Serendipity Seed Swap!

Serendipity Seed Swap:

Do you like fun surprises? Do you want to share your favorite seeds with other people? Feel free to join in! The rules are below.

  • US only. There’s an EU version here! I would love to see someone in Canada start a Canadian version, someone in Australia start an Australian version, etc. If you’d like set up one for your country, start a thread, link me to it, and I will edit this post to include a permanent link to that thread!

  • Anyone who has been a member of the forum for at least a month, and has made more than ten posts, can ask to be added to the bottom of the list. If you’re brand new, we’re happy to meet you! Please join in some discussions and become part of the community first.

  • When it’s your turn, please send the box to the next person on the list within two weeks of receiving it. If right now is a bad time for you to do that, please ask me to bump you down on the list and let the person before you take a turn first.

  • When you receive the box, keep whatever you want and put more in. Make sure everything is labeled clearly. Ideally, put in at least as much as you take out.

  • Everything is welcome! Landraces, inbred varieties, companion crop mixes, edibles, ornamentals, cover crops, annuals, perennials, etc. – they’re all fine. Please make sure to VERY clearly label anything that is not edible. Please put separate things in separate bags (unless it’s a mix intended to be planted together), in the interest of making it easy for the next person in line to pick out what they want.

  • If the person on the list after you does not respond to PMs asking for their address, post about that here in the thread (which will hopefully alert them to check their PMs). Give that person a few more days to respond. If they don’t, PM the next person on the list to get their mailing address, and send the box to them.

  • (Optional, but highly encouraged.) Take a picture of everything laid out before putting them in the package to mail them out! Post it here for everyone to ooh and ahh over. That will be fun for everybody waiting in line.

  • You can ask to be added to the bottom of the list anytime you are not on the list. You can participate as many times, and as often, as you would like!

If you want to be on the list, post below!

The current list:

John Warren
Angela S.
Mark W. Kidd
Pam Henry
Zach Yates
Naomi
Doug
Maarten Foubert
Alexis Colby Nunez
Christopher Weeks
Lauren Ritz
Emily Martha Sorensen
Jens
Kadence Lunamann

(I will edit this post to update the list whenever more people ask to be added.)

9 Likes

Ohh a seed train! I love it! I don’t really have much I could share now but I’d love to share the bit I have extra.

I have a clarification and suggestion…

This would be like you send to person 1. Person 1 sends to person 2. Etc?

If people are interested it may be good to send to the next closest person? Just that it would make for less shipping costs.

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Yup, exactly! I thought it would be great fun. :smiley:

I think, for the sake of simplicity, it would be best to keep it in order of first-come-first-served, otherwise it would get really complicated for me to keep track of really quickly. (Wry grin.)

Oh! I forgot to mention that this is probably going to have to be US-only, due to all the challenges with shipping seeds internationally, but if there are people in Canada, the UK, Australia, or anywhere else who want to organize something similar for everyone in their country, please do!

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I’m in!

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Apparently there is a five character limit. I’m in.

Do we want to do this in a circle, so if there’s no one left on the list it goes back to you?

I kind of like first and last… I want to put things in for everyone and I want to see what everyone puts in lol.

I’m just getting started this year but I have some things I can share.

Marigolds, lots of saved seed from multiple sources grown by me one year.
Have lots.

Yarrow, wild grown, harvested from my fields.
Have lots.

Black futsu squash, moschata. This is seed from one squash. Small sized. Online says about 100 days, haven’t grown it yet.
Could share about 100 seeds.

Bulk saved tomato seed. This is seeds I saved one day from every good looking tomato while I cut them for making sauce. At least 10 varieties, it’s all mixed. No cherries, mostly paste and beefsteak I think, pinks and reds.
Have lots, can probably share 200 seeds or so.

Yellow and orange flesh watermelon grex. 80-90 days. A couple seeds of the 3 varieties I’m starting my landrace with.
Can share 8 seeds.

Corn, colored grex. 60-100 days. Mix is everything that isn’t white or yellow seed. Painted mountain, Atomic orange, Abenaki roy flint, Harmony grain, Lofthouse flour.
Can share 46 seed.

Cover crop mix. I had several bags of this mixed for me at a local seed place. Just seed, no colored pixie dust of death lol. I designed it to be grazed by the sheep but it will be useful in general I think. The oats and peas are varieties bred for lots of leafy production to maximize grazing or hay/silage. I’m going to try saving seed from a patch of this. Fall planting and seed out next year. We’ll see…
Dwarf Essex rape
Daikon radish
Purple top turnip
Forage pea
Forage oat
Crimson clover (annual)

1 Like

Cool! Am I adding you to the list, then? First or third? You posted first, but I’m not clear on whether you were wanting to be added to the list then. Since you posted first, you have dibs on first if you want first. :wink:

2 Likes

Oh, that seems like a good idea. Anytime there’s no one on the list, it goes back to me, and I can hang on to it and send it out again next time someone requests to be on the list. That’ll give me a chance to participate whenever there’s a lull, and I can have a dedicated space to hang on to it in my house if there’s a lull for awhile. Sure, good idea! Let’s plan on that!

Third is fine

This sounds super fun but unfortunately I have a pretty dismal seed collection this year because I wasted so much last year continually trying to replant things. If things go well this year I should have plenty of seed to share next year. So if this train is still going once I have more seed I will definitely join in.

I would send seeds in to help get the train started. Don’t want it to stop at my place though.

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Ooh, that would be awesome!

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This is just too fun to pass on! I’m in!!

I’d like to join in, but this would be my first season growing anything ever. I have some seeds to contribute, mostly from my brother’s garden, but none from my own (yet). If I can still join, I’d love to!

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I would like to contribute some seeds (tulsi basil, and hopi tobacco? and some random fruiting nightshades?) but am also feeling saturated so I don’t need it to stop at my place :slight_smile:

Of course you’re welcome to join in, Jessica! Welcome aboard! :slight_smile:

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Oh, cool! It’d be great to have seeds from you, Julia!

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I have the advanced seed train for the Kenosha Potato Project in my possession right now. it’s been fun (and a little overwhelming dealing with 300 little baggies and labels). While I was pawing through it looking for goodies, I found a little bag of Lofthouse TPS that Joseph donated three or four years ago. It’s a safe assumption that this Serendipity train will also have diverse potato seeds in when it leaves my hands.

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When do you plan to start? I need extra motivation to get the post office.

Good question! Would the end of January give you and Joseph enough time to send in the seeds you want to send to it? I should have everything else ready by then.

Christopher, that sounds great! Heh, 300 little baggies and labels does sound overwhelming, but in such a wonderful way. :smiley:

Joseph, I’ll PM you my address, so you can send in the seeds you want to send to it whenever you’re ready!

2 Likes