Deciding How Many Seeds to Send?

[bluelacedredhead]

There are some VERY generous folks on this board, but that's not always the case is it?
I don't trade much. I find it expensive. But that's due to the fact that I'm in Canada and the cost of one stamp for a business sized envelope to the U.S. is now $1.10. Manila mailers get pricey. So I tend to pick and choose when and where I will trade.

But when You decide to offer seed for trade, how do you determine how many you should send??
By emailing each other until you've come up with an agreed amount? Or just send what you think you can offer and still have some for yourself??

What about the List?? How much thought goes into deciding what you can part with?
I have seeds this year that I just don't feel comfortable offering for trade. I haven't enough of a harvest to let them go, lest I have a poor germination or crop failure in 2008.

Am I the only one who concerns herself with this? Am I being foolish holding back??

[lavandulagirl]

I don't think you're foolish. I contemplate this as well, and we know I'm not foolish! ;D

I guess I decide how many to send dependent on the recipient. I'm definitely guilty of mailing higher numbers to people I feel I know. It depends on how much I have, too. If I only managed to save, say, one tomato's worth of seeds off of a plant Trudi sent me in that mix, I probably wouldn't part with any of them, not only for inventory reasons, but also because I only saved from a very small sample. But if you, or Johno, or FP, or someone else I feel I'm friends with asked for some, I'd gladly split them out with the caveat that they all come from that one fruit.

Generally, I try to come up with a number if someone asks me to, like a dozen, or two dozen. Then I usually add a few more, to hedge the viability bet. I am surprised when someone offers to trade seeds, and then sends like 3 seeds. Unless you're trading some sort of very rare variety, why not send at least half a dozen? 100% germination is a gift, but so many variables are involved, right down to how moist the postal truck gets.

[brook]

FWIW, both SSE and AHSC have established trading quantities that many people accept as "standard." Keep in mind that for both organizations the idea is to provide enough seed for the recipient to grow a seed crop, and then a table crop in future years. The quantities used include concerns for the number of plants needed to keep the varieties genetically stable.

Here are the quantities:

For most garden vegetable seeds, packets should contain a minimum of 25 seeds.
For outcrossing plants (i.e., brassicas, seed-propagated alliums, and umbelliferae) a minimum of 60 seed.
For corns, a minimum of 200 seeds.

In each case, the presumption is that at least half those seeds will produce a mature plant, from which to save seed.

[Alan]

Those are probably the best numbers to go by for standard stuff Brook and I tend to stick to those for the most part when I am packaging up the stuff for Hip-Gnosis/BRSIP research samples. But like flowerpower said, if it is rare and you don't have many seed, I don't see a problem with a half a dozen to a dozen, just let the person know ahead of time so that they know what to expect in your package.
-Alan

[brenda70546]

As a nubie on thees site there are many good people who are helping us some of you are you know we are getting started all over again we are grateful whatever someone can spare because many are not entered in the seeds i have however there very generously gifting seeds to us i am keeping a record of thees fine people i will at one time or another have seeds that they may want and i will give them more in appreciation for their help to us at this point if someone has fewer then the normal trade that does not matter if we can get 3 or 4 plants then thats great
after beggars should not be choosers ans if a small amount is all someone can spare them i am happy with the trade

[flowerpower]

I think we all try to be as generous as we can with our seeds. But I won't complain if Blue only sends me 5 Turban Squash seeds.

[bluelacedredhead]

How about 5 lbs, lol

[Jim]

After a few "crappy" trades and a few super great trades I really try to discuss it before mailing. Since I am relatively new to gardening I will offer to split a pack of seed with someone and them take that variety of the trading list so I don't end up with 2 seeds left. For the most part people are very generous..which is nice.

[johno]

Last year was the first time I traded a lot of seeds by mail. Between then and now, I've recieved anywhere from 3 seeds to dozens of seeds in any given trade.* I usually don't ask how many I will recieve. As long as I can grow a few plants to "try" the variety, to see what I think of it and how it performs in my microclimate, I'm happy.

But since there has been so much variation in trade quantities, I've started stating in my offers that I'll send fifteen unless other arrangements are made. I usually send fifteen plus. Sometimes I am a little short for the last trade, and I'll tell the recipient beforehand, to see if it's okay with them. Sometimes I have a ridiculous amount and send 30 to 50 seeds.

I sometimes discuss how many seeds they want from me. Sometimes they really only want a few, sometimes they'll take as many as I'm willing to send.

I think the standard amounts Brook gave us are perfect for people who are serious about maintaining the variety.

I've experimented with different ways to send seeds, and lately have settled on the following.

For large trades or when I'm sending large seeds (beans, corn...) I use bubble envelopes. The postage is usually a little over a dollar, close to two if it's really heavy. I get them in bulk - seems like they are well under a dollar a piece.

For smaller trades I use a business envelope and some light material - paper towel or thin foam - in combination with paper for protecting the seeds from mechanical damage from postal machines.

As far as deciding what to part with... If I tried it and wasn't extremely impressed, the rest of the seed can go (I'm weeding through varieties without top notch performane in this microclimate.) If I have more than I'll use in two or three years, the rest can go - don't want it to go to waste. If I only have around a dozen seeds of X variety left, and somebody I don't dislike really wants some, I'll split it with them - unless it's one of my favorites that I intend to growout for seed.


[*Seed size makes a difference in count. If I'm mailing big ole' Lima bean's for example, you get as many as fit in the little ziplock. If I'm mailing tobacco seeds, you'll get a few pinches, probably hundreds of seeds. The amounts discussed are assumed to be pepper or eggplant seed sized.]