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, a UK version here, and a Canadian seed train here. I would love to see more of these start. 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 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.
I highly recommend you prepare all your seeds to share before the box arrives to you. That greatly decreases the chances of unexpected delays causing problems.
All seeds are welcome! Landraces, heirlooms, hybrids, 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.
When it’s your turn, the person before you on the list will tag you on this thread and ask if you are ready to receive the box and send it on to the next person within two weeks. If you are ready, please reply on this thread to say that you are ready, then PM your snail-mail address to the person who asked, so they can mail it to you.
If it’s your turn and it’s not a good time for you, please reply to the thread and say so. You can ask to be removed from the list or to be bumped down a little further, so the box will come to you at a later time. Whichever you prefer.
If it’s your turn and you do not reply within a week and PM your snail-mail address to the person who has the box, I will remove you from the list.
When the box arrives, it’s fun time! Keep whatever you want and put more in. Ideally, put in at least as much as you take out. Ideally, have your seeds to share already bagged and labeled and ready to put in.
(Optional, but highly encouraged.) Take a picture of everything in the box, and post it here for everyone to ooh and ahh over while they wait for their turn!
Within two weeks of receiving the box, it’s time to send it on. Post on this thread tagging the next person in line and ask if they are ready to receive the box (and send it on within two weeks). When they reply and say they are, and PM you their address, mail it to them.
You can ask to be added to the bottom of the list again afterwards, if you want to. You can participate as many times, and as often, as you would like!
If you want to be on the list, post on this thread and ask.
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!
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)
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.
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!
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’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!
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
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.
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.
Joseph, I’ll PM you my address, so you can send in the seeds you want to send to it whenever you’re ready!
Keep whatever you want and put more in. Ideally, put in at least as much as you take out. Ideally, have your seeds to share already bagged and labeled and ready to put in.
