SRGC Seed Donations from USA 2022-2023

[MarcR]

 From US Members: we are delighted to say that Marc Rosenblum, an SRGC member from Oregon, has volunteered to coordinate and collate all the seed donations from US members, obtain a single phytosanitary certificate and forward the seed to the exchange. We are really grateful to Marc for this, and want to let you know the procedures for this year:

Please send your clean, dry seed (no wet packs please) to Marc Rosenblum, 821 Parry Rd, Falls City, OR 97344, by 31st October 2022.

Send an alphabetical list of seed with your parcel. You can contact Marc if needed at ivanhoe3@charter.net. Please use glassine envelopes if you have them, and send modest, not huge volumes of seed. If you have larger volumes of special seed you wish to send, please email us at seed@srgc.org.uk. You must, please, Email seed@srgc.org.uk with a list of your seed donations before 31st October 2022. If you do not so this, your seed donations will not appear in the seed list.

Please note that we will always be more interested in American seed, and less interested in plants common in British or European gardens. Seed despatch to the USA from the SRGC Exchange is not affected by these changes; this will operate in the normal way. You will need to send your ’Small lots of Seed Permit’ and green & yellow labels with your seed orders; please do not send these with your seed donation.

From Canadian members: Marc Rosenblum, an SRGC member from Oregon, has volunteered to coordinate and collate all the seed donations from US and Canadian members, obtain a single phytosanitary certificate and forward the seed to Scotland. We are really grateful to Marc for this, and want to let you know the procedures for this year: If you intend to donate seed from Canada, please contact Marc at ivanhoe3@charter.net as soon as possible, so he can email you a copy of his ‘Small Lots of Seed’ permit and a mailing label. This will enable you to send seed to the USA.

You must send your seed to APHIS; use the green and yellow label provided. Your clean, dry seed (no wet packs please) must go with an alphabetical list of species, and a forwarding label inside the envelope to Marc Rosenblum, 821 Parry Rd, Falls City, OR 97344, by 31st October 2022. Each envelope must contain no more than fifty modest packets of seed; if you have more, send multiple envelopes to Marc.

A DIFFERENT green and yellow labe must be used for each 50 or less packets.
They are numbered and can be used only once.

Please use glassine envelopes if you have them, and send modest, not huge volumes of seed. If you have larger volumes of special seed you wish to send, please email us at seed@srgc.org.uk. You must, please, Email seed@srgc.org.uk with a list of your seed donations before 31st October 2022. If you do not so this, your seed donations will not appear in the seed list.

Please note that we will always be more interested in American seed, and less interested in plants common in British or European gardens. Seed despatch to Canada from the SRGC Exchange is not affected by these changes; this will operate in the normal way.

Except for a minor insert, this has been coppied from the donations tab of the main site.

[Maggi Young]

Great to know you are helping out like this, Marc!

[MarcR]

Great to know you are helping out like this, Marc!

Maggie,

I get a lot of help here! It's time to give something back.

Marc

[Maggi Young]

Maggie,

I get a lot of help here! It's time to give something back.

Marc

    A wonderful sentiment, Marc, pity there aren't more like you!

[Diane Whitehead]

Marc,

Thank you for doing this.

When you give instructions to Canadians, tell them to write your name and address on the outside of the envelope before covering it with the label to APHIS.  They should also include a label with your address inside the envelope.  I have had seeds returned to me several times when I followed the official instructions, and APHIS didn't use the enclosed label, so I started writing the destination address outside the envelope, and that was successful.

Diane Whitehead
Victoria, B.C., Canada

[MarcR]

Diane,

It is my pleasure to do this! I have an ongoing good experience working with Monica Little at Seatac APHIS PPQ [near Seattle]. Placing my address under the permit label is a good idea; but a label in the envelope also works.

Marc

[bainbridges]

Overseas seed donations from all countries

We have just heard though Diane Clement at AGS, that UK Environment Department officials have very recently assured her that there will be no checks on seed imported into the UK in 2022, even though there's nothing posted on government websites. 

On this basis, we ask you to send your seed to us directly in the usual way, to Ian & Carole Bainbridge, Luckie Harg's, Anwoth, Gatehouse of Fleet, Castle Douglas, DG7 2EF Scotland, by 31st October.  Full details of what to do are on the webpage below.

This means that USA and Canadian members can please ignore previous 'new' instructions

Once again, many thanks for your efforts in donating to SRGC.

This means that Marc Rosenblum will be able to stand down from duties, so to speak.  We really appreciate his offer to coordinate seed from the USA and Canada, and the actions he's already taken to help with what now seems to be unnecessary for this year at least.  So, very many thanks Marc from all at the SRGC Seed Exchange.

[Jan Jeddeloh]

Does anyone know the current UK position on requiring phytos for importing seed?  This has been an on again, off again thing ever since Brexit reared its ugly head.  Last I heard it was off, at least for 2022, but who knows.

I'm running the seed exchange for the Pacific Bulb Society and we've had an inquiry from a Brit wanting to know if we can send her seed if she joins.  I'd like to know what to tell her.  I think she's only interested in joining if she can get seed.  Our seed exchange offers lots of South African seed and some South American seed and apparently this seed isn't easy to get in the UK.

Thanks,
Jan Jeddeloh

[MarcR]

Jan,

Phytos are NOT required this tear. 

[Jan Jeddeloh]

So are you sure that's going to be the case for all of 2023?  i'm hoping a Brit will chime in and tell me where I can verify this.

Jan

[MarcR]

Jan,

It was the case for 2022.  It is expected to change this year; but hasn't yet.

[Richard Green]

Seed imports INTO the UK do now need Phytosanitary Certificates. We have updated the instructions on our website with details of the NEW procedure for Winter 2023.
See the new details here: https://www.srgc.net/add-seed-donations.asp
Many thanks Marc!
Richard