the swap is from 10:00 am 12:00 pm. i will be there to set up just before 10:00 am. if you can come early, i would appreciate the help. stay as long as you like, but plan to start clearing out about noon (we must be cleaned up and gone by 1:00pm).

HOW IT WORKS
simply show up. if you have seeds, bring them and swap them. you are not supposed to sell anything at the library so be aware of that and any personal deals you make keep them personal. if you don't have anything to trade, come and hang out, maybe you can bum some seeds anyway. you can always go buy some interesting seeds at the store beforehand and divide them and come trade—they don't have to be seeds you collected. generally a trade is the amount of seeds you would use in a single planting. that might be a few, it might be hundreds, but there is no set number. you are welcome to bring cuttings and plants or anything else a gardener might trade seeds for—just keep it clean as the room is only free if there is no cleaning involved.

if someone wants to volunteer a 15-20 minute lecture as well we can add that on.

please invite your friends and neighbors and carpool—the more the merrier. i will post a flier you can hand out or post up in a few days.

IF YOU PLAN TO ATTEND PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS POST. if you are not a member of gardenweb and want to attend, it is not required, but please take a few minutes and join our forum. it's free and we would love to add you to our discussion groups.

hope to see you all there. the room will fit about 50-75 people.

Orange Blossom – Johnny’s – determinate. I got 16 qts of sauce from 2 plants last year besides eating them fresh and supplying the neighbors. Very meaty and lower in acid than most roma tomatoes.

Brandywine – Johnny’s – indeterminate. If you have not eaten a dead ripe Brandywine you have not eaten a tomato.

Stripped German – Johnny’s – indeterminate. Larger and sweeter than Mr Stripy.

Black Trifele – Johnny’s – indeterminate. I have never grown this before. My experience with blacks is that they are earlier, sweeter, but not as productive as standards.

Pink Caspian – Tomatofest – indeterminate. I am starting this for a friend. Supposed to be a Brandywine quality tomato 10 days sooner. I am not planting this myself but will be interested in feedback.

Mrs. Mitchell’s Italian – Tomatofest – indeterminate. Same as Pink Caspian but even earlier. Would like feedback.

Black Prince – Tomatofest – indeterminate. Early and very sweet. Smaller tomato.

Italian Tree – Tomatofest – indeterminate. Huge plant and tomatoes. Too big for a cage, needs to be trellised. The fruit are very large and knobby but sweet and lower in acid. Good for filling up a freezer.

I buy from Johnny’s because they do a good job testing their seeds and varieties are true. Because I only have a few or often I plant of a variety being true to type is critical. With the exception of the Orange Blossom they are all open pollinated so they lend themselves to seed saving but unless you bag your flowers you can never be sure. I don’t buy from Totally Tomatoes because for 2 years in a row I got tomatoes that were not true.

I will be bringing other seeds as well as the tomato plants.

I'll also bring copies of a the recipe Annie's Salsa from the Harvest forum. It is really good! I can't stand to buy store bought salsa now.

Tyffanie

that and REMEMBER THIS IS AN INDOOR EVENT. plants are welcome, but keep them small and if you bring something you dug out of the ground, bag it or something to keep it clean or make the exchange outside. you all know what i mean. i don't expect anybody is going to show up with a tree. just be careful with the pony packs and bring a box to transport any potted items (both if you plan to give or receive). and don't water just before you show up.

if somebody wants to take it on, i think having a plant swap in early may would be a great idea. we can hold that outdoors and be as dirty as we want.

Anyway, I'll list my seeds to give away below, and if someone wants to bring them to the exchange, maybe you could meet me at work in downtown SLC? I work at the corner of 3rd South and Main. If you want to meet me, send a private message through the "My Page" link by my name above.

Here's my list:
Xeranthemum annuum
Iceland poppy, mixed (LOTS of these)
Penstemon 'Scarlet Bugler'
Callirhoe involucrata
Penstemon strictus (Rocky Mtn Penstemon)
Foxglove, mixed
Iberis sempervirens
Lavatera tauricensis (name is in question - may be a colder-hardy variety of Lavatera thuringiaca)
Larkspur 'Rocket'
Aquilegia caerulea (Rocky Mtn Columbine)
Shirley poppy (red -- the Flanders Field poppy)

If you want 'em, email me and arrange to meet me downtown this week, OK?

I was planning on coming, but realize it conflicts with my Master Gardener Easter Egg Hunt @ Ogden Botanical Gardens.
I hope that everyone has a wonderful time there at the seed exchange.
Stevation... I would love to have some of your larkspur, colmbine and foxglove.
I will keep my eye out for the dark sweet potato vines for ya! :-)
Have an awesome day everyone! :-)

Jim

I'm going to try making biochar for the first time, is there a better place to start a new thread, or maybe the subject has been covered elsewhere on gardenweb?

Here is a site with Terra Preta news.
http://terrapreta.bioenergylists.org/

There is another really long blog about it (12 or so pages) but I don't have it bookmarked. Google biochar and you should find it. The above first link has a post from me if you have questions I will answer here or there. Also look on youtube. There are a few videos on making it. The best way is with a gasifier. Google 'wood gasifier' and you will get about a half dozen ways to make one. Make a test unit first to get the concept. Chances are it won't cost you anything. I made two from stuff around the house.

The seed swap was a success. At least for me. I couldn't believe the variety everyone had. I certainly left with more than I came with. Thanks everyone! Looking forward to the next one already.