Tis the Season! For christmas lights, cookie baking, and... seed catalogs!

Fallback date/venue for the seed swap: Saturday, Feb 4, Chef Lin Buffet in Frederick MD

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UPDATE: Looking at Feb 11 now. Chef Lin does not have that back room for us (it's pretty much a dedicated storage room now). Checking into alternative locations, possibly Golden Corral in Frederick (near Frances Scott Key mall). Discussion ongoing, but I wanted to put a note in the first post for anybody coming across this thread now.
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I will have them pencil us in next time we're at Chef Lin. But! I am totally willing to entertain the idea of other venues (or an alternate host) for this swap. :-)

I wanted to get the conversation started, both to see about alternatives and to check to see what seeds people might have saved before we start ordering seeds for the coming season.

I started another thread here to talk about sharing packs and/or splitting shipping (sharing an order) when we order seeds. The thread "Splitting seed orders?" in Mid Atlantic Gardening forum

Once we have an official date & venue, I'll start a new thread for the swap with all the information. At that point, I think it would be useful to see if we can recruit participants, which would hopefully also mean recruiting more participants in our forum. As several have pointed out, our numbers have been dropping -- and while we cherish all our friends here, we would like to make some new garden friends also! Any thoughts on this would be welcome.

For one thing, if somebody could volunteer to comb through the member list and make a list (screen names) of NGA members in the mid-atlantic area (especially new members), we could then broadcast an invitation to those people to come to the swap and/or join the conversations in this forum.

Now for my begging...

If anybody has "basil from Italy" seeds (older seeds from me, or collected from your own grow-out), please let me know. This is one seed I intended never to be out of, and yet here i am. I finally found the original seed packet that my friend Theresa brought back from Italy, and I know where I can get more... however, the seeds I've been sharing have been selectively saved for many years by me, so they will give mostly plants with large, crinkled leaves. Basil seeds are fine for 5 years, and I've grown them out when they are more like 10 years old, so I'm not picky about how old the seeds are!

Similarly, I'm not sure if my Hot & Spicy Basil seeds are too old to germinate. That's the one Chantell got from a friend, who brought it back from Senegal. It has small, pointed leaves like a thai basil but has a peppery flavor (similar to the difference between regular oregano and 'Hot & Spicy' oregano, which is why I gave it that name).

Likewise, I grew out 'Fish Pepper' for many years, increasing the variegation on the leaves, and my seeds are now probably too old.

Thank you!

I have not been very successful in growing seeds inside the house, still have mice. Have now purchased balls that are supposed to chase them away, because they do not like the smell-Waiting if they work and still also using mouseX, that make them dry up, and they died because they do not drink water----I plant seeds when it is warm enough outside. I also have lost the Vietnamese market near me, where I usually get young plants like hot peppers and Vietnamese cilantro that I usually plant. They are needed to make the baby clam dish from Central Vietnam, which is one of my favorite dishes. They are very similar to weeds that grow in my yard, but the weed does not have the dot that the Vietnamese cilantro has. Would like to purchase the seeds if available. Anyone else interested ? Vietnamese name= RAU RAM. https://www.google.com/search?...

I love the scent. It smells like the red Torchflower that I am also interested in, but so far unable to get. Here the red torch ginger is used sometimes in flower decorations, but in Indonesia they eat it in salads, can be eaten raw or cooked.
Just found out the seeds are available from Amazon! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BC8NZC7K/

I am willing to order them and share. Wait ordering until Spring? Will the seed freeze and not grow later when purchased now? I am interested in Holy Basil and Lemon Basil--I still have old Lemon Basil seeds.

I noticed that amazon entry has zero reviews. Let me check ETSY for you...

Found pink one here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/5...

I would trust germination from somebody with 25K positive reviews more than from an Amazon seller with no reviews, even if price per seed is higher. But sometimes you have to roll the dice! If you message the guy on ETSY, he might be able to find red ones and/or give you germination tips. I'm wondering if this is something better grown from a bulb/tuber. Check tropical plant sellers like Eden's, maybe.

Actually, just go to ETSY and enter "Etlingera" in the search field at the top... many possibilities!

YeyBroms has over 12K sales and top reviews, carries rhizomes for 3 colors of Etlingera. Personally, unless I knew something about growing them from seed, I'd opt to pay more for a rhizome. Your call! https://www.etsy.com/shop/YeyB...

Jill, I think you are right. It is ginger, better from the rhizomes, who knows how LONG it will take from a seed! Will keep checking---It also has to be either red or pink---I am still hoping I still can get the Vietnamese Coriander young plants from somewhere----so sad that Market is empty---I did not go there for 2 weeks only, they are gone! They usually also sell the kaffir lime plant that I was contemplating in purchasing. And the Calamondin Limes. I am hoping people from Florida are coming again selling tropical plants at the Asian markets to sell their stuff.

I had a key lime for many years. It would get scale every winter but hang in there until I could put it outside, where some insect must have taken care of the scale for me. Wiping down with rubbing alcohol helps but doesn't quite eliminate scale. Maybe if you applied it every couple of weeks you could break the cycle. Most plants are remarkably tolerant of rubbing alcohol, even if applied full strength (70%) from the bottle. Citrus leaves have a waxy cuticle, which probably makes it easier for scale to take hold but also makes it fine to spray or wipe them with rubbing alcohol.

So... anybody have Italian Bail, Hot & Spicy Basil, Fish Pepper, or Pretty Purple Pepper seeds from me? If I can get even a couple of plants again, I can go from there.

When I was looking for Lemon Basil I think at Lowes, I saw Hot & Spicy Beil and also Italian Basil, but I did not purchase them. Lowes has more Basil plants than HD. Lowes is pretty far for me, so I do not go there for me. And after they sold me a floor display only fridge, and they gave me so much trouble, I do not go there very often. And stupid me, I did not see the sign either--right on the front door of the fridge! But it seems like people of both at HD and Lowes like to give problem cases to 'someone else'---Bad experience with HD---but now finally everything is okay---

Hot & Spicy basil is a seed that, as far as I know, isn't available commercially. The main reason for wanting the Italian basil, Fish pepper, and Pretty Purple Pepper seeds that originated with seeds I'd saved is that I saved them selectively over the years for better leaf texture/color.
I had hoped to start things from seed last year, but ended up busy with getting my parents' house emptied & sold.
This year, I'm determined! I also have a plan for utilizing several 4-shelf "greenhouses" from Aldi, with a sheltered
space on the patio between the row of greenhouses and the foundation for putting the plumeria "herd" out early. I think the only way to be sure of having zinnias is to start them in flats and transplant them once the stems are too tough to be so appealing to bunnies.

I've started basil from seed that was a good 10 years old. As long as it's been stored cool (not in a hot attic) and dry, your "old" lemon basil seed should be fine.

Potential wrinkle in the seed swap venue. Looked at the "party room" at Chef Lin tonight. The last few times I've used it, it was being increasingly used for storage but was still workable for events (especially if you threw decorative cloths over the stuff along the one wall, as I did for Joyanna's birthday party). However, since COVID there has been little call for it to be used for groups... consequently, there are storage shelves along all the walls now and 4 tables pushed together in the center.

We should still be OK using the back portion of the restaurant, but we won't enjoy the privacy of the separate room.

If anybody knows another place that might have a room we could use, please speak up! If we only have a dozen people, it's not such a big deal, but I'm hoping we'll be able to spread the word and get a good turnout.

Any venue suggestions?

Any places you're ordering seeds from (with delivery before Feb 3) where you could split packets or let somebody order with you (to share shipping costs)? Then please go here: The thread "Splitting seed orders?" in Mid Atlantic Gardening forum

I'm ordering from HPS and/or TGS for tomatoes and peppers. Probably also Fedco, maybe Italian Seeds (Fanchi brand seeds) for basil -- unless somebody has a few seeds of "my" Italian Basil from Italy to share with me!

Golden Corral (near Frances Scott Key mall in Frederick) has (IMO) good food and lots of different food... it's not "fine dining," but neither is Chef Lin. Their website says they have a complimentary private room available. I can call &/or stop by to see if the first Saturday in Feb. is available & to take a look at it.

??

I'd also be happy to have somebody else step in and organize the venue! I'd help in whatever way possible (like bringing bags with everybody's names for pre-swapped seeds).

Eating at Chef Lin (or anywhere) and going to Dutch Plant Farm for the seed swap is a wonderful idea.

I can check with DPF and see if they are amenable to the idea. From their perspective, it would get some plant-crazy people into the store, and when I was there a couple weeks ago there was a large empty area. So, maybe, but not a sure thing.

Open to suggestions!

I think Golden Corral would be a better option than Chef Lins. The private room is a good selling point and the menu is more varied for those that may have dietary restrictions.

I think most places have abandoned the private room be sure they were under utilized. We used the have a Red,Not and Blue down the road. The only time I saw their room used was for holidays.

I'll call Golden Corral and ask... it's still prominently featured on their website, so hopefully still in use. They have a ton of space there, so I am guessing the private dining room was used for social distancing -- a way to keep family gatherings separate from the main dining area.

Rick, is your Red Hot & Blue closed?

I think if we can find a place with a private room, that would be logistically easier than moving from a restaurant to DPF.

They closed a couple of years ago. It's now a Feasty Crab.