Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
Seedy Subjects! => Seed Exchange => Topic started by: Maggi Young on July 16, 2019, 05:43:58 PM
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73RD SEED EXCHANGE 2019-2020
All seed correspondence, lists and queries can be sent to: seed@srgc.org.uk. We will ensure that emails reach the relevant manager.
Seed Donations (Autumn 2019)
Please send fresh clean seed as early as possible (no later than 31 October) to Ian and Carole Bainbridge (see the Team subsection at the bottom of this item for the address). Late seed can be accepted if a list has been received by post or email by 31 October. The seed list will be compiled on 1 November, so late seed may not make the exchange.
The Seed Exchange Team
Seed Reception Managers: Ian and Carole Bainbridge, 01557 814141, Luckie Harg’s, Anwoth Road, Gatehouse of Fleet, Castle Douglas, DG7 2EF, Scotland.
Seed Packeting Manager: George Watt, 01292 592445, Burnside, Littlemill Road, Drongan, East Ayrshire, KA6 7EN, Scotland
Seed Distribution Team Manager: Carolyn McNab, 01557 870225, Barmagachan House, Borgue, Kirkcudbright DG6 4SW, Scotland.
Seed Request Manager and Seed Accounts Treasurer: Neil McNulty, 01563 526351, 6 Main Rd, Crookedholm, Kilmarnock, KA3 6JT, Scotland.
SEED DISTRIBUTION – THE VALUE OF DONOR STATUS
When seed distribution comes around, the SRGC Seed Exchange has a particular sequence for fulfilling your seed requests.
First, we do all the main requests, and the first picks always go to the donors of seed for that year’s exchange. We sort the donors into a priority ranking; put simply, the donors who have sent the most seed for the most years will have their requests fulfilled first. The calculation we do means that if you send us 100 packets plus and it’s your first year of donating to the exchange, you’ll still be pretty close to the top of the list. In general, we like you to send five packets of seed to qualify for donor status, but if you send us a big packet of Ranunculus lyallii for example, we’ll be very happy!
If yours is a family membership, you qualify for two donor picks at your donor ranking. This means it’s better for you to send us one donation on behalf of your family rather than separate smaller donations from each of you, and it’s easier for us to administer in the seed reception process.
Second, we fulfil the non-donor main requests. These are processed in the order of the date of their arrival, so it is an advantage for non-donors to send in their seed requests quickly.
Third, after the cut-off date for receipt for seed requests, we will fulfil the surplus requests. These are also done in the order of the date of their arrival, so it is an advantage for members wishing surplus seed to order quickly. Please also remember that by this point, many of the numbers will have been exhausted, so send us plenty of alternatives on your surplus request. Again, a family membership qualifies you for two surplus orders if you wish.
So, donate some seed this year and enhance your chances of getting the seed you want from the SRGC Seed Exchange.
SRGC Seed Reception Managers
Ian and Carole Bainbridge
AN APPEAL FOR VOLUNTEERS TO PACKET SEEDS
For new members of the SRGC, ‘seed packeting’ is the process of placing donated seeds into small glassine envelopes for later distribution. It is the middle process of the SRGC Seed Exchange and is of vital importance. Last year we had only just enough volunteers to cope and are therefore anxious to recruit new volunteers. It has been agreed that participants need not be members of the Club and that friends of members would be more than welcome to take part.
Please do consider joining the team. Detailed instructions will be given. Contact the Seed Packeting Manager: George Watt (01292 592445, seed@srgc.org.uk, Burnside, Littlemill Road, Drongan, East Ayrshire, KA6 7EN).
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.... collecting is on the way :-) ...
Bernd
[attachimg=1]
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This year I am going to be able to donate seed from my Saxifraga longifolia plant, which finally flowered and died (as they do).
As this plant is extremely promiscuous it was my intention to remove flower stems of all related saxifrages this year to ensure seed set was pure. However, for various reasons I didn't quite manage this in time, so hybrids are possible. There is masses of seed though!
How would you like me to label the seed?
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Best to mark the seed as "open-pollinated" I expect.
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We volunteered to help with seed packaging on August 3rd but so far have had no reply to our email. Are volunteers still needed ?
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Best to mark the seed as "open-pollinated" I expect.
Will do, thanks Maggi.
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We volunteered to help with seed packaging on August 3rd but so far have had no reply to our email. Are volunteers still needed ?
As far as I know volunteers are still needed, Peter - however, it may be that no replies have been sent out yet.
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Have now been contacted. Just an email hitch. I'm sure further volunteers are needed
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The SRGC Seed Exchange
SRGC Seed Exchange 73 will take place later this year - all details will be available from the dedicated Seed Exchange site at that time - https://www.srgcseed.net/home.asp (https://www.srgcseed.net/home.asp)
Details can also be found in this Dryas booklet : http://files.srgc.net/journals/Dryas-2-2019.pdf (http://files.srgc.net/journals/Dryas-2-2019.pdf)
Note from the Seed Team re Seed sent to Australia from SRGC Seed Ex. 72 :
Seed requests from members on Australia
During July and August I have received four packets of SRGC seeds from Australia. These have been returned in their entirety by customs as some of the seeds are not on the allowed seed list. Not even the acceptable seeds have been passed on to whomsoever requested them.
Members please note this and take extra care when ordering seeds in future.
Thank you
Carolyn McNab, Seed Distribution Manager
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We have been reinforcing with our local AGS Vic Group members that they need to check BICON https://bicon.agriculture.gov.au/BiconWeb4.0/ViewElement/Element/CaseScientificNames?caseElementPk=1038086 (https://bicon.agriculture.gov.au/BiconWeb4.0/ViewElement/Element/CaseScientificNames?caseElementPk=1038086) before ordering seeds. This year the Customs Inspectors have interpretted the law to mean that they are not allowed to retain the "offending" packets of seeds and forward the others and instead have chosen the cheaper option of returning the entire package to the sender. Just shifting the expense to the sender and the recipient.
I just hope that it doesn't lead to the Seed Exchanges thinking it's too difficult dealing with Australia - as the RHS and Thompson& Morgan did many years ago :'(
cheers
fermi
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Hi, got my seeds in the mail. Cecile
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i too .... today :-)
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Ian and Carole Bainbridge, 01557 814141
Seed Donations (Autumn 2019)
Please send fresh clean seed as early as possible (no later than 31 October) to Ian and Carole Bainbridge, Luckie Harg’s, Anwoth Road, Gatehouse of Fleet, Castle Douglas, DG7 2EF, Scotland.
Late seed can be accepted if a list has been received by post or email by 31 October. The seed list will be compiled on 1 November, so late seed may not make the exchange. Email list to seed@srgc.org.uk as soon as possible, please!
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I sent mine last week.
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I sent my seeds last Thursday, and was going to email the list of the seeds today, in case they didn't arrive in time. I was so surprised to see a thank you email today in my email! My letter had arrived in two days time, faster than if I send it to someplace in Finland. :o
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When making the list would it be possible to have the species name infront of every line with "surename" ? If you order many and then you copy and paste into a spreadsheet you need to make one copy to get the first name into the cell for each one. This is a bit annoying.
ACANTHOLIMON (plu)
11 caryophyllaceum
12 glumaceum
13 litvinovii
14 olivieri
15 puberulum longiscapum
16 trojanum
17 ulicinum
Not like that that but this :
11 Acantholiom caryophyllaceum
12 Acantholiom glumaceum
13 Acantholiom litvinovii
14 Acantholiom olivieri
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When making the list would it be possible to have the species name infront of every line with "surename" ? If you order many and then you copy and paste into a spreadsheet you need to make one copy to get the first name into the cell for each one. This is a bit annoying.
I suspect the list will be on its way to the printer either now or very soon, Peter - but I also believe it is possible to convert the list to an excel /spreadsheet file or even, as in the previous year, download the list as a spreadsheet - so perhaps the answer is already there? :-\ :-X
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There is already a spreadsheet format exactly as you describe. No need to be a "annoyed".
https://www.srgcseed.net/seedlistarchive.asp (https://www.srgcseed.net/seedlistarchive.asp)
[attachimg=1]
[attachimg=2]
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Yes you both are so right, it was me looking at the older ones as PDF and not the one o top :) :)
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Please note that the Excel spreadsheet for last year has been removed to avoid confusion. The list for this year will be made available in due course.
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Just to let you know that all the seeds are in, the compilation has been done and the 73rd seed catalogue is at the printers. Many thanks to all who donated, and who helped with the compilation tasks; we're now all on schedule, we hope to get the lists to you by Dec 1st.....
Ian & Carole Bainbridge
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Will there be a new spreadsheat with the seeds from this season too then? Do not really understand why to do it like this in 2019 when it all are done in a computer. I can easy understand that before when written by hand or before the computers arrival, it was done this way. But why is it still this way? confused .. ;) The Swedish garden soc seedlist are also that way...
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Wonderful! The seedlist is available for perusal on-line! This helped a lot last year in sorting out what to order before the ordering system went "live"! I did have to use the "forgotten password" button though :-[
Thanks, Seed Team :-*
cheers
fermi
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Wonderful! The seedlist is available for perusal on-line! This helped a lot last year in sorting out what to order before the ordering system went "live"! I did have to use the "forgotten password" button though :-[
Thanks, Seed Team :-*
cheers
fermi
Sounds great fermi - but not available as far as I can see! Are you sure you're not looking at last year's list? The "new" one will be for SRGC Seed Exchange #73 2019-2020 .
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Maggi it showing up as this year[attachimg=1]
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Thanks, Neil - not seeing anything like that here - and not able to log in or register either - my page is showing
"The seed exchange is not open at present. Only registered seed exchange administrators are able to log in "
I expect I'll get help from David Millward in the end! Glad to see you are getting access - I thought we couldn't do so before 22nd November - but it may just be me!
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Maggi, I am getting the same results as you. Any attempt to log in results in a message that the exchange is currently only open to administrators.
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Im in the new list ... ::)
But as a newbie I have some question that I can not find answer of anywhere. As a donor I will have 25 packets and pay 7€? Is it possible to have more packets then these packages? Feel I have looked everywhere to find info and the info about this. The amount as donor was on the downloadable seedslist as PDF. Is it possible to find this info somewhere?
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ptallbo,
Yes, as a donor you can order 25 packets of seeds. When we have sent out all the main orders of 25 (or 16 for non-donors), we then send out surplus seed orders, which you can order in blocks of 25. By this stage in the process, some of the most desirable seeds may all have gone, but there will still be plenty of good choices left. Look at the information about SURPLUS SEED orders when this year's information becomes available in a few days time.
Hope this helps.
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Thank you :)
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I have added a Google search function to the SRGCseedList2019.xlsx file so that you can have a look at the plant on google, I cannot upload it to the forum but you can download here
https://btcloud.bt.com/web/app/share/invite/4H1TpiQMCr
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Thanks, Neil - not seeing anything like that here - and not able to log in or register either - my page is showing
"The seed exchange is not open at present. Only registered seed exchange administrators are able to log in "
Maggi, I am getting the same results as you. Any attempt to log in results in a message that the exchange is currently only open to administrators.
Just live dangerously & ignore this warning ;D Login as usual then you should see the page Neil shows ;)
You can also download the list in either pdf or xl formats.
Thanks & well done to those responsible for another fine list.
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The new SRGC seedlist is now available as an xl file, without any need to log in, from this page :
https://www.srgcseed.net/seedlistarchive.asp (https://www.srgcseed.net/seedlistarchive.asp)
The exchange is open for orders from 30 November 2019 . The seed list can be viewed from 22 November 2019. You must log in to be able to see it.
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I have just uploaded a new seed list spreadsheet with an added column identifying those items (just 41) which are cormlets, bulbils and rice grains etc. These of course cannot be sent to members outside of the EU.
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the choice of seed is great :o
the file is very convenient to learn about each plant.
it is interesting to be able to consult the list before the date of the order : a little like a catalog of toys for christmas for kids! thank you very much
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Another couple of newbie questions re. the seedex.
Will I need to give some alternative choices as well as my main 16 preferences and, if so, how many? Is there a specific number needed?
Re. the surplus seed orders, is this by genus or my specific seed list number?
I’m sure it’ll be clear when the system goes live but it’d be really useful to know in advance so I can give it some thought before than.
Apologies if this info is already somewhere on the site but i’ve failed to find anything.
Thanks, Robert
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From David Rankin : "You give 16 alternative choices as well as your first choice in the main distribution.
In the surplus distribution you can give up to 50 specific numbers, with 50 alternatives, plus blocks of numbers. For example, 110-130 (10) requests 10 packets from the number range 110-130."
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Thanks very much Maggi, that’s really useful.
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I wonder if I have to renew my membership to be able to participate in this year's seed exchange or do I have to renew my membership first ?
It will be the last seed exchange I will ever be able to take part in sadly.
Because of stricter EU phytosanitary rules there won't be any import of seeds to EU countries without a phytosanitary certificate ( which I presume will be very costly - if possible to administer by an organisation like SRGC ? )
When the UK leaves the EU on January 31st ( at the latest ) there will be no more seed from English sources.
This seed xenophobia is really sad and I have to thank you for a wonderful and very enriching time being a part of this wonderful club. It has created many happy moments.
Paul
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I wonder if I have to renew my membership to be able to participate in this year's seed exchange or do I have to renew my membership first ?
Hello Paul, your subscription has expired so you will need to renew membership before you can take part in the Seed Exchange. As an online member, log in to your profile from http://www.srgc.net/membership/ (http://www.srgc.net/membership/) to renew.
(Postal members use this page : http://www.srgc.net/site/index.php/extensions/join-renew (http://www.srgc.net/site/index.php/extensions/join-renew) )
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Paul don't worry seeds exchange will continue, i don't see anyone sending a 200 species list to the organisation in charge of cites. inapplicable within EEC as it cost at least 60€ for a single page of species listed, each supplement page is charged 25€ (writing very small you can add 25 species /page;D)
I know someone in charge of CITES in my region, he confirmed that only commercial trades will be impacted by the rules and the fact customs lack of officials to assign more tasks to their job.
In my country the Delta plateform isn't even ready to record plant species, no database is yet linked....software developpers teams are already overbooked with the new european simplified customs declarations for the next 5 years.
Customs are reducing their workforce all around EEC, so no worries ;)
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/export-plants-seeds-bulbs-and-wood-special-rules (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/export-plants-seeds-bulbs-and-wood-special-rules)
To sell plants, seeds or bulbs within the EU you must check if you need a:
plant passport (you don’t need one to sell plants directly to the public)
supplier document
If you don’t need either of these, you don’t need to follow any other special rules to move plants within the EU.
SRGC don't sell seeds
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Friends, I am sorry, I cannot answer your questions about the SRGC Seed Exchange - please send your questions to the Seed Team using : seed@srgc.org.uk
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The current year exchange will continue as normal. What happens after that is not yet known. We will let you know in due course. We are trying to ensure that all members, wherever they live, will be able to contribute to, and order from, the seed exchange, with as little bureaucracy and cost as possible.
On behalf of the Seed Team
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Now it is working. Previous message deleted.
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The 73rd SRGC Seed Exchange is now open for online orders from current members
- https://www.srgcseed.net/home.asp (https://www.srgcseed.net/home.asp)
:)
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Ordered and paid already! ;D
cheers
fermi
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I ordered and paid also already yesterday. :) This is such a wonderful thing: thank you for donors (in my case especially those who donated Corydalis, Meconopsis ja Erythronium seeds :)) and all the team behind seed exchange.
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I ordered and paid Saturday. the site is very easy to use: thank you!
on the other hand, I do not receive mail confirmation of order or payment. and that worries me a bit ..
it's the same for others?
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I certainly received an email confirmation of order with list of seeds ordered... (I paid via Paypal so also got an email from them to say payment had been taken)
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Maybe check your spam folder Véronique.
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everything is fine,
the mails are lost in the space-time, but my order is well recorded, thank you to the seed team. :)
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I am hoping to see a PDF Seed Exchange 73 Booklet to download soon. I do not receive this in the mail as I am an E-Member.
Sharon
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I am hoping to see a PDF Seed Exchange 73 Booklet to download soon. I do not receive this in the mail as I am an E-Member.
Sharon
There is a pdf of the seedlist to download - the link is on the page when one logs into the Seed System -
https://www.srgcseed.net/seedlists/SRGCseedlist73.pdf (https://www.srgcseed.net/seedlists/SRGCseedlist73.pdf)
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Thank you Margaret!
I missed seeing it perhaps because of ordering seeds from the issued list in the wee hours of the morning!
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Just made my online order. Really impressed by how beuautifully the system works. The ability to check the details of each species directly from the list is excellent. And I was reminded that, as family members, we get two bites of the cherry.
Having helped with packaging for the first time this year I am just so impressed by the huge amount of work that goes into the Seed Exchange and how brillianntly it is organised. A h=uge thank you to everyone involved.
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Hello
is there only online order? I haven't received the seed booklet yet
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For anyone interested in Paeonia rockii seeds- the seeds listed in the seedex entry #2692 Paeonia rockii rich pink, came from a selfing of this plant
http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=17118.msg405202#msg405202 (http://www.srgc.net/forum/index.php?topic=17118.msg405202#msg405202)
It is a very fertile plant, all eight blooms produced masses of seed.
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Hello
is there only online order? I haven't received the seed booklet yet
Hello Rafa, with the recent calling of a general election in the UK, there was a delay in posting out the paper seedlist - it should be with all members soon - the online ordering is fully open, however.
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Just a note - I was unable to enter my list of alternatives in my Safari browser, but it worked in Firefox.
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Just a note - I was unable to enter my list of alternatives in my Safari browser, but it worked in Firefox.
The same thing happened to me, using Safari, but I logged out and then logged in again, and it then worked.
Diane
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Hi Diane and Anne
Yes, this can happen sometimes, we're not sure why but not everyone is affected. We would appreciate answers to a couple of questions to help us try to track down what is going on:
Can you confirm that you were trying to enter your numbers using the keyboard? Or did you select from the drop-down list (show/hide seedlist button)? Whichever method failed, did you try the other?
Refreshing the page or logging out and in again usually solves the problem, as you have found out. Pleased to see that you were able to complete orders satisfactorily in the end. Enjoy growing your seed when it arrives.
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For me, i can say, that some programs like kaspersky virus scanners or vpn programs (Steganos) cause such trouble with firefox. So i have deinstalled it.
Bernd
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Can you confirm that you were trying to enter your numbers using the keyboard? Or did you select from the drop-down list (show/hide seedlist button)? Whichever method failed, did you try the other?
I was using the keyboard and did not try the drop-down list. I had no problem with the first-choices, just the alternatives.
Diane
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I used the keyboard and not the drop down list as I had written my choices down. It was a frustrating two and 1/2 hours with both some first choices and many alternatives not being accepted. I put in down to a slow internet provider.
Sharon
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The paper copy of the Seed List arrived in my letter box in New Zealand yesterday (31st December)
Presume this was mailed late November and we normally count on about 10 days for UK postage.
Perhaps Royal Mail would like to comment!!
Adrian.
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Adrian,
I hope that you will make your order online to ensure that we receive it on time. My personal experience of the postal service to NZ is that it takes anything from a few days to a month. Not good!
Our team of order pickers find the online orders MUCH easier to deal with than handwritten orders. Often, we waste time trying to decipher handwriting.
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I think the Seed Ex. has at least two main purposes; the first to provide a service to Members and the second a means of producing another source of much-needed income for the Club. With the latter in mind is it really necessary to post a copy of the Distribution List to all Members given the extortionate charges our Postal system implants on us these days? Thanks to our well developed system for ordering (and thanks indeed to those who have done the work necessary) a much more than adequate full Listing is available on the system's ordering process that even I can easily understand. I can understand that there will be some Members (and I hope there are decreasing numbers each year!) who do not own a Computer, or fail to understand the ordering process, or even adopt an iconoclastic view to means of communication that don't include pens and paper, but times have moved on.
I know that Christine Boulby (our Subscription Secretary) regularly asks that Members who are happy to provide the Club with email addresses etc. do so and therefore I assume that someone in the Club could maintains an appropriate record of which Members need not be posted a Seed Ex. Distribution List? For my own part I would happy to see the Club adopting a persecutionist approach to non-up-to-date methods of communication which might include a surcharge in Subscription Fees.
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Thanks Carolyn,
Yes I have ordered on line,the reason for my mail was just to let you know the arrival time of the seed list as if you are paying airmail prices to send you are not getting airmail service.
Cheers,
Adrian.
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Adrian beat me to it to it! The paper copy only arrived this week here in Australia but I use the on-line ordering system.
NARGS has an "opt in" system for the paper copy - you only get it if you ask for it.
Perhaps SRGC could consider doing something similar?
cheers
fermi
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I will raise this issue with the rest of the seed team. It is such a waste of money printing and sending out unnecessary copies.
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Just to let you know, when I began this job seed lists were only sent out to donors, our overseas members and upon request to the UK members who were not donors. This was because it was thought that most overseas members only benefit besides the mag was the seed exchange. The seed team at that time were Edinburgh based. The job moved to the SW team and a decision was taken to send it to all members, I assume to make members more aware of the benefits of donating, increase take up of seed and to simplify the system? So sending it out to everyone has been a relatively recent decision. I would be interested to know whether that decision did increase take up or not and what percentage of total seed requests are still by post before the council votes to change the system yet again. The reason the seed lists were later this year is Brexit - during elections printers go crazy trying to meet printing demands and mailing houses posting the print out. The usual timetable was disrupted by these matters. Printing small volumes is more expensive as we all know and it would mean moving back to manual systems for the distribution of the print copies no doubt.
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Although in a straight line, I live closer to Scotland then a Londoner, I only received the paper version of the seedlist this week. Of course I had done my online seed order already a long time ago.
With this bad postal service and high postage, I would surely support an opt-out/opt-in checkbox for the paper list.
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Please note that the seed exchange portal will be closed to orders at midnight on 13th January.
So, last orders please!!
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I am pleased to report that the seed distribution process started today. We had an excellent turn out of volunteers - over 20 - for our first day. We finished all the setting up by lunchtime and spent the afternoon picking orders. None have been posted yet, so don't expect your order just yet.
We were so busy all day that I forgot to take photos! Maybe tomorrow.
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Another busy day for the seed pickers.
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Great team, i'm waiting mines but strikes in the post services should delayed delivery.
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Mine received this morning, thanks all.
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Mine arrived this morning. All bar one first choices. Many thanks to the Seed Exchange team.
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Mine arrived this am with a sweet note thanks seed picking team!
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The order-picking is progressing very well, we have several large boxes of envelopes ready to post. Unfortunately there has been an unexpected problem with the franking machine and we are now waiting for a new one to arrive, and are hoping it will be delivered on Monday. We will get the envelopes posted out as soon as we can.
We have had around 20 volunteers helping each day, it has been brilliant!
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Ours arrived today and, for the first time ever, it contained 100% 'first choices'! Thanks to all involved in the distribution.
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Hi, today I got the seeds ;D
Great!
Thank you to everyone who has been so committed !
Almost everything first choice ;D
..... I find the Brexit really a shame. Because of the health certificate necessary in the future it will probably have been the last seed excange for me :'( :'( :'(
greetings
Bernd
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Seeds arrived yesterday :-)
A big THANK YOU to everybody making the seed exchange possible.
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Hello,
Seeds arrived in Switzerland today. A huge thank you to all donors and everyone in the seedex team.
Best regards
Keith
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Many thanks everyone - seeds arrived safely and are now sown!
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Lovely. I got mine, too. And most of them first choices ;D
Many thanks to the SeedEx team and all the donors.
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seeds arrived. :)
thank you to all donors and everyone in the seedex team.
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The seed distribution finished today - many thanks to our team of volunteers. The franking machine finally arrived today and will be in action for the next couple of days to get the remaining overseas orders posted. We ended up buying stamps for the UK orders, more expensive than using the machine, but needs must. The orders for the USA will be posted later - there is all the paperwork to do for those first.
Please do not enquire about missing orders UNTIL AFTER THE 1st WEEK IN FEBRUARY. Most missing orders turn up in the post eventually!
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Seeds have also arrived to Finland safe. :)
Thank you so much for everyone involved. This is such a great opportunity to get special seeds, I hope there will be a way to continue this also in years to come.. though I know it doesn't look good with all the new regulation.
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Seeds arrived today - Many thanks to all who keep this good work running so well.
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Both my main and surplus orders arrived today. My first seedex but thrilled that I got all but 4 of my first choices for the main order. Very many thanks to all the donors and the volunteers involved. Hopefully I’ll be able to donate something myself next year. :D
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Seeds received saturday and already in pots!
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Seed received yesterday in the United States! Thank you everyone ❤️
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Got my ordered seeds today. Thank you very much indeed to those involved. :) :)
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My seed arrived today, a substantial number in fact. Happy as a clam.
johnw
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Happy as a clam.
johnw
Are clams known for being particularly happy??
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my surplus order arrived yesteday.. :D
Thank you everyone
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Yay! Ours arrived today!
Thanks, Seed Team!
cheers
fermi
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Darn it, I am still waiting. Perhaps my seeds are at the APHIS inspection station in San Francisco. We don't have a regular postman, and, its someone new each day, for the last two years.
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I think the single member who received seed in the USA was a fluke and somehow slipped between the system. Since Carolyn said on 23 Jan:
The orders for the USA will be posted later - there is all the paperwork to do for those first.
and the American poster said he received his seed on 28 Jan, five days is pretty incredulous. I wonder if he or she received the NARGS seed instead o the SRGC.
I won't expect mine here in Minnesota (USA) for another week or two at the earliest.
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I think you are right, Rick - and in fact the North American member reporting the arrival of SRGC seeds was in Canada!
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Good to hear. Thank you for the response.
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I'm still waiting in Portland, Oregon and stalking the mail carrier for SRGC and AGS seed. I was a donor (SRGC not for AGS) as was a friend in the area who has received his. The big but in this is that Seattle APHIS confiscated fourteen! packets of seed because they supposedly had an "unknown fungus" on them. The confiscated seeds included such gems as tecophilia, anemonopsis, Cyclamen rhodium, lilies along with others. This does not bode well for me. I just hope my inspector is well fed, caffeinated and in a good mood when he does my seed.
I'd like to know if other US inspection stations are as ruthless. I may need to change my inspection station.
Jan
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Surplus seeds arrived yesterday here. Thank you all again. :)
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The other day I had a card through my letterbox saying I had a package but there was extra to pay. I was scratching my head a bit as I wasn't expecting anything. It turned out to be a colossal envelope full of surplus seed from the seedex - a very nice surprise and I think there are far more than I ordered :) - now I have to work out where on earth I am going to fit the pots to house this little lot! ??? ;D
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I received my main order of seed yesterday. Thank you all for your good work.
Marianne
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The big but in this is that Seattle APHIS confiscated fourteen! packets of seed because they supposedly had an "unknown fungus" on them.
I'd like to know if other US inspection stations are as ruthless. I may need to change my inspection station.
Jan
A friend of mine in Washington State also had seed confiscated and destroyed by the Seattle APHIS office due to "seed contaminated with unknown fungi". He is not the same friend as Jan as his seeds were; celmisia, roscoea, pachystegia, ozothamnus, brachyalottis, buddleja sp, angelica, dierama and romarea. He receive 6 out of 16 packets of seed.
I'll be very interested to know if your seeds make it to you Jan.
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Marianne, I'd be very interested to know if your order had any seeds confiscated. I'm not feeling hopeful about my order.
Jan
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Jan I received all my seed nothing confiscated. I have used Linden in New Jersey for many years and all my seed have arrived safely from many sources.
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I got an email this morning from Joyce Fingerhut NARGS Seed Wrangler Extraodinaire about Seattle APHIS confiscating seed for "unknown fungus". It's been happening with seed from the AGS and Cyclamen Society and no doubt other groups too. Joyce is trying to get to the bottom of the problem. It would be really helpful if folks with confiscated seed could email Joyce alpinegarden@comcast.net with their permit number and a list of confiscated seed.
If anyone can figure out the problem it's Joyce. We all owe her a big debt of gratitude for all she does to keep seed flowing.
As for me I'm still waiting for seed.
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Must agree with you there, Jan - Joyce Fingerut is a star for the Seed Exchanges - one of the reasons she was made an Honorary SRGC Member!
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Those seeds just aren't making it over the Rocky Mountains
AGS seeds, which came before Christmas, are growing already. And NARGS seeds arrived yesterday.
Diane
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Received my main order this morning here in Western Australia. Exciting, as I'm starting from scratch again, in a new state with a very different climate.Many thanks to all the wonderful people involved in the seed exchange.
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On behalf of the Seed Team I would like to apologise to any members who have had to pay excess postage for their seed packets. We had a big problem with the franking machine this year and had to wait for over a week for a new one to arrive. In the meantime we had built up a huge pile of orders ready to post and decided to buy stamps for some of the orders. When we use the franking machine, each envelope is weighed before franking, so the correct postage is automatically applied. I think a problem has arisen when people ordered heavy seeds (paeony, etc) or large surplus orders. We are very sorry about this - we were keen for you to get your seeds as soon as possible.
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I am hoping seed arrives today or tomorrow. You never know what the issues are with postal delivery systems, when friends tow hours away have had their orders for a week or more... :-\
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I finally received main and surplus order today in the Netherlands. It took 21 days to go 715 km (445 miles). That is an average speed of 1.4 km per hour. Even if the mail uses paddle boats to cross the North Sea, that is very slow....
But thanks for everyone who made the Seed Exchange possible.
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My main order arrived yesterday, also through the Seattle USDA inspection station. I received all of my seeds, with no notes of any issues. (Most of mine were bulb seeds, fyi.) Fingers crossed the surplus seeds make it to me as well!
Thanks, as always, to everyone who donated, and to everyone who volunteered on this effort! I truly appreciate it.
--Kelly
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I received my surplus seed yesterday. Again thanks to all involved.
Marianne
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Those of us on the Pacific coast of both Canada and the U.S. started to receive our seeds two days ago.
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On behalf of the Seed Team I would like to apologise to any members who have had to pay excess postage for their seed packets. We had a big problem with the franking machine this year and had to wait for over a week for a new one to arrive. In the meantime we had built up a huge pile of orders ready to post and decided to buy stamps for some of the orders. When we use the franking machine, each envelope is weighed before franking, so the correct postage is automatically applied. I think a problem has arisen when people ordered heavy seeds (paeony, etc) or large surplus orders. We are very sorry about this - we were keen for you to get your seeds as soon as possible.
Best £1.50 I ever spent Carolyn! No complaints from me ;) And sending the seeds early was the right decision, I have quite a few short-lived and bulb seeds in my order which need sowing asap.
Thanks so much to everybody in the seed team for all your hard work, I have had so many fabulous and hard to obtain plants via this route.
Tristan
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My seed finally arrived today. It was processed by APHIS in Seattle on February 6th (after Joyce talked to them) and nothing was confiscated. A friend had his Tecophilia cyanocrocus and Lilium lijiangense seed confiscated for fungus yet mine sailed right through. Go figure. I just opened the packets and the seed looks just fine. No obvious signs of fungus or anything that might make an inspector think they should take a closer look. Curiouser and curiouser.
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Starting to get concerned about wayward seeds. No sign of seeds yet, Feb 11th. It may be that they are waylaid somewhere... living in hope....
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Starting to get concerned about wayward seeds. No sign of seeds yet, Feb 11th. It may be that they are waylaid somewhere... living in hope....
Gordon - We got our seeds a week to 10 days ago which we thought was rather late. They hadn't been opened at customs but most seeds aren't. I wouldn't worry just yet.
johnw
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Urgent message from Carolyn McNab of the Seed Team -
Seed Distribution to Australia
Packets are being rejected by Australian customs and entire seed requests are now arriving in my letterbox. Usually there is no indication which seed is the offending item so I am unable to resend what may be acceptable. Please be aware that if you have not received your seeds, they may have travelled all the way there and back. If you have any contact with customs, you may be able to check your order with them to see what is/is not on the BICON list. Good luck.
Carolyn McNab
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Hi Maggi,
one of my contacts in South Australia had the surplus seed from SRGC returned because two previously allowed primula were reclassified and the new name is not on BICON! In the past the Inspectors would have held the seeds and informed the recipient who might then be able to show that the species is allowed under a previous name. That's no longer an option.
Who at the SRGC Seed Team can my contact email with the details of the letter naming the "offending" species?
Thanks,
fermi
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Hello fermi, I think it's best to contact the Bainbridges - email to luckiehargs@btinternet.com
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Thanks, Maggi,
I'll let my contact know,
cheers
fermi
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Hallelujah.
-- My seed order arrived today.
Clearly not the fault of the diligent SRGC Seed Team (to whom I am very thankful), the package's adventure is documented thusly:
-- Stamped by Royal Mail 24 Jan 20
10 days
-- received at the American inspection station 3 Feb 20
31 days
-- package released from inspection 5 Mar 20
5 days
-- in my mailbox today, 10 Mar 20
On the plus side, I did get all the seed that was sent. (Apparently, there was no "unknown fungi" found.)
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Hello,
First, thank you to the SRGC SeedEx volunteers.
My seeds have not yet arrived. I am looking for info how to contact the APHIS plant inspection station in San Diego which I specify on my yellow/green labels to see if there is a hold up I can resolve, such as mail-forwarding. Does anyone else use that station or know how to track a SmallLotsOfSeed package?
Lots of time at home to catch up on sowing, labeling, accession log, seedling photos, wishlist building,...
Gastil
in Santa Barbara where the Scilla hyacinthoides and Oncostema peruviana are putting out a buffet for bees.
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From Aphis.usda.gov
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/wcm/connect/aphis_content_library/sa_our_focus/sa_plant_health/sa_import/sa_pis (https://www.aphis.usda.gov/wcm/connect/aphis_content_library/sa_our_focus/sa_plant_health/sa_import/sa_pis)
USDA, APHIS, PPQ
Plant Inspection Station
9777 Via de la Amistad, Room 140
San Diego, CA 92154
Phone (619) 661-3316 - Fax (619) 661-3047
Does that help?
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Too funny. It did not occur to me to just telephone them! :) So I called and a nice person answered. My shipment has not been thru their station but she will ask the main office. Gosh. A real person and helpful. I am positively re-adjusting my expectations. Thank you Maggie.
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I thought this was also appropriate here :
Originally posted in Bulb Section :
(I'm going to post this here, but because it doesn't just affect South African bulbs, Admin might want to move it out as a new topic (not familiar enough with how the forum works to do this myself!))
As of this month, the UK Plant Health regulations have been amended so that ALL seeds imported from outside Europe need to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate. The Australasian Plant Society had a large order of seeds from Nindethana Seeds in Australia returned to the sender in February by UK customs marked 'No Phytosanitary Certificate'; when I looked at the latest information on the gov.uk website, there was a new version of the list of restricted plant material dated March 2020 which was different from that issued last year in that all seeds not specifically named and with specific restrictions are now classed as 'Regulated', which means that if coming from outside Europe they have to have a phyto.
This means that, if intercepted, seed orders from, for instance, Silverhill Seeds, are likely to be sent back to South Africa. Of course, small packages may not be picked up; I received a small order from Gordon Summerfield in February, about the same time the APS order was sent back. (It looks, by the way, as if the new version of the regulations was being put into force before they were actually published! I suspect the reason for the change is that opening and inspecting every package labelled as containing seeds to determine if specific items needed a phyto would have been way beyond customs' resources, so they just put a blanket requirement on all seeds.)
I presume that the same restrictions would apply to seed orders from seed exchanges like NARGS and NZAGS, as I can find no sign that there are any exemptions to these rules (though I would love to be corrected on that point.) The APS is waiting for further clarification from contacts in DEFRA, but I thought I ought to post this information now as anyone who is thinking of ordering seed from, say, South Africa, might want to wait to see if we can find out definitively what the situation is.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings at a time when we really all need cheering up!
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Does this spell the end of the Seedexes?
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Does this spell the end of the Seedexes?
Who knows, fermi - who knows anything anymore!
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FYI for US folks. Joyce Fingerhut (alpinegarden@comcast.net) still wants to hear from you if APHIS has confiscated any of your foreign seeds. This includes seed from seed exchanges and privately ordered seed. She's keeping track of confiscations to see if she can figure out what's going on. So help her out and let her know about any problems.
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My seeds just showed up. I had thought the USDA ate them. Stamped released from USDA March 13 but I only just got them. To be completely fair I didn't grab the mail Monday or Tuesday but that's still a long time.
Now I have to get the cover on my little greenhouse. I was just going to carry the few flats I had in and out of the house until things warmed up but now I'll have a bunch.
Thank you all. Gives me a shot at a lot of things I would never have access to. I'm happy I decided to join even if the USDA had completely lost the seeds the knowledge I've gleaned has been well worth it.
Back outside to set a live trap for a woodchuck, like a marmot only bigger and hungrier, he escaped me last year but this year I'll get him one way or another.
Glad I live in the middle of nowhere. I'll be grinning like a fool as I rake. Thanks again = ]
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That's terrific news, SueNH - goodness knows what has been happening with some of the seed deliveries- great to hear yours is now safe!
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Interesting...
I just looked at the paperwork inside the envelope with the seeds. There were other packs of erythronium that made it. No idea why the usda was offended by just that one. I think it was just a mixed bunch. I didn't save the order.
I just looked at the archived list. New at this but I guess #1473 Erythronium sp mixed. I'm not even going to ask them. I know I'd get a none answer.
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Mmm, I suspect that they didn't like the Erythronium sp. - I believe a full name is required to satisfy some regulations.
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Joyce Fingerhut just pointed me to it. One little plant got them trashed and I doubt that one's seed was in there.
https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/listedSpecies/speciesListingsByTaxGroupPage?statusCategory=Listed&groupName=Flowering%20Plants&total=893
https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp0/profile/speciesProfile?sId=597
so now I know what to stay away from
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USDA confiscated 2 packets of Aconitum seeds a few years ago. According to the paper enclosed, as there are prohibited species and the subject Aconitum packets were labeled only as species they could not rule out that they were not the kind prohibited, they had to be destroyed.
They were included in my package because I selected a number of packets within a range.
Now when I select seeds of a genus to be selected from a range of numbers, I make sure to exclude any that are described as "sp".
Koko