Hi Everyone,
I think its about time to get this thread going! Its only about two months till the next swap!
Charlene has once again graciously offered to host the swap at her house, and, unless there are objections, I think well take her up on her offer! In her post on the first swap thread, on June 14, she said:
"I would love to host the fall swap this year if no one else has stepped forward. If I hosted, my August is swamped so it would have to be in Sept. (the 4th or 11th)."
If I had my druthers, Id pick the 4th! By the 11th Ill already be in Southern Utah on whats become my annual pilgrimage! But if the 4th doesnt work for most people, Ill be sure I get my plants to somebody who can get them to the swap! I have 30 things potted up alreadyand I havent really started yet!
So lets get some opinions and try to decide which date will work the best for most people.
For those of you who havent been to a swap at Charlenes before, to get to her house you exit I25 at one of the exits just north of Castle Rock, and then shes just a mile or two off of the highway! Very easy to get to. Great for folks from the Springs and the Metro area, but a little bit further for the folks up north of Denver. And for Bonnie! Well, its a long way to Silt no matter how you look at it!
For everyone, here are all the BASIC SWAP FAQS!
Anything that has anything to do with gardening is welcome at the swap! Plants, of course, but also seeds, cut herbs, fresh veggies, pots, books/magazines, tools, garden art.......... Anything garden related that you dont want or need anymore! The plants are the only thing that we "officially" trade! Anything else will just be up for grabs on a first come, first served basis!
And then theres the pot luck part of the swap! Your dish can be absolutely anything! Hot dishes, cold dishes, appetizers/finger foods, salads, sweetsanything you think others would enjoy! Homemade dishes, if you have time, are always good and very much appreciated! Please plan to bring a serving spoon if it will be needed for your dish, and also please make some provision for it to be covereda lid if its that type of dish, or plastic wrap, or whatever. And a request I made at the last couple swaps that has worked out pretty well! I love sweets, so I definitely dont want to put too much of a damper on the dessert type things, but at a couple of the early swaps we seemed to wind up with mostly sweets, so if youre trying to decide between that or something else, lean toward the something else! And if you happen to have something that needs to be reheated, Im sure youll be welcome to do it in Charlenes oven or microwave.
Heres the basic timeline:
~ When you arrive, there will be a table with a sign in sheet and name badges. Everybody needs to sign in and make a name badge for themselves and any significant others or guests.
~ We start out with the eatinggives us energy to do the swapping!
~ Then, when we get to the swapping part, we draw numbers for the first TWO rounds of picking what we want. With number in hand, we go around and have everybody briefly describe what they brought so people know whats there and so everyone can be poised to jump, to get what they wantif nobody else selects it first! After the two rounds of picking the two things we want the most, we open it up to a free-for-all, where everyone just goes around and grabs whatever they want of whats left! (Wear your helmet!)
So thats how it works! Not really too complicated!
Heres some basic info about the plants you bring:
~ Please be sure each of the plants you bring is labeled one way or another! It doesnt need to be anything fancy! Here are some of the ways theyve been labeled in the past: a regular plant tag in the pot Plastic beverage cups cut up into narrow strips to use as plant tags popsicle sticks used as plant tags staple a piece of paper with the name onto the pot write the name of the plant on the pot with a marker or crayon make up adhesive labels with the plant name and basic information and stick them on the pots. I make up little strips of paper on the computer with the info and include one with each plant. Anything that will work to ensure the person getting the plant will know what they have when they get home. When were at the swap, we all think well be able to remember the things were getting to take home, and then we wind up grabbing all kinds of things in the free-for-all, and........... Oops! What is this!
~ Whether its divisions or seedlings or whole plants youll be bringing, please try to get them into their pots by at least a couple weeks before the swap so they have time to "settle in" and start to root out a little bit. Most plants dont do at all well in "garden soil," so if at all possible, use some sort of a store bought potting mix. It doesnt need to be expensive! (But Hyponex would probably be worse than garden soil, so if thats the option, stick with the garden soil!)
~ And please plan to thoroughly water the plants youre bringing the DAY BEFORE the swap so theyll have time to drain well enough to be easy to transport, yet be wet enough to not be wilting at the swap or while people are taking them home! We had wilting problems at the first couple swapswere learning!
And then theres that one Swap Law that everybody needs to know about!
Nobody needs to have any plants to be welcome at the swap! If youre new to gardening and dont have anything yet, if you just moved to a new house and dont have anything to give away yet, or if you just dont have anything for any reason at all, thats ok! There are always plenty of plants to go around, and we get together as much to swap gardening talk and friendship as to swap plantsso come regardless of how much you do or don't have to bring! (And, yes, you do get to pick plants in the swap part even if you werent able to bring any!)
On the day of the swap we dont allow any "early picking," meaning nobody can take any of the plants till we start our first two rounds of picking, BUT we do allow earmarking of plants when people post what they plan to bring. Ill try to get a thread started in the next couple days for people to list what theyre bringing, and for people to make requests, so lets try to keep most of that out of this thread for now. This thread will get so long all by itself that it will be hard to use by the time of the swap!
~~~ Fall Swap ~~~ Fall Swap ~~~ Fall Swap ~~~
Whos interested?
Skybird
treebarb Z5 Denver
bloomingamaryllisrmg
Related Professionals
Manchester Landscape Contractors · Chelmsford Landscape Contractors · Fair Oaks Landscape Contractors · Fort Payne Landscape Contractors · Fort Worth Landscape Contractors · Garland Landscape Contractors · Mount Kisco Landscape Contractors · North Chicago Landscape Contractors · Wallingford Landscape Contractors · Waltham Landscape Contractors · Antioch Landscape Contractors · Hueytown Landscape Contractors · Bellflower Solar Energy Systems · Elmwood Park Solar Energy Systems · Madison Solar Energy Systemsmstywoods
col_sprg_maters
amester
jclepine
Skybird - z5, Denver, ColoradoOriginal Author
singcharlene
jclepine
redley_gardener
serpent_moon
col_sprg_maters
gjmancini
foxes_garden
Skybird - z5, Denver, ColoradoOriginal Author
mstywoods
singcharlene
singcharlene