You've found the famous Dave's Garden website! Join this friendly global community that shares tips and ideas for home and gardens, along with seeds and plants!
Check out the DG homepage for a brief overview of what you'll find in this gardening mega-site.
Login
If you don't have an account yet, visit the registration page to sign up.
Section 2. The Basics
Trading can be fun and rewarding. The vast majority of trades will work out as planned, but remember there is a real live person on the other end of your trade. Some are inexperienced and some will make mistakes. Life has a habit of throwing curve balls...things come up and sometimes people are late or may even disappear for a time. Don't get upset if you don't hear from them. Even though it only takes a minute to let someone know there's been a problem, depending on the circumstance that may seem overwhelming or too time consuming.
Follow the golden rule and "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." And have fun!
Why trade?
This question is a natural extension of "Why grow from seed when you can buy plants?" Just as you can get a wider variety of plants if you grow from seed, you'll find an even wider selection of varieties when you trade, many of which are not available from commercial seed companies.
The second reason for trading is financial ... buying plants or packets of seeds can be expensive. Trading your excess for someone else's seeds is only as expensive as the packaging and postage.
The third reason is enjoyment in sharing seeds from gardeners who live hundreds or thousands of miles from you. You may remember a parent or grandparent passing along seeds to neighbors and friends. Thanks to the Internet and Dave's Garden ("DG"), we can pass along our garden treasures to gardeners all over the world!
The same reasons hold true for plants, although the shipping gets more expensive and regulated with plants. But we'll cover that in Section 4: Plant Trading.
Before you post anything for trade...
Don't trade seed you picked today, let alone seed you haven't picked yet! Too many things ... birds, bugs, drought, and flood can wipe out your seeds. Seeds should be thoroughly dried before you package and send them. (This also gives any bug infestations a chance to show up before you send seeds to an unsuspecting trader. It's not pleasant to open a package of seeds and find squirming things in the envelope.)
Know your seeds. Are your seeds from F1 hybrid plants? If so, they won't be the same as the parent plant, if they grow at all. If you aren't sure, ask or do some research. Or grow the seeds yourself for a year, and see what happens.
If you aren't certain how to collect your seeds, familiarize yourself with the how-to's of seed saving. PlantFiles contains information on seed saving; specific questions can be posted to the Saving Seeds forum.
Do you know what the seed looks like? Sometimes seeds aren't where we think they should be. There's nothing more disappointing for a trader than receiving an envelope with petals and chaff but no seed. Some seed needs to dry before it is ready to trade, but some seeds should be sown fresh. So, know your seeds!
Clean your seeds. Sending seed heads or pods is generally not acceptable, nor is sending seed full of chaff. Some seeds - especially tomatoes - should be fermented before they are ready to be packaged.
Sort them into envelopes. Have the seeds sorted into envelopes, and ready to go so you don't end up overtrading.
Propagation and Division of Plants. If you have an abundance of plants to share, you may be very familiar with how and when to divide your plants, and how to propagate them. If you aren't, you may be able to locate propagation information for your specific plants in PlantFiles. Or post your question to the Propagation forum for help. If you have plants to trade, see Section 4: Plant Trading.
