MetaPlanter

January 4, 2009 3:13 PM

MeFi Gardeners: The MetaFilter Seed Exchange is here!

Spend these cold winter days planning your garden. Thanks to Stewriffic for remembering the seed-saving thread from last summer and kick-starting this project into existence. We've created a wikispace with the first seed offerings, and it's wide open for you to add your own.

Please read the description and, if you like, add your seeds. It's not long before it'll be time to start those tomatoes...

posted by Miko to MetaFilter-Related at 3:13 PM (25 comments total)

WHEE!!
posted by Stewriffic at 3:15 PM on January 4, 2009

Awesome!
posted by horsemuth at 3:40 PM on January 4, 2009

Hooray! Since it might be of interest, an Internet friend of mine acquired the list of Monsanto seeds carried by Territorial Seed.
posted by stet at 4:11 PM on January 4, 2009

No one wants my seed.

(And I've been warned to stop mailing it.)
posted by klangklangston at 5:39 PM on January 4, 2009 [6 favorites]

Is this going to be a long term thing? I'll have lilies, and maybe some irises, but not till fall. Ok, bulbs/rhisomes aren't seeds, but I've successfully mailed them before.
posted by kellyblah at 6:34 PM on January 4, 2009

I've got enough Prairie Coneflowers to populate a planet. Fun! Thanks! (and don't forget to sign up at MyFolia.com, a really terrific online gardening community)
posted by nax at 7:01 PM on January 4, 2009

Exciting! Like kellyblah, I will have fall offerings, most notably moonflowers. If you have never grown them, you should try them (they are an "event" at our house) but they only produce 4-6 seeds per vine (as annuals they get one or two pods), so I might have to offer lots of 6 instead of 12. They are very hearty seeds though and I haven't had germination problems.
posted by mrmojoflying at 7:07 PM on January 4, 2009

I was only able to add one line? Not sure I did that right. At any rate, feel free to check out my seed stash on MyFolia; not everything is for trade, but what I've got is there.
posted by nax at 7:10 PM on January 4, 2009

And if you haven't already, check out Seed Savers Exchange and maybe request a catalog. It's neat.
posted by mrmojoflying at 7:11 PM on January 4, 2009

I had no idea there were gardening "trackers" (garden networks?) online. This could be a whole new paradigm in my annual Garden This Year charade. One question, though: Where do I download the program that weeds for me?
posted by DU at 7:18 PM on January 4, 2009

nax: you did it right. each time you want a new row you go through the same process that's outlined on the wikipage. if you hit save, you have to hit edit again before it lets you add more.

DU: I love weeding. Love.
posted by Stewriffic at 7:30 PM on January 4, 2009

Is this going to be a long term thing?

Don't see why not - it's made, so we can leave it up.

Even if you have only one thing to trade, or a few seeds per lot, just go for it! The more the merrier.
posted by Miko at 7:36 PM on January 4, 2009

Miko, did you know Metafilter has its own wiki? Just thought it should be more widely known... we don't have to start outside wikis for things. :)

The Mefi wiki
posted by IndigoRain at 9:33 PM on January 4, 2009

I actually would love weeding if I could read a book while I was....WAIT A SECOND! Mp3 players and audiobooks exist now!

There's my paradigm!
posted by DU at 3:00 AM on January 5, 2009

Yay!
posted by KathyK at 6:12 AM on January 5, 2009

I was so relieved to come in here and see that this has to do with gardening.
posted by jbickers at 6:33 AM on January 5, 2009

did you know Metafilter has its own wiki?

I did, but I thought it was an official function of the mods or something. We could move this there I suppose, or it could just link from there.
posted by Miko at 6:34 AM on January 5, 2009

On the one hand, I'm thrilled that mefi has expanded into yet another interesting venue, on the other, I know that my garden-loving wife will no doubt make heavy use of this, which means I'll be spending my free time this spring pick-axing more space for her, instead of playing Xbox, like the gods intended for me to do.
posted by quin at 9:40 AM on January 5, 2009

Awesome! I didn't know about this last year, but I'll save my seed this year.
posted by gofargogo at 10:51 AM on January 5, 2009

Oh, gardeners' husbands are such babies. Why do you think we married you?
posted by nax at 11:25 AM on January 5, 2009

Do you guarantee a female to mail ratio, or do you just roll the dice and take your chances?
posted by solipsophistocracy at 12:57 PM on January 5, 2009

They did not land in my favor spelling wise I guess.
posted by solipsophistocracy at 12:57 PM on January 5, 2009

I actually would love weeding if I could read a book while I was....WAIT A SECOND! Mp3 players and audiobooks exist now!

There's my paradigm!
posted by DU at 6:00 AM on January 5

I've been doing this for years and now certain spots in my garden are associated with certain books. If I am digging around the back northwest corner I am flooded with memories of From Time to Time by Jack Finney. Pruning the rose arbor in the white garden gives me The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon. Cleaning out the large planters at the end of the driveway, Will in the World by Stephen Greenblatt will come back to me.

Just make sure you really secure your player and leads. I've cut through several headphone wires and lost one MP3 player which fell out out of my breast pocket when I bent over to pick a leaf out of the koi pond. Now I have a sansa clip which clips securely to my clothes, and the headphone leads get buttoned inside my shirt.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 8:26 AM on January 6, 2009

I clip my mp3 player to the back of my pants and run the earbud cords behind my head and down my back. It's not just cutting the cord, it's constantly snagging them on stuff.

Is the seed exchange just for one's own saved seed, or is purchased surplus fair game?
posted by Lyn Never at 11:21 AM on January 6, 2009

Purchased surplus is fine.
posted by Miko at 12:38 PM on January 6, 2009