With temperatures about to plummet, it's time to think about winter sowing and spring planting - and that means SEEDS!

Please POST ON THIS THREAD to let me know you're planning to attend and also let me know if you'll have an item for the gift table. Questions go here, too, but trade requests and have/want lists for the swap will be handled by a new seed swap tool on AllThingsPlants. This invite/info thread will be posted on the MAG forum here and at ATP, so all our Mid-Atlantic friends can participate. This is NOT the place to debate about your garden site preferences. Thanks!

I'll post links to discussion threads and swap lists once that's set up.

Date: SUNDAY, Jan 31, 2016

TIME: noon to 4:30 pm

WHAT: lunch followed by seed swap party

WHERE: Frederick, MD, Chef Lin Buffet (scroll down for directions)

WHO: DG and ATP members and their guests
(scroll down thread )

COST: $18 in cash, please, per person
(inclusive: Sunday buffet, hot tea or soft drink, tip, tax)
If you are definitely not having a soft drink, subtract $2 and tell Sally
If you are 65 or over, subtract 10% and tell Sally
Kids are $1 per year of age

BRING: Extra seeds, either commercial or self-harvested. If you're going to split seeds into smaller packs, try to do that ahead of time, because it gets crazy! We'll have a "free to good home" pile also. Most seeds are viable 5 years or so, if stored dry & cool, but please don't offer seeds (even for the "free" pile) that are unlikely to sprout. Rule of thumb: bring seeds that you would be happy to receive. Most people bring a small item for the "gift table," which is sort of an expanded door prize thing that we like to do.

Most of all, bring your enthusiasm -- we're going to have a great time!

If you've never been to a Mid-Atlantic event, don't worry... we are a fun and casual group. Everybody brings their extra seeds to swap & share (it's very useful to make up little labeled packets ahead of time), everybody visits and talks, and everybody goes home with a nice selection of seeds to try! I wrote an article that may give you an idea about how this event goes. I think we're in our 9th year!

You may want to plan to come early so you can drop by Dutch Plant Farm, my favorite local nursery for winter visits. Joyanna's favorite bird, Pogo the Parrot, lives there. I wrote an article that has a lot of photos taken there, if you'd like an idea of what they are likely to have. I will try to arrange a "Dave's Garden Discount" for our group on that day, so please be sure to ask for it at the register. They'll be open 10 to 5. http://thedutchplantfarm.com/h...

We'll meet at noon or a little before at Chef Lin, a local Chinese buffet that's one of my favorite Frederick restaurants. First, we'll gather in the back room (12 to 12:30) to get name tags and put our "stuff" down. I'll have a tray with bags for putting in seeds or little goodies for everybody (your name will be on the bag, but please leave it where it is until you're ready to leave). There will be a "gift table" set up as well as some tables/chairs where you can leave your seeds for the swapping part of the afternoon.

Look for Sally -- the tall blond with the dazzling smile -- and give her your lunch money. $18 cash per person includes the buffet, tax & tip, and your choice of water, hot tea, or soft drink. You may subtract $2 if you do not order a soft drink. Let's make it easy on our waitstaff and on Sally by not getting extras like adult beverages or snow crab.

I know some folks might be on tight budgets, and we've all been there. If the cost of the meal might keep you from coming, please Dmail me, and we'll get you covered. I don't want anybody to miss out.

Space permitting, we'll eat at the tables in the rear of the restaurant. This will let us all eat together but be a little less cramped than in the past. As always, people are encouraged to change seats after they make another trip to the buffet, so they get a chance to talk to different people during the meal.

You won't miss out on seafood by skipping the snow crab; the Sunday buffet usually includes sushi, steamed shrimp & mussels, garlicky little steamed clams, flounder, clams/oysters on the half shell, fried fish/shrimp/scallops, semi-fried "pepper shrimp," sweet coconut shrimp, steamed crabs, salmon and/or haddock, krab salad, and more. The hibachi grill lets you create your own combination of meats and vegetables, cooked for you on the spot.

The buffet also has everything from soups and stir-fries to fried chicken and mozzarella sticks... there's salad, fruit, and an expanded array of desserts. The Sunday menu has some nice additions, including crispy duck. Ice cream lovers are in luck -- they now have a toppings bar as well as 3 ice cream stations: Hershey's ice cream cups & bars, hand-scooped ice cream, and choc/vanilla soft serve. There's a chocolate fountain (great selection of fruit & other dipping items) and even a cotton candy machine! Don't miss the hot little fried sugared doughnuts on the appetizer bar. The selection is remarkable, and even if you don't like Chinese food you'll find plenty of possibilities.

Around 2 pm, we'll change gears with an activity (TBA) before starting in on door prizes and seed swapping. If you have something you'd like to donate to the "gift table," please Dmail me or post that you're bringing an item (I don't need to know what; keeping a count just lets me ensure everybody gets a little something). Purchased items for the table are generally under $5. If you got a pair of too-small garden gloves for Christmas, or you have a pretty grapevine wreath you're just done with, or you have an extra rooting vase or other container -- those are all wonderful gift table items!

We'll concentrate on seed swapping from 2:30 to 4:30 pm. Of course, seeds can be swapped outside of that time, and of course anybody who doesn't want to swap seeds can just keep chatting and visiting. I bet some of us will be at Dutch Plant Farm after the swap, too!

Instead of our usual discussion and have/want thread for swapping, we will use the new "Seed Swaps" tool at AllThingsPlants. It's not necessary to make any arrangements ahead of time, but it can be useful to see what people have and what they might be wishing for. If you have seeds sorted out ahead of time for people, you can "deliver" them into their goodie bags (like valentine mail boxes in grade school).

We can get away with a few plants on the gift table, but "serious" plant trading will have to take place in the parking lot, maybe around 4. Small bagged plants and cuttings are OK to bring inside the restaurant.

If you can't come but still want to swap seeds, please post here or on the seed swapping thread to ask somebody to volunteer to be your "seed fairy." You can use the ATP seed swap tool to participate, send your seeds and return postage to your person, and they'll send your seeds to you after the swap.

I had a blast at our previous seed swaps, and I'm so excited about this year's gathering!

THINK SPRING!

:-)

~ Critter (Jill)

DIRECTIONS to Chef Lin

The restaurant is in Prospect Plaza, at 417 S. Jefferson St,near a nest of interchanges where 15, 340, 40, and 270 all come together. This makes it both easy to get to from different directions, and hard to describe, but these directions worked well last year, LOL. McDonalds is at the front of the Plaza, easy to spot. Chef Lin is toward the center of this strip mall.

Combine these directions with a look at the map! (I failed to get a link... type 417 S Jefferson Frederick, MD into google, but don't try to follow the really confusing step by step directions, just use it for a map)

From the north, coming down 15 South. Get off at the Jefferson Street exit, turning LEFT (going east). Cross over the highway, and Prospect Plaza will be immediately on your LEFT (turn LEFT at the light).

From the south, along 15-340 North (the two highways merge together just south of Frederick): Stay on 340. (Don't get off onto 15 North when it diverges.) 340 more or less becomes Jefferson Street. Keep left. You'll cross the bridge over the highway, and then turn LEFT at the light into Prospect Plaza.

From the south, along 270N (coming up from the DC beltway): Get off at the Jefferson Street exit and turn RIGHT at the end of the ramp (east onto Jefferson). Make an immediate LEFT at the next light to turn into Prospect Plaza.

From the east (Baltimore), you'll be on 70 West. Take exit 53b, 15 North. Take the first exit onto Jefferson Street. Turn RIGHT at the end of the ramp (east onto Jefferson). Make an immediate LEFT at the next light to turn into Prospect Plaza.

From the west: you'll be on 70 East. Take the exit for 15 North. You're now on 15-340. Stay on 340. (Don't get off onto 15 North when it diverges.) 340 more or less becomes Jefferson Street. Stay to the left. You'll cross the bridge over the highway, and then turn left at the light into Prospect Plaza.

From Dutch Plant Farm (151 Baughmans Lane) to Chef Lin: Turn LEFT onto 40 East. Take the first RIGHT onto 15 South. Take the first exit, Jefferson Street. Turn LEFT onto Jefferson Street, cross over the highway, and then turn LEFT at the light into Prospect Plaza.

Getting to DPF. Dutch Plant Farm is off "the Golden Mile," highway 40, W Patrick St. At the corner of 40 and Baughman's Lane, there's a shopping center with a JoAnn's. DPF is just behind the shopping center. Coming from 15 onto 40W, you'd turn RIGHT at the first light onto Baughmans Lane and then take the 2nd entrance on the LEFT into DPF. (The 1st left is the side entrance into the shopping plaza.)

PARTY PEOPLE (28 and counting!)
226Mama (Marta) and friend Tami
5601Lisa
Aspenhill
Catbird423
Catmint
coleup
ecnalg
Gitagal
Greenthumb
Holly & Ric
Jan & her niece
Jill & Joyanna
Mariposa Maid & maybe a friend
NisiNJ & friend
thamng & friend
Theresa (Jill's friend)
SallyG & Mark
Sequoia & Darcy
ssgardener
Yehudith

HOW TO use the Seed Swaps tool on AllThingsPlants

1. If you don't already have a screen name here, you'll need to sign up (it's free).

2. Click on the "Seed Swaps" button near the top left of the main page. Then click on the "Mid-Atlantic Think Spring! Swap" to find a forum just for our swap, with discussion and info threads. Clink the link to "Join This Swap"

3. Now, on the "Seed Swaps" page, you will see "you are a member of this swap" under the Think Spring! swap. Clicking on the link for the swap will take you to all the information for the swap. Under "Your Profile," at the top of the page, please click "Manage your swap profile."

Add a brief description of yourself and your garden. This is the place for your WISH LIST, which can be very specific ("Purple-speckled Loonybird Vine") or general ("I love purple flowers").

4. Create your seed list for the swap by clicking "Manage your own swap list" under "Your Profile." Note that seeds aren't available for choosing until the checkmark at the left is green. Please try to get at least some of your seeds listed and enabled by Friday, Jan. 8.

You can also create a general list of seeds for swaps (not trading, just group swaps) by clicking the "Your Primary Swap List" button at the bottom of the "Seed Swaps" page. Then, when you "manage" your list for a particular swap, you click the checkmark for seeds you are including.

As people request seeds, they will be removed from your "available" number. You'll be able to see exactly what each person has requested from you.

5. We will start calling dibs on seeds from the lists Saturday, Jan. 9 (I think the clock starts at 12:01 am EST). On the first day, you may ask for ONE item. On the second day, you may ask for TWO items, and so forth up until the day before the swap (when you may ask for 22 items). You may continue adding seeds to your list of offerings as we go along. This feature of the seed swap tool helps keep participants from asking for every seed at once and spreads out dibs on the less numerous choices. We'll see how it works for us. If need be, I can "up" the multiplier.

OK, I think I have the swap set up... somebody please go to "Seed Swaps" (see blue column menu on left of ATP home page) and see if you can sign in as a member. I think the reason I'm not seeing a sign-in option is that, as the host, I'm a member by default.

Thanks Critter! Let me check Katie's volleyball schedule--hopefully I can attend!!

Hi Jill - count me in! I had success following your directions for the Seed Swap Tool. I was able to join, create a profile, and add one item to my list. Will play with it some more, but just wanted to let you know that it seems to be working fine.

thanks, Critter! Katie has a tournament on Jan 30, so the 31st might work!
Robin

I really love the seed swap tool! I have a lot of impatiens seed packets from Swallowtail Seeds. I had imagined the shady front yard full of various impatiens blooms when I purchased them, but then the downy mildew happened.

I'd love for these impatiens seeds to finally find a good home!

I also have a huge variety of bail seeds that I got from Jill a few years ago. I don't have the room to grow all of them every year (what was I thinking getting so many of them!), so if you can think of a basil variety you want to try, I probably have it. I need to share them before they get too old!

Cool, will count you both in! Aspen, thx for LMK the seed swap tool works for you. It seems to be well liked by those who have tried it. Like most things that Dave develops, a lot of thought and user-input went into it.

I've grown out basil seeds that were 8 years old... I think you'll usually get at least some germination for years, as long as they don't get wet. I need to grow out a few favorites next year and save seeds! The wet summer slowed seed ripening this year, although if I'd covered for the first frost or two I'd probably have gotten plenty.

That's very tempting SSG! I might try out the tool and see if I can put my dibs in

ATP must be in UK, right? Current time given is five hours later than EST.

All Things Plants is administered from Texas. You might need to choose a time zone under "preferences." ?

Aha! We were in Berlin when I checked in to ATP.

ROFL, that would do it. I'm looking forward to hearing about your trip!

SO, apparently I don't quite have the hang of the Seed Swaps tool... I thought I had set trading to begin tomorrow, 1/8, but it looks like trading has been enabled...

If you want to call "dibs" on something that has been posted, Go for it! I think people will continue to add to their lists (sure hope to have more than garlic chives listed before the swap date, myself, LOL). I'll change the "ticket" multiplier to 2 after the weekend, to give folks a chance to catch up.

Don't stress about the pre-party swapping. It's useful to have some seeds sorted out ahead of time, but there will be plenty of unclaimed seeds still available on party day!

Thanks again for setting it up, Jill!

I really like this new system! It makes it really easy to keep track of seed requests.

Yes, it does seem really easy to use--thanks for setting it up, Jill!

Paul just got in touch with me!

Unfortunately, he's not able to make it to the seed swap.