***** Please consider this thread to be CLOSED *****
We discussed a bunch of different things before settling on a way to do this spring swap/trade, so I decided to cut down on the confusion by starting a new thread. Please see http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/555678/
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I'd been thinking about offering to host an AV swap this spring, but I thought I'd post about it now just to gauge interest & generate some feedback.
Basically, a swap would work like this: Everyone who has signed up sends AV leaves from their favorites (labeled, please!) to me by a certain date and includes return postage. If you send 5 pairs of leaves, you get 5 back. If you send 10 pairs of leaves, you get 10 back. I could try to take preferences into account when dividing up the leaves, but basically you'd get an assortment of varieties in return for what you send in. A swap costs the same amount of postage as 2 individual trades, and you could end up with leaves from 6 or 8 different people.
Sending more than one set of leaves of the same variety would be fine, so you don't have to start with 10 varieties in order to get 10 varieties in return. Maybe we could limit duplicates to, say, half the number of people in the swap... so if we have 10 people signed up, you can send up to 5 pairs of leaves that are the same variety.
We should probably also set a maximum number of leaves... what do you think? 20 pairs?
At first I was thinking of doing this just with named varieties, but we've probably all got a couple of really irresistable "noids"... Would you participate in a swap where noid's were allowed? We could set a limit on the number of noids... say, no more than 5 pairs of leaves from unnamed (noid, or "no ID") varieties. That way, somebody with only 5 un-named AVs could still participate, and somebody who sent in 20 named varieties would still get 15 named ones in return plus 5 noids. Does that seem reasonable?
I'm thinking it *might* work with plantlets, but leaves might be easier because I think they could take the longer transit time of being sent to the host and then sent again to the recipients better than plantlets could... maybe somebody with more experience shipping AVs could advise on this point. As some of you know, I tend to be a little overprotective when it comes to entrusting plants to the USPS, lol. Or we could swap 1 or 2 plantlets along with our leaves, just to give it a try without risking a bunch of little plantlets that we spent all winter growing.
So.... give me some feedback! :-)
This message was edited Nov 7, 2005 6:46 PM
Spring AV swap... any interest?
Sounds exciting. I would certainly be willing to send some leaves. I think the fun part would be the anticipation and "thread talk".
Nanna
Names or Noids are fine.
The anticipation and "thread talk" are part of the reason I wanted to do this with plantlets, to have everyone talking about what they were starting for the swap and how they were coming along.... but then I started worrying about how well the plantlets would survive a double trip.... I didn't want people to be disappointed.
Hi
I don't want to be a party pooper. My two cents is ; double shipping is not good for leaves or plants.
A plant should be well water a couple days, fresh leaves cut and clean the day before. Mailed Prority mail which can take 2-3 days but a box coming to me from California can take 7-9 days priority mail.
I find the fresher the leaves the faster and healtheir babies grow.
I like swapa and secret swaps are fun. I don't feel good about the doulbe shipping . Just my two cents. Allison
Allison, you're not being a party pooper -- that's the kind of experienced input I think we need here!
I guess I was thinking with leaves that they could be recut to "freshen" them, but I haven't tried leaves that had been bagged for more than a few days. If I drop boxes at the substation, Priority Mail usually takes 1-2 days, occasionally 3, even to CA or FL. However, there are exceptions, and I just had a box take 5 days to get to CA.
I still like the idea of doing a swap where we can mix up contributions from lots of folks, so I'm trying to think of ways to make it work.... Has anyone successfully shipped rooted leaves? I'm thinking I could stick the leaves in a tray of soil mix for a couple of weeks (maybe a month?) and then wrap them up & send them on their way. I can't promise not to lose any leaves with that method, but I usually have good luck rooting them, although Murphy's Law should not be discounted.
This sounds exciting...I'm in :)
I'd be willing to give it a try. Even if I did loose a leaf or two. It's a great way to try some new varieties that I may not be able to find in my area. Worth it to me.
I agree with Allison as far as the double shipping time for leaves or plants ...
Drawing names could work & each person could just ship directly to the name drawn. Like the Secret Santas we did last year...
You could even sign up for more than one "swap"
MsC
That's a perfect idea MsC. Like you can have 5 sets of lvs, 10, 15, 20 ( I'm just making up the numbers) Named African violet. And match people up with likes and ship direct.
You could match noids with noids and out of the country with out of the country, or ask people where they can ship.
You can do the same with plants. I perfer myself fresh leaves and to put them down myself as thats the joy of leaves !
Allison
Sign up sounds easier for Jill but it take time and planning, Jill's a good planner. There is still the anticipation of who sends to whom and the chatter of arrival, etc. It also lessens the number of days in the mail allowing healthy leaves in the suprise package. Signing up for more than one swap allows for variety and any money worries.
I like it!!
Nanna
I think it is a good plan and I am sure Jill can organize it perfectly. The Secret Santa I was in worked very well last year.
Plantlets or rooted leaves would ship fine, they are actually easier than larger plants to ship I think...but it doesn't matter to me whatever you guys decide I can manage.
I think each person could also sign up for their preferences and that could be sent to the person who drew their name... that gives plenty of time to something special for our AV buddy.
We do have plenty of time to plan it.
MsC
I'm all up for organizing a secret swap, but....
Can you please give me feedback on the notion of shipping rooted leaves as a way to overcome the double shipping problem? I could leave space on my light shelves for several flats so that the leaves could be put down to root when they arrive. After a few weeks, they should be rooted & ready to mix up & send out. I think if I left a bit of moist soil around the leaf stem & wrapped the end, a leaf that's just starting to root would ship OK.... and it sounds like MsC has shipped rooted leaves before.
During their "down time" we could do a sort of online "round robin" and make our picks from what's available. I think as long as everybody sent a plant marker for each pair of leaves, this would be do-able from my end... I can put the markers down with the leaves, and I don't have kids or dogs who might rearrange them for us!
I just like the idea of everyone essentially being able to swap with 6 or 10 people simultaneously, so I'm trying to think of a way to make it work..... If it starts to sound too complicated or undesirable, I'm willing to switch to organizing a secret trade, but I wanted to kick this other idea around first....
No reason we can't do both, either.... trade names for a secret plantlet trade soon so we can start growing plants for our AV buddy, then do a leaf swap in March.
Thanks!
I guess the "issue" with shipping is that the leaves have to be shipped 2 times.
That means each person pays shipping 2 times.
Once to ship the leaves to YOU and then again for YOU to ship the leaves to each person at the end.
If the group just draw names then each person only has to pay ONE shipping charge.
Some folks are really on a tight budget and have to count pennies, so maybe that's the concern??
Does that help clear up the shipping issue???
Now, it doesn't really matter to me personally but since it's a group thing then we need to consider all aspects.
MsC
Jill,
So, what you are saying is:
1. We send our leaves to you.
2. You plant them and give them down time.
3. You make a list of what you have.
4. Depending on how many leaves I send, I get that many choices.
5. You then send the revived, hopefully rooted leaves to me and everyone else who wants to play.
Is that the jist of the swap?
If yes, here is an idea for space saving. I was waiting to see if it would work and it does. I have new plantlets coming from leaves placed in a egg carton. Has anyone else done this. If yes, will the babies be OK until I transplant?
Nanna
This message was edited Nov 4, 2005 10:08 AM
Yep, that's the gist of the swap idea that I came up with after thinking about the problem of shipping leaves twice.
In terms of shipping charges, yes, you would pay two shipping charges, but you'd get to swap with more than 2 people, so it's more economical than arranging several individual trades (whether secret or not). Part of the reason for doing someting like this is that I thought, wouldn't it be cool to trade with everyone here this spring, and then I thought about spending $40 or more to ship 10 trades, and I thought, maybe there's a better way for us to do this.
It won't offend me if people prefer to do individual trades rather than participate in this sort of swap. It's obviously going to be a good bit of work at this end to put down and then pack up all those leaves, but that's a contribution I'm willing to make if there's enthusiam for the idea. I also thought it would be a nice way to let people who were just starting with AVs send in several sets of leaves from each of their violets and get a whole bunch of different varieties in return.
Jill,
On a lighter note & adding to your reasoning....
There's one thing for sure...our shipping rates x2 gotta be cheapr than anyone you could order from & definitely cheaper than eBay...lol
Your lil ol' package is PACKED!! tralallalalala
Hope you enjoy the surprises!!!
I'm taking a nap now...
MsC
My DH just commented that this project idea might be seen as my way of trying to do a bunch of trading without paying any shipping charges. Let me assure everyone that was not my intent! It would be a bunch of work to host this swap, so I didn't think I was being ungenerous. And anyone trading plantlets with me in spring would be welcome to send their leaves with their plantlets and get my plantlets in the return box with their leaves, so they could only pay outgoing postage.... I just didn't want to add to the confusion by mentioning that above.
Maybe it would be simpler to have a "Secret Easter Bunny" leaf trade (like a Secret Santa trade, only in spring LOL). I don't want to end up with bad feelings about shipping charges, or about leaves that died so that people only got 18 choices back when they sent in 20, etc.
We could also start a plantlet trading thread for everyone to report on what leaves/plantlets they've started and to arrange individual trades for spring shipping.
"cheaper than eBay"
that's for sure! some shippers charge about what shipping actually costs, and some definitely try to make a few extra bucks! I think somebody posted on another thread about a glitch that caused something like a $67 shipping charge for some AV leaves.... needless to say, they cancelled their bid! LOL
I'm dancing with anticipation about that box, MsC!! I hope yours arrives soon & in good condition!
I'm game. Sounds good to me.
Nanna
Hi
I have done many secret swaps. It's like a Secret Santa Sawp. All the gifts are not sent to one person to then be re=distrubred and shipped out again ?
What you do is set up a few catorgorys . Say leaves, 5 sets, 10, 15 ..You sign up for what you can do.
Then the same wants are matched up together. They ship to each other. When they get thier box you post what you got and who from !
I am really fussing about my leaves and cleaning them I get the. I use my own special soil-less mix and wick and set them in 3 oz. solo cups under gro-lights. Babies root and grow at different rate. I had someone send me some in a trade long time ago in an egg crate . Each on was out of the crate covered in dirt and you could not match them up with the proper names.
The fun of getting leaves is setting them and growing them yourself !
One of my nurses wanted to learn ! I gave her 16 bags of marked nave leaves. Solo cups, soil, wicks , plastic shoe boxes and told her how to do it. She had never been able to before. She has grown many beautiful babies . She brings them for me to see and pictures !
There are safe good ways to ship leaves and plants !
Ebay is high yes that's why I prefer to suport Vendors. I recived 14 large plants and 6 sets of leaves two days ago and I paid !!.00 shipping which is not bad at all !
I feel shipping one, one shipping cost $ 3.85 and delivery confirmation I always use is I think .55 cents. will ship a nice size box of leaves packed properly with insulation .
I myself have over 200 leaves down. I just like the fun of swapping and sharing but like to grow them myself and get healthy fresh cut " One Shipping " :))
Same with plants swap I am happy to give just sharing for postage only, or trade/swap. . I am extremly good at packing making sure the person that recives their box is happy !
And yes shipping leaves and someone else trying to grow them is going to set up for dead ones either while growing or the second shipping.
Allison
I do understand how a "secret Santa" trade works, with people shipping directly to other... That would be a different thing than what I was originally proposing, but it also sounds like fun. I think this thread got confusing because we started talking about 2 different kinds of swaps.
I'm going to listen to Allison's voice of experience and declare the first swap idea (where everyone sends leaves and I root them and send them out again so we can swap with lots of people at the same time) dead in the water.
I'm willing to organize a "Secret Easter Bunny" trade for spring, but I'm equally willing to let somebody else run with that idea. Any volunteers? :-)
To add to the mystery of the secret swap, I don't think we should pair people up so that A ships to B and B ships to A... I think we should mix it up so A ships to B, B ships to C, and C ships to A. When you get your AV buddy's name, you can try to take their preferences into account as people did with the secret plant trade last spring, but not knowing what you're getting is part of the fun of secret trades. Since we're not such a large group, it may also be easier to just set a minimum number of leaf pairs we'll all be sending out rather than trying to set up different swap groups for those sending 5 varieties or 15. If we set the minimum at 5 pairs of leaves, I think most of the folks who have responded so far on this thread would easily be able to participate. I didn't participate, but lurked on the thread for last spring's secret plant trade... they set a minimum of 3 plants, and for some folks that was all they had to share and that was fine, while other folks sent a box with a dozen items.... it seemed to work out fine.
Of course, if somebody else want to organize the secret trade, you can do whatever seems good to you in setting it up!
Thats good ! Just think if ten people joined in by Spring each sending 10 sets /20 leaves each you would have been growing 200 babies and having to package 200 pots , and keep them alive, and they would cost more the second ship as you'd have 200 rooting cups of babies lol
Secret Easter Bunny swap is Fun ! And not as much work for you.
Allison
Oh, yes, it had occurred to me that this would mean putting down 200 leaves and then packaging them again! As I said, it would've been a major undertaking, but fun too. I think some of my seed starting shelves are going to get switched over for use with my AVs.... plus of course the other gessies I'll try to start from Keyring's seeds! I may have to pick up another set of lights...
Organizing a Secret Easter Bunny swap will just be a paperwork sort of thing... definitely easier! :-)
Putting the 200 leaves down and caring for them would be fun. !
But Packaging would have taken forever :))
Paper work is better it will still keep you busy :)) Allison
Okay...so where are we at with this? I am one of those people who most likely won't have alot of things to trade...but...am very interested in participating.
Ditto
I'm getting confussed. Just tell me what to do and when!!
Nanna
Sorry! There was supposed to be a post here directing you to the new thread where things will hopefully be less confusing.... I just saw that the post didn't go through...
Please go to the thread I started called spring Secret Easter Bunny trade.
Thanks to everyone for your interest & input!
This is gonna be fun!
Hi, I am new. I am also an AV novice. I would like to trade in the spring, if I can keep my recent purchases healthy until them. : ) Could someone answer a question or two for me? What is a noid? Also, how do you get a plant to grow in an even fashion? Is it heredity, luck or skill? Thanks. I have enjoyed reading the threads and looking at the pictures.
Hi
Welcome ! I am pretty new to the forum though I have been groing African violets for a few years.
A Noid is an African violet without a name.
Growing in even fashion for some plants just comes natural. Maybe it's talent ? I just let my plants show their beauty and grow which ever way they enjoy :))
Now I do take suckers off ( and grow new plants I love Suckers ). I take dead leaves and flowers off, keep them and clean .
I'm not going to show them. I am guilty of always taking leaves off of them to share with others.
I really like trailers ! I let them grow and grow anyway they like !
Maybe someone else in the group can help with even fashion I've never been good a drawing a line :))
Nice to meet you . Have Fun ! Allison
Welcome to the AV forum, hadfieldp! Please check out the Secret Easter Bunny trade thread. I'm sure there will be lots of other trade activity in spring also, as lots of folks seem to be putting down leaves now.
Turning the plant occasionally so all sides get good light may help plants grow more evenly. If one side has extra leaves, making it look unbalanced, I just trim those leaves away (and root them, more often than not).
Rob's Violet Barn (robsviolets.com) has great culture information pages that may help answer some of your questions, and of course you can always post questions here... I'm thinking it may be even better if you started another thread for Q & A, though, since this thread's original topic is kaput, and you'll get more/better responses on a thread with your own subject line.
We'd love to see some pictures or descriptions of your recent purchases, too! Fair warning, though.... this forum has been known to turn vague interests in AVs & other gessies into full blown obsessions, LOL!
Thanks for the welcome. : ) HP