Upping the Ante on Go_Vols' August challenge

go_vols issued a fun challenge to the DG members on this thread: http://davesgarden.com/showthread/69379.html and it's been working out really well.

All of us are exercising our plant knowledge by entering stuff into the database. We are getting an amazing number of new submissions.

Well, I'm going to up the ante here by offering prizes to the winners of this "challenge". Here's what we'll do: I have three prizes picked out that I will give to three winners of the Plants Database challenge. Here is how the winners will be selected:

First prize winner will be the member who has entered the most plants, descriptions, and images into the database during the month of August.

Second prize winner will be selected from all plants database contributors (from August), selected at random. You can one chance to win for each plant, description, or image you enter in. So, if you enter in 15 items, you get 15 chances to win the random drawing.

Third prize winner is already selected, and it's go_vols for all the work she has already done to the PDB almost from the beginning. She has been the biggest contributor to the Plants Database, and has worked hard to motivate the rest of us (including me) to improve the database.

The prize is the same for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, and I'm not saying specifically what it is, except to say that it is a tangible item, and has the Dave's Garden logo on it.

The winners will be selected and announced in early September. To give everybody else a chance, go_vols is excluded from also winning the 1st or 2nd place prize. :-)

All's clear? Have fun!

Dave

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Dave, this is a wonderful idea and a great learning experience for a lot of
us. Again thanks to you Dave and GV
for the unselfish hours that have been
spent making this knowledge avaiable
to us all.

"eyes"

Fascinating - what a tempter you are Dave :-)

I am completely humbled by Dave's announcement; to tell the truth, working on the database has been a "labor of love" and I never expected to get anything for it, other than a very useful tool. In fact, I've had very selfish motives all along - once it contains all my favorite plants, I'd never have to leave DG for anything except REAL gardening! (But my list of "favorite" plants never stops growing, so maybe that's an unattainable goal. Hmmmm....)

I am also AWESTRUCK by the growth in the database! A huge thanks to so many DG members who are willingly sharing their knowledge of hundreds of plants, trees and shrubs. This continues to be the very finest gardening site on the web, thanks to all those who garden here. Blessings to all!!!!

in keeping with GV's idea, what if we encouraged everyone posting in the 'photo' forum to add their photos to the plant database? we may not need 60 pictures of morning glories, but if a person is posting a photo of their particular cultivar, they could easily add the photo to the database at the same time!

good idea, bad idea?

Killerdaisy, that's a wonderful idea! I had posted a similar request on the Identification forum, and asked those judging the photo contest to give "extra consideration" to entries submitted in the database, but your idea is the best one yet. Please go ahead and post the request. (And give your fingers a short break, you've been a very busy contributor today! Wow!!!!!)

I think you should also mention photos of seeds and seed pods. It really helps out the newbies that want start collecting their own seeds.

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Sue, that's an excellent point that a lot of us never thought of. We all want pictures of the plant and the bloom, and occasionally the seedling, but we rarely remember to include pictures of the most important stage in a plant's life - setting seed!

I'll be adding seedpod pictures for all the plants I have here!

Dave

Okay Dave... great challenge.. gee and I thought the joke contests were a challenge!!! As a newbie.. I'm learning and I;ve learned a lt just by researching the roses I've wanted to addand how to put them!! Even enlarged by "puter" expertise- lol!!!
And to GV a heart thanks for your work and loabor ofl ove not only in the data base but I'm sure your garden is equally as beautiful!!
so... now to get more pics and more descriptions.... I'm off!
=JSS
(Sorry I missed the chat tonight- had to work!!!)

Well, we're almost 1/3 of the way through the month.

I didn't note the number of plants in the database before I issued this challenge on the last day of July. But a rough guess would put us somewhere around 580 plants 10 days ago.

But as of a few minutes ago, we are now up to 779 plants (we added 76 yesterday!) From the daily newsletter, it looks like we've added 130+ descriptions, 80 of them yesterday. Wow!!!! And who knows how many photos! So far, we've added at least 300 new items, not counting photos. Way to go!

In order to meet the goal of adding 3,000 new plants and/or entries and/or photos, we really need EVERYONE to contribute something. Just one thing - and every time you add something, you increase your chances of winning a prize that Dave has generously donated to encourage participation in the challenge.

So you don't want to enter a plant, or can't think of one that's not already included? That's okay! Find a favorite in the database and add a note about.....
- a particular variety of that plant; or
- how to propagate it; or
- any growing tip or trick; or even
- where it got it's name, which is usually quite interesting!

Or add a photo from your collections of beautiful garden pictures, as a lot of DG'ers are doing. You know what they say - it really is worth a thousand words. And Poppysue makes a good point - a photo of seeds and/or pods can be as helpful as one of the mature, blooming plant.

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You need to thank go_vols, then, MzMunchken. :-) Several months ago, I gave to vols "Editor-in-chief" priviliges on the PDB, and she exercises those priviliges quite fluently and frequently. :)

Dave

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MzM, thank YOU - for the contributions to the database. Editing is the easy part; coming up with new plants is getting tougher every day :)

Seriously, you do such a good job of filling out all the info, I just put a little "spit and polish" on your entries to make them more standardized with everything else in the database. Easy and educational at the same time - I enjoy learning more about the plants ya'll are adding!

LOL! I knew Dave couldn't have found enough hours in the day to be doing all the work! We keep him pretty busy around here! Go_Vols you are really doing a great job! Does your name stand for going Volumns of teaching?

Nah, Zany - it stands for Vol-unteers. Our beloved Vols (aka Big Orange) football and basketball (well at least women's basketball) are our pride and joy. (Read: rabid fans.)

But being a volunteer here is quite fun, too!

I am new here and would love to get involved in the database. I had an herb business I am trying to slide out of and am an info-junkie. When is the chat? is there a schedule and how do I get there?

This message was edited Friday, Aug 17th 2:16 AM

Herbin, we sure could use your help with adding information to the herbs section of the database, as well as adding more herbs. If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me, and I'll help you figure out the process! Welcome to Dave's Garden!!!!
Terry/Go_Vols