So we don't clutter the tomato discussion thread with swap-specific chat, I thought we needed this thread.

Please post here with suggestions or questions about any of the swap details (time frame, seed age, packing seeds, etc. If you have any questions about using the seed swap tool, how "dibs" work, etc., please watch Dave's video tutorial https://www.youtube.com/watch?... before posting here. That will save time!

Big THANK YOU to all participants. This is going to be fun!!


Jill

Thanks for "where to go if you don't know how swaps work etc."

I will definately be going and learning!

Dave's swap tool is really well designed, and he does a great job of explaining how it works. I have the dibs "multiplier" set to 1, might increase it on the last day or two of the swap to let people add. I'll remind everybody again before we start that they need to have at least 1 item available for swap to get daily points/tickets to spend! (That's also in the video, but it's worth repeating.)

Will there be a wish list thread for everyone to list the tomatoes they are hoping to be offered?

Good idea! You can start such a thread on the swap page (where this thread is), or you might want it on the veggie forum so people not in the swap can check to see if they have something you're looking for. If you opt for a thread on the forum, I'll put a link in the swap info box

I'm not very good at making threads. I'm just used to seeing the wish lists in the swaps.

Bet, I'm going to address your questions here about the seed swap tool. Please let me know what point you're at. Were you able to get to the front page of our swap? Have you tried to create your own trade list yet? It will make sense as you get underway, I promise.

I'm glad you watched Dave's tutorial. It made more sense to me as I went along and started using the tool. I'm here to help!

Thea, just tell me where you'd like the wish list to be, then. Our swap page sort of creates its own forum, and we can put threads at the bottom of the page. I'll be glad to start one, if that's where you want it. If you want your wish list to also be viewable by people not in the swap, then I'll put a wish list thread in the veggie forum.

critterologist said: Thea, just tell me where you'd like the wish list to be, then. Our swap page sort of creates its own forum, and we can put threads at the bottom of the page. I'll be glad to start one, if that's where you want it. If you want your wish list to also be viewable by people not in the swap, then I'll put a wish list thread in the veggie forum.

Thank you. Just in this swap would be great

Done! LMK if the first post looks like the sort of thing you had in mind. If not, happy to change it.

critterologist said: Done! LMK if the first post looks like the sort of thing you had in mind. If not, happy to change it.

Perfect! Thank you

For those just exploring the seed swap tool, I just added 2 tomato varieties to the list for this swap. Now when you go to the swap and click on "Access the full trade list for this swap," there will be something to see. And you can check out the chatty way I do descriptions, LOL.

The seed swap tool is set up well, but it can feel overwhelming the first time you try to use it. Just take it one step at a time.

Add an item to your primary trade list. Start at the main swap page, scroll down to the bottom of the list of swaps, and click "view and manage your primary swap list." Or, from the page for our swap, click on "manage your own swap list."

Now click the button for "add an item." When you start typing in the name, it should take you to some possibilities in the database. Using a name from the database will let the item turn into a link like the ones I added to the trade list for our swap.

To enable the item for our swap, look to the left side of your own trade list. You'll see a narrow column with "#65" at the top and a grey circle with a check mark next to your item. Click the circle, and it will turn green. Now your item is on the trade list for our swap!

Go look for it! (the top of this post tells you how to find the trade list for our swap)

Jill, I watched the tutorial twice, found the Swap, started creating my Swap list, even made a Swap profile. I THINK I posted questions in the Swap FAQ thread??? (so what's THIS one???)

Hey, you're doing great!

This is the questions & discussion thread for our own swap, only visible to people who can see the page for the tomato seed swap. The FAQ thread (which I don't think I've ever come across) must be for everybody using the seed swap tool.

The swap tool keeps track of everything for you. The tickets, dibs, etc. will make more sense once trading starts. They don't have anything to do with how many items you have put on the swap trading list.

With a multiplier of 1, on the first day of the swap you'll get 1 ticket. You can use it to put dibs on 1 item from the trade list. On the second day, you'll get 2 tickets, and so forth. You get extra tickets if people claim items from your list. The tickets add up! By the end of 10 days, the system will have given you 1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+9+10 tickets -- that's 55 items you could potentially claim from the trade list, not counting additional dibs/tickets you've earned by having other people claim items you're offering.

If I used a multiplier of 2, you'd get 2 tickets on the first day, 4 on the second day, six on the third day, and so forth. I like a multiplier of 1. It gets off to a slow start, yes, but everybody has a chance at getting varieties where only 1 or 2 packets are being offered.

It's useful to look at the swap list now and then before trading begins. It's like browsing through a seed catalog -- you can read descriptions, look up varieties in the database, think about your garden plans. When you come across something you'd like to have, you can click the little treasure box icon, and that item will be in your wish list.

It's important to note that your wish list is NOT the same as calling dibs on something. It's not yours until you've "dibsed" it once trading has begun. The system will not automatically place dibs for you when something is on your wish list -- but you can look at your wish list to prioritize what you want to spend those precious first few tickets on.

Yes, claiming an item is "first come first served." Who gets the item depends only on who claims it first. If 5 packets are offered, 5 people will be able to claim those seeds. It has nothing to do with your wish list. Your wish list just helps you organize your thoughts on what you want and how badly you want it. The number of stars determines where an item is on your wish list... 5 star items will be at the top of your list, so you'll know to try for them first.

This turned into a long post about dibs and wish lists and tickets and trading, so I hope I didn't make it seem complicated. It will make sense as we go along, truly it willl. You have literally MONTHS to get comfortable with the swap tool before our swap starts.

Jill-

Thanks for all of the useful info but not least for pointing to the video which really does answer all the technical questions.

Now, may I hijack this thread and ask a question of the other participants? (I'm sure I heard a hesitant 'yes')

I'd like to know how others feel about packaging seeds in smaller numbers, rather than 20 to an envelope maybe 10 or even 5 or 6. My thinking is that fewer seeds means an opportunity to try more varieties with less waste and being able to share with more participants.

This is, in part, driven by my recognizing that most of us do not have unlimited garden space for trials. My potager is moderately sized (about 25' x 55') and with other things taking up permanent space in the potager I can at maximum grow around 30 indeterminate plants. Others will obviously have more or less space.

I like planting two of each of 10+ new-to-me varieties with a few more of favorites and having 20+ seeds seems wasteful and I generally end up germinating, potting and giving away many dozens of seedlings each year.

Smaller pack size also means that those of us who may not have fermented zillions of seeds can offer five or ten smaller packets of multiple varieties rather than two or three, again sharing with more gardeners.

I know we can package fewer and make a note of that in the swap list but would like to know others thinking of perhaps making it the norm.

We now return to regularly scheduled programming.

JBS

I don't like to trade just 5 seeds.

One for the blackbird,
One for the crow,
One for the cutworm,
and One to grow.

And if something happens to the one that grew you're left with one little seed for next year & one of the first 3 critters will likely get it

antsinmypants said: I don't like to trade just 5 seeds.

One for the blackbird,
One for the crow,
One for the cutworm,
and One to grow.

And if something happens to the one that grew you're left with one little seed for next year & one of the first 3 critters will likely get it

I like the ditty! Original? But it doesn't answer how you feel about ten.

Hmmm.

One for the blackbird,
One for the crow,
One for the cutworm,
and One to grow…
Plus one for the wilt and four to go?

for me, I PREFER 5 seeds!

I start seeds indoors and transplant the sturdy little trees out @ about 8-9 weeks.

I transplant into 6 Earthboxes sitting on my driveway. (I'm downsizing, so this is my new gardening area: I've had to turn my full sun raised bed where I used to grow "in ground" into an area for perennial flowers)

I only grow 1 plant for each variety, but I usually start 2-3 . . ... friends/neighbors/acquaintances have been very gracious offering forever homes for my surplus.

So 5 seeds give me either two sowing attempts OR (usually) 2 years. . . . . Then if they've earned a place in my garden, I'll order more!

JB, good topic for discussion!