SRGC Seed Exchange 2016-17 No. 70

[Maggi Young]

 SEED DONATIONS  Now / AUTUMN 2016

SRGC is very grateful to all those Members who donate seed to the Exchange. The bonus of being a seed donor is that you get 25 packets of seed in the main Seed Distribution (only 16 if you are a non-donor) - and Donors are given priority in the Seed Distribution.

Please send fresh clean seed as early as possible, and no later than 31st October.

Send seed to Ian and Carole Bainbridge :
Drs Ian and Carole Bainbridge
Luckie Harg’s, Anwoth Road, Gatehouse of Fleet, Castle Douglas, DG7 2EF, Scotland.


Please: Write the full name of the seed on each packet of seed, and your name as well.

    Put all seed of one type in one packet.

    Use small packets when possible (and avoid very big packets!).

    Supply a list of donated seed in alphabetical order.

    Please put your e-mail and phone number on your list in case we have any queries.

    Provide comments on any new or rare seed.

    Please support the Seed Exchange by donating seed each year.

[Maggi Young]

The SRGC Seed Exchange:
A HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who send in seed; without your contributions there would be no seed to distribute to all our members at home and abroad. Please do support the Seed Exchange by donating seed from your plants.

Full SEED EXCHANGE Notes for SRGC Seed Exchange 70  of  2016 -2017 can all be found in the  main website, here.
 
SEED EXCHANGE TEAM
Seed Reception Managers:  Drs Ian and Carole Bainbridge: 01557 814141. 
Luckie Harg’s, Anwoth Road, Gatehouse of Fleet, Castle Douglas, DG7 2EF, Scotland.
Seed Packeting Manager  George Watt: 01292 592445
Burnside, Littlemill Road, Drongan, East Ayrshire, KA6 7EN, Scotland

Seed Distribution Team Manager Carolyn McNab: 01557 870225
Barmagachan House, Borgue, Kirkcudbright DG6 4SW, Scotland

Seed Request Manager Neil McNulty, 6 Main Rd, Crookedholm, Kilmarnock, KA3 6JT, Scotland.   

SEED DONATIONS AUTUMN 2016
Please send fresh clean seed as early as possible, and no later than 31st October.
Send seed to:Drs Ian and Carole BainbridgeLuckie Harg’s, Anwoth Road, Gatehouse of Fleet, Castle Douglas, DG7 2EF, Scotland, UK.
Late seed can be accepted if a list has been sent by post or e-mail to reach us by 31st October.Please send e-mails to seed@srgc.org.uk
The seed list will be compiled on 1st November, so late seed may well not be in the exchange.
Please:
Write the full name of the seed on each packet of seed, and if collected in the wild, state where.
Write your name or initials on each packet.Put all seed of one type in one packet.
Use small packets when possible (and avoid very big packets!).
Supply a list of donated seed in alphabetical order.
Please put your e-mail, phone number and membership number (if known) on the list in case we have any queries.
Provide comments on any new or rare seed.
Wild seed: There has been much discussion recently about illegal collecting of wild seeds. The reputation of the SRGC is at risk if we offer seed that has been collected illegally, or which does not have distribution permission. This could harm future attempts by people who want to collect seed legitimately. The SRGC is not able to check every seed submission, so please do not submit wild-collected seed that would put our reputation at risk. Please also retain the documentation giving any relevant permission for as long as possible.
 
SEED PACKETING
Seed packeting will be done during November / early December. George Watt is the new manager of this section. George would be very grateful to hear from any UK member willing to volunteer to packet seeds.
Full instructions and guidance will be provided; details from George Watt on 01292 592445 or email seed@srgc.org.uk

SEED LISTS 2016
All members (except those with paperless subscriptions) will receive a seed list automatically by post. There will be no need for UK members to request lists. Please ensure your membership is renewed promptly, to ensure you receive a seed list.   Seed lists will be posted in late November and the seed list will be online from late November as well, when the online ordering system will be "live".

Important  Notes for US Members:
Members from the USA must have a ‘Small Lots of Seeds’ permit, which is issued by APHIS. You can find details of how to get a permit at 
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/plant_imports/smalllots_seed.shtml
This must be a ‘small lots’ permit, as this does not require UK phytosanitary certification. Please apply for your permits ahead of the seed exchange to ensure there is no hold up in getting your seeds back to you. You must enclose a copy of the permit and conditions and a green/yellow customs label for each request - one for a main request, and one for each surplus request of 50 packets. If you order seed online, you must still post the permit documents and labels to Neil McNulty, as soon as possible - to arrive before 15 January (or you may send them to Ian and Carole Bainbridge with your seed donation).You can copy your permit as many times as you need. Please ensure your permit is still valid before you send copies to us; the permits are valid for three years.We must stress that “no permit, no seed” is the SRGC rule! Several packs were left unsent last year as the paperwork never arrived. We will do our best to get everyone their seed, but it must be in compliance with USDA regulations.

US, Australian and New Zealand members
We still need you, please, to send a named and numbered list of main order seeds requested, unless you order online, when the computer will do that job for you and us. For those in Austrlaia - this is the list of species permitted entry :
https://bicon.agriculture.gov.au/BiconWeb4.0/ViewElement/Element/CaseScientificNames?caseElementPk=649544

Other overseas members
Please check with your authorities whether your country has any seed import requirements. Let us know what we need to do, and send any necessary documentation. We do wish to comply with any laws relating to seed imports.

[PaulM]

I collected some seeds in the wild when I was in Greece this past summer. Should I send it or not ?

Paul

[Maggi Young]

I suggest you contact  the Seed Reception Team :

Drs Ian and Carole Bainbridge,
Luckie Harg’s
Anwoth Road
Gatehouse of Fleet
Castle Douglas
DG7 2EF
Scotland
 UK.
(Late seed can be accepted if a list has been sent by post or e-mail to reach us by 31st October.) Please send e-mails to seed@srgc.org.uk

[CRSHEP0]

This is my first year participating with the Seed Exchange.  I read somewhere, if I was a e subscrition I needed to Register to participate in the exhange, and must have my membership number, and the 2017/17 Password.

I can't seem to locate where I must register and enter this information.  Help please?

Cecile

[Maggi Young]

Cecile, when the Seed Exchange goes "live"  (which will be in very early December I expect) you will find the details you need on your own  online subscription page - you log into that here : http://www.srgc.net/membership/  with your email address and the password you chose when you set up the subscription.

There will be notices here when  ordering goes live as well of course.  Online ordering is, of course, available for all members, not only those with e-subscriptions (where all journals are downloaded online etc)

[Carolyn]

On behalf of the seed distribution team, I would urge as many members as possible to order online. We are trying to automate and streamline our work, and online ordering will definitely reduce the workload for us in several ways. If you haven't tried it before, do try it this year, just read the instructions carefully and you will find it is actually quite simple and clear!

[CRSHEP0]

Thanks for the handhold.

[Carol Shaw]

Seed packeting has commenced in the Shaw household... quality of seed is good but quantity is down on previous years I think. Or box should head back to George on Monday 

[Carolyn]

Yes Carol, I think the quantity is down this year, we didn't have quite as many taxa donated and I noticed when packing up the boxes that often there was only one small donation, from which packers were asked to make 30 or 40 packets. Narcissus springs to mind as short this year. People should be sure to fill in substitutes or they may be disappointed.
George and Neil hope to get the last of the boxes finished and sent out to the packers tomorrow. They have done a great job!

[ashley]

Interesting for individual donors to hear something about the bigger picture. 
Thanks to all involved in what seems to be a very efficient process.

[Carolyn]

Ashley, it has been very interesting to be involved and see what is donated and from where. I recognise lots of donor names from the forum. It's important to have donations from far and wide - for example there was only ONE donation of erythronium dens canis this year. I know that mine in the garden did not set any seed, I guess this was a common problem. But somewhere, surely, the weather conditions must have been right for seeds to set.

[ashley]

Yes indeed Carolyn, I'd always assumed that donors were fairly widely scattered so that local variations in seed harvest might even out.  Obviously availability of rarer taxa is likely to fluctuate greatly from year to year, but I'm surprised to hear that a widely-grown genus like Narcissus is in short supply.  Therefore perhaps we should also try to donate more of what might be regarded as 'common stuff' on a regular basis.  On the other hand (& maybe controversially) I suggest that donors be discouraged from sending seed of uncertain identity unless there is a particular reason for doing so (e.g. unusual genus or provenance) AND the uncertainly is indicated on the label.   

[Dionysia]

I think that various factors are changing the content of the seedlist over the years.
The membership is ageing and this is exacerbated by them probably ceasing to collect/donate some time before they actually fall off the perch.
Possible and logical evidence that the reduction in wild sourced seed not only has an immediate effect but subsequent cascade effect due to a lack of 2nd/3rd generation garden produced seed.
Many seeds which featured regularly in the distributions no longer do. This may partly reflect previous comments that there are often few multiple donations of the same taxa. I have been a packer for the AGS for many years and am always surprised that in a typical box of say 50 taxa, at least 40-45 are represented by a single donation. It follows that if the donors of those taxa are unable to donate for whatever reason, then that taxa is likely to disappear from that years list and possibly subsequent years.
To those who think that any contribution might be a drop in the ocean, please reconsider as although the lists are long and impressive, much of the content may not be as plentiful as you think.

[Maggi Young]

Well said, Paul!   While it is true that some seasons are very poor for seed set there re other important factors, such as you describe.
 Still pretty amazing that so many taxa ARE available from the likes of the SRGC and AGS exchanges though - there cannot be many other  groups with such fantastic lists, being prepared by so many volunteers.

Adding this pic of a Primula capitata grown by Matt Topsfield from SRGC Seed last year.