SRGC Seed Exchange 2021 - 22

[Lesley Cox]

This is NOT a complaint, merely an observation.

I started my seed application on my laptop and was getting along nicely when the laptop packed up and needed some urgent surgery. I took it in for this and it has been duly fixed and upgraded but in the meantime I can't find what I'd already done of my application.

Decided to wait for the printed copy which I prefer in any case and it did come but didn't arrive (in New Zealand or rather at my address) until 3 days before the applications were to close. I have no doubt this was due to travel, cargoes and other things we can't control in this time of pandemic viruses. Normally UK to New Zealand takes about a week. (It used to take 4 days  max!) so in the finish I decided there was little point in making an application as it would all be closed anyway by the time it got back to the UK.

Probably just as well as I'm in the middle of shifting house and garden and have still seeds to sow from various other sources as well as the garden, but I just wonder whether the printed list assuming one still is produced next year and after, could be posted out a little earlier. I'm not sure what this would involve but put the suggestion forward anyway.

The photo of the seed packet pickers is very nice and I hope all had no trouble with knees and backs.

[Lesley Cox]

I notice above that John McMillan's printed list arrived on Dec 11th. Mine arrived on January 13th.

[Richard Green]

Hi Lesley, sorry to hear that you didn't make an order this year.  The full SeedList was actually made available on our website from 1 December (and still is) both in pdf and Excel format.  Printing problems meant that it was not mailed out until 6 December.  However, as always, we made allowances for late receipt of postal orders as against online orders, and we would have been quite happy to make a further exception and offer an email workaround if you had computer problems - as indeed we did for others. 

Covid caused us exceptional problems with hugely late receipt of seed donations from both Australia and NZ this year, so i am not surprised to hear that paper mail is affected in a similar way.

Strangely, there is no sign of any unfinished online order under your name on our system, we did chase up those members who started but didn't finish their orders.

[Richard Green]

75TH SEED EXCHANGE 2021/22 - PROGRESS UPDATE
We have now finished picking all seed orders.
All UK orders are now out of or hands and in the mail system.
All non-UK orders (except USA, EU and NI) will be mailed out tomorrow (Friday).
We hope to mail out most USA orders early next week.  If you haven't yet emailed us your USDA APHIS labels them please do so now.
All EU orders will go for Phytosanitary Inspection next week, and I shall give a further update in a few days time.
I hope this update is helpful.
Cheers
Richard
SRGC Seed Distribution Team.
         

[Lesley Cox]

Thankyou for your message Richard. I should have looked further into possibilities. But as I said before, I'm almost overwhelmed by seed at present so in a sense, NOT applying was light relief. I'll do better next year and am already collecting seed to send for the next list (Dianthus erinaceus is seeding well as always. Just so painful and prickly to harvest!)
I don't envy you your current job or those of the packers and others. Great people, every one, so generous with their time. Seed growers have so much to be grateful for.

[Richard Green]

Yes, there is always next year Lesley!  We shall plan to have the paper list out sooner, but online orders are encouraged and preferred.

SEED EXCHANGE PROGRESS UDATE - Friday 28 January
We have completed most of the USA orders this afternoon (Friday), and these will be put in the mail tomorrow (Saturday).
EU orders will be delayed by at very least by a fortnight due to Phytosanitary Certficate Inspections - more updates later...

Many thanks to all who have donated seed, and helped in reception, packing, picking and mailing.  Especially to the West of Scotland team who toook over order picking from South West Scotland, and the SWS helpers who passed on their years of detailed knoweldge.

To the rest of you, PLEASE decide to help and donate seeds next year - this year's list was limited because we received fewer donations. 

[fermi de Sousa]

To the rest of you, PLEASE decide to help and donate seeds next year - this year's list was limited because we received fewer donations.

Hi Richard,
how are negotiations going with the Govt about the need for a Phyto for seed from outside the UK?
When NARGS was confronted by similar regulations some years ago they got one person in each country to receive all the seed donations and then take them for inspection. Eventually they got the exemption for "small parcels of seeds" which get inspected by APHIS (hence the stickers to go on the seed packages that go to the USA).
What will be required for this year?
cheers
fermi

[Richard Green]

Hi Fermi,

There are no current negotiations as to phyto certificates for incoming seed.  It is a fact that they are required now.  The RHS is coordinating representations to Government from horticultural societies about introducing a Small Lots Scheme similar to the US version.  We hear that Plant Breeders, and Research Organisations are also asking for something similar.  However, legislation will take a while to implement - even once the principle is accepted.

Yes, I think the only solution for the SRGC and other societies next year is for members in overseas geographical areas to join together and send combined lots of seed to the UK under one phyto certificate.  Who pays these costs, and whether society Seed Exchanges continue to be viable is a subject that will be discussed at some length this coming year......

[Catwheazle]

Is there any news about shipping to the EU?

[Richard Green]

Yes, the latest news is that the Scottish Government Seeds Inspectors are still looking at the seeds for EU members.  They have been doing this for just over one week so far, and Friday's update was that they "hoped" to have cleared them for phytosanitary certificate purposes by the end of this (second) week.

The seeds will still need to be divided up into individual envelopes, and mailed onwards to our EU members.  Of course, who can tell whether there will be a further delay at the border between the UK and the EU on entry to the EU?  This is the first time we have sent seed under the new rules.

Watch this space - this may still take some time.  Please continue to be patient.......

[Catwheazle]

Thanks also for the patient answer
Bernd

[gordonhogenson]

Here in the United States, I got my first seed package from the exchange! Yay! 

However, I see that 12 out of the 50 in this batch sadly did not make it through the inspection process and were "removed and destroyed" by the USDA. Whenever this happens, the USDA inspector will leave a document that explains why. It says, "Seeds found with fungi or other contaminants are not allowed entry per the conditions of your permit."

It looks like the inspection process has become stricter, since I don't remember this happening before. Curious what others in the U.S. have experienced.

Still, lots of good seed arrived intact, so thanks to everyone who donated and helped get them sorted and packaged, especially during the pandemic.

[Richard Green]

Gordon, I think that yours were the only seeds to go through the SeaTac (WA) port of entry, so maybe their staff were being particularly careful and over-zealous. 

It goes without saying that we check all seed before packetting and despatch for fungi and chaff etc, so as far as we could say the seeds were clean when they left Scotland.  If you like to email me personally (or PM me) with a list of what you actually received, then I can check what we dispatched to you, and check any remaining seeds for those numbers for any problems.

Comments from other USA members will be welcomed......

[wooden shoe]

Still no seeds here in The Netherlands... I got a request from customs to pay Euro 4.13 for custom clearance without specifying which goods I had to pay for. The tracking number was a UK one, so I guess it is the seeds.
I paid customs one week ago, but still nothing here. All the while the garden starts growing again, including weeds. So regular gardening is continuing, no seeds have been planted during winter, all seeds needing winter dormancy are too late (about 100% of my choices).
I remember good times when seeds arrived at the end of December and mail from the UK just took 3 days.

[Richard Green]

No, it is not seeds, the Customs request will be for your Rock Garden Journal.  Brexit means that some EU postal authorities are asking for VAT and an admin fee before delivering this.  Please ask your postal authorities how we should mark our Journal for it to be delivered free to you.  I think that many of our Journals are being delivered free, only a handful are being charged.

Brexit has caused us big problems, and you may not understand that phytosanitary certificates take some time.  See my earlier comment in this thread.  Seeds for our EU members are now being put in envelopes, and I hope that they will be in the mail to you next week.  Please be patient.

I suggest that you check the internet to learn how to cold-stratify your seeds in a refrigerator.  This may enable you to give them the dormancy they require to germinate this spring.

I hope you are pleased that the SRGC are (I think) the only plant society who is sending seeds into the EU this year!