolling around and digging/ pooping in my beds anymore. I really do miss him, just not the mess..

I too am wondering what the flight path will be.. if it starts down south, I can mail mine to the first person and they will surely beat the robin aaaand be in on the action from stop one. Yay! Amanda, if you would message me the first recipient address I can even try to beat you to the post office! Lol!

Dome, love the look of your garden, I'd love for my cannas to be as huge as yours next year. I just sowed some Black Knight. No signs of life yet, but I am probably making them nervous with my incessant peeking :D

Becky- I am a peeker, too. It goes with the territory! Any body heard anything on the flight plan? We are like a bunch of kids waiting for Christmas morning, aren't we? lol

This message was edited Mar 11, 2014 12:44 PM

Dee, what's the back story to the dome? I so love stories, please tell. Nice yard btw! I can't wait to see pics of Evelyn's square foot gardens (finally got the back story to that one...thanks Ev).