Barter Is Better, part two: Seed Swaps Online
This is the stretch of winter when the seed catalogs begin to arrive en mass. Nicely timed by the seed companies, the colorful photos of blooms in full summer glory and the tantalizing descriptions of "delicious, easy to grow, prolific yield" vegetables show up just when us gardeners are going stir crazy.
Before you burn a hole in your pocketbook ordering all those varieties you suddenly just have to grow, consider seed swaps instead. There are some excellent seed swap forums online. I've listed several of them at the end of this article.
Last year I didn't order a single packet of seeds from the catalogs, yet I had more to plant than I could find room for. My seeds came from swaps, round robins, and ones I'd saved myself from the previous year's garden.
If you don't have any seeds to share, you can still participate in most seed swaps by offering to send postage. You will still get your seeds for considerably less than the average $1.00-$3.00 cost of commercial seed packets.
In addition to online seed swap forums, plant and gardening-related email groups can be great places to post your seed "haves" and "wants" (be sure to check with the list moderator for an okay before posting a seed swap offer to the group). And if you've been wanting to try those huge italian squash your neighbor grew last year, don't ask her where she ordered from. Ask her if she'll trade for some seeds.
Go ahead and daydream your way through those seed catalogs...but have a pen and paper handy to jot down what you want. Then throw out the catalog and post your wish list to one of the seed swaps below!
Garden Web Exchanges and Trading
FireGirl's Seed Exchange Bulletin Board
Karen's Garden Walk - Posting Page
Gardening With Style, the place for frugal gardeners
Related Articles:
Barter is Better, part one: Round Robins
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