One thing I've learned about gardeners is we all love to share. Sometimes, though, it can be difficult to find like-minded folks to share with -- or who'd like to reciprocate. So I've created the all-new official Garden Detective Long Island Seed Exchange.
Just a few rules to note before you get started:
1. Do not offer to buy or sell seeds. This is a trade, and as such, no money can be exchanged.
2. Nobody wants old seeds. Be sure to list seeds from last season only.
3. Please refrain from listing or requesting invasive species. They might be beautiful, but they're bad for the environment.
4. Sorry, out-of-towners, this seed exchange network is limited to residents of Long Island and the 5 boroughs of New York City.
5. Please use these all-caps tags in your subject line: WANTED and OFFERING. For example,"WANTED cherry tomato/OFFERING 25 gaillardia. (Be sure to indicate the number of seeds you are offering. Twenty-five is the suggested offering.) Use Latin botanical names, if available.
6. Next, in the COMMENTS section, enter your email address. PLEASE DO NOT POST YOUR HOME ADDRESS OR PHONE NUMBER IN THIS FORUM. If there is anything special about your seeds (are they organic? Did their mother produce award-winning blooms?) be sure to mention that, too.
7. When an interested party has contacted you, privately arrange to send each other self-addressed stamped envelopes. Wrap your seeds in a piece of paper (never use plastic,) enclose in the envelope and ship. If your seeds are very large, be sure to mention that, as they will likely require extra postage and / or special handling to ensure they don't break through an ordinary envelope in transit. In such cases, a padded mailer would do the trick.
8. When you have made a successful trade, please post another message with COMPLETED in the subject field and your email address and original offering in the Comments section. I will periodically remove these, but in the meantime others will get to see that your seeds are no longer available.
9. This year, the exchange has been expanded to include divided perennials. These should be packed carefully either in small pots or with water-soaked paper towels surrounding the exposed roots. Put a plastic bag over the towel for good measure and secure it with a rubber band. Please DO NOT arrange to meet anyone in person.
10. Jessica Damiano will not be involved in any swaps you arrange and cannot mediate any unforeseen problems that might arise.. (However, she might participate in swaps from time to time.)
HAPPY SWAPPING!
Click HERE to get started.
