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Seed swaps


Tony F Dordogne
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One of the most popular areas in the various gardening forums in the Uk are seed swaps.

It's difficult getting involved with them if you live in France because of the SAE thing, postage prices etc.

It just crossed my mind that it would be possible to do something similar in France - think the country is too big for a Seedy Sunday event tho may be able to organise something locally.

Anybody else interested?

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Tony

Its a good idea but what are you talking about, flowers, vegetables?  We gather lots of seeds from morning glory, marigolds, lupins, holyhocks and petunias etc but so does everyone else I suspect. 

We also collect pepper, melon and tomato seeds. So is it the rarer seeds you are talking about?  Some of the villages here,  Laquepie in the Tarn for one, has a spring plant fair where people can go and buy and sell seeds and young plants.

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No Ron, wasn't thinking of the heirloom stuff tho they would be interesting to some of us, most of the swaps seem to be saved seeds that people have an excess of and are looking for something else - like some of the parsnip seeds that are difficult to get in France or some of the more interesting pumpkins/squashes etc.

One person in our gardening group was having trouble sourcing butternut squash seeds - I have some spares, swapped for some flower seeds that J wanted, easily done really.

But it's a thriving thing in the UK so just wondered.

Like the idea of the Fair in the Tarn tho. 

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When it comes to seeds I am like a child in a sweet shop.  I literally have hundreds from over the last two years or so including some very special hot chilli ones and specialist sweet peas.  Would gladly post them within France and indeed  to place a list on this site.  I need nothing for them save for if someone sees a collecting box for a well worth while charity or the local church or whatever a small donation in the box would be fine.  I also have some wild flower seeds.

Just had my bio seed pots and shallots from the good bio guys in Bretagne and with whom I have had dealings for years.

I too am a member of the other good guys near Coventry.

 

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[quote user="Âme"]I think seed swapping is a great idea. Very interested.

This French association Kokopelli is concerned with harvesting, storing and distributing seeds, with the aim of preserving diversity. They sell varieties of heritage seeds and a fascinating book about seed conservation.
This is the UK site, in English. http://www.terredesemences.com


[/quote]

Kokopelli is fine and I've used them but they are always in serious trouble with the authorities and from what I've read in the French bio gardening mags their continued existance is still dependant on the outcome of appeals at the courts in Bordeaux where they were heavily fined for breaching the rather joke French seed selling laws.

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[quote user="dragonrouge"]

When it comes to seeds I am like a child in a sweet shop.  I literally have hundreds from over the last two years or so including some very special hot chilli ones and specialist sweet peas. Just had my bio seed pots and shallots from the good bio guys in Bretagne and with whom I have had dealings for years.

I too am a member of the other good guys near Coventry.  [/quote]

Me too.  Recent thread on the Grapevine was asking about seeds and boxes etc and people were saying they were embarrased with two shoe boxes full.  I've got a large 47 litre IKEA storage box full plus an overflow box so getting rid of some is the only way forward, I can't even use up enough in the new garden I've been asked to help with to reduce them significantly.

Which guys in Bretagne DR, I'm always looking for newer bio suppliers, don't think there's a problem naming them - tho one of the Mods will soon put it right if there is.

As for the Ryton folk, (HDRA/Garden Organic as it now glossily has become) been a member on and off for as long as I can remember, even remember them when they were in Essex when dear old Lawrence Hills was still running it.  AND I still use a couple of his books for guidance and ideas, like the best way of laying a compost bin and the use of Californian golden compost activator or pee to the uninitiated in the ways of organic gardening.  I still think it's a brilliant reason for not traipsing all the way back to the house, taking your dirty boots off etc etc :)

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[quote user="Tony F Dordogne"]Which guys in Bretagne DR, I'm always looking for newer bio suppliers, don't think there's a problem naming them - tho one of the Mods will soon put it right if there is.[/quote]

There's no problem with genuine third-party recommendations [:)].

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Its Association Payzons Ferme Produits de L'Agriculture Biologique

Les deux Croix

56300

Neulliac

02 97 39 65 03

email [email protected]

 

Tony have too much of their stuff this year sacks of pots plus shallots.  The pots are bred against bugs and blight and the rest of the nasties but bio wise.  If you need some samples please send me a pm and I will let you have some in the post.  This also applies to say six others and I will  gladly let you have some samples. I have no financial involvement with these guys.

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Not ready for seed swaps yet  - havent been gardening long enough. But last year was my first go at vegetables and apart from tomato blight was very pleased.

Anyone trying to save money on seeds? I bought very ordinary varieties of carrots and peas from Lidl last year and they did very well so this year went back and have stocked up. All small packets - including tomatoes (several varieties) in small packets only 29 cents and big packets (peas beans haricots ) only 49cents. Only one comment on beans, the haricots d'espagne (runner beans) were not a very nice variety so I'll pick some of those up in UK, along with purple sprouting broccoli, which I couldn't find here.

can anyone recommend potato varieties easily available (gamme vert?) Last year I tried mona lisa and charlotte. The charlotte were fine (still eating them, buy mona losa a bit small. what I really want is a good baker/masher!

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Tony, the Cottage Garden Society in the UK (http://www.thecgs.org.uk/) have a seed exchange programme.  Although it states the postage charge within the UK on the website, I'm sure that they mail outside the UK.  We were members for quite some time and have lots of plants in our garden that were grown from seeds acquired via the exchange.  They have a regular newsletter which often has an article on gardening outside the UK from one of their overseas members.  It maybe worth dropping Clive an email to ask? (Clive's email is on the membership benefits page.)

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