View from a Seed Packetter

[Carol Shaw]

Over the past two weekends, encouraged by the bl@@dy awful weather David and I have packeted out two boxes of SRGC seed.

I want to say a big thank you to all those who sent in Arisaema seed - it was beautifully clean this year and a joy to work with!

I would ask all donors to consider how they packet the seed they send to the exchange. Coffee filters are fine, ditto origami paper packets, paper envelopes and glassines; what I find does not work so well is anything like a little zip lock bag or something with cellophane - the seed sticks to this and it is difficult to remove. I DID manage to get most of the seed out of these packets but himself will tell you I did a  lot of muttering. Having spoken to other seed packetters I suspect this is a common 'plaint! 

Above all though thank you to all who donated seed without it our wonderful seed exchange could not exist...

[Maggi Young]

Just looking at Ian B's figures for last year, Carol ........ nearly 450 donors, around 65 packetters, almost 50thousand packets of seed, distributed by 31 pickers and posters  to thousands of members!

Just looking at the list this year.....around 4500 seeds ....... good grief! Where to start the choice??!!

Yes, the Seed Exchange is an enormous operation...... and a credit to all the volunteers who give it life .... well done to them all! 

[Lesley Cox]

Thanks for this Carol. I admit wondering if most of mine, in small, plastic ziplocks, would be a damn nuisance. It was a matter of what was available. We can't get glassine here and the little paper envelopes that used to contain wages are rare in shops and horribly costly so I'm thinking maybe I should start now and make some little envelopes of a suitable kind, in which case, an illustration of what would be best for YOU, would be helpful for me and no doubt others.

[David Shaw]

Lesley, we donate our seeds in either glassines or the small brown 'wage' packets and, as a packetteer, I find these to be an ideal combination. The glassines I get from the exchange and the wage packets at £1 for 125 from Poundshop, which has just bought a lot of the Woolworth stores. Please, don't scream at me - I know that at the moment I am doubly blessed! Failing the above I would suggest small paper envelopes, homemade, without too much sellotape and, please, no cellophane sides to them.
But regardless, whatever you have to put the seed in, please keep sending the seeds, we will cope. mumble, love you, mumble, love you, mumble, love you, etc. 

[Lesley Cox]

No, won't shout at you David. Thanks for the advice. I have some time to think about it and in the meantime, perhaps others who have the same problem may share their good ideas for packeting their seeds. Some time yes, but then all of a sudden it will be late September and the rush will be on again. I always tell myself I work best under pressure but the fact is, I'm both lazy and a procrastinator. Promise to do better in my next life.

[Maggi Young]

Isn't it possible to get glassines from the Seed Ex Team in advance? Or was that long ago?

Off to search Ebay!

I do know that an awful lot of seed donations leak " summat chronic" !!


edit: Yes, lots of results on Ebay.co.uk     many from philately suppliers.... if that's the right term.... supplies for stamp collectors!!

[ChrisB]

I've finished my packeting for this year and echo Carol's remarks.  The only packets difficult to deal with are the zip lock ones.  Some just get greaseproof paper or tinfoil and do a bit of origami to pack them, others even use old newspaper.  I suspect you can fashion packets from the envelopes that accompany junk mail, though I tend to use these for gathering seed in the garden as I do have the glassine packets.  I'm fascinated by the packaging I open sometimes, some of them are just ingenious.  If you have to use zip lock bags, maybe you could put the seed into tinfoil and then put it in the bags?  Just a thought.  It certainly would help the packeters.

[cohan]

for larger amounts of seeds, i've been using the white paper (i think its treated, but not as much as regular waxed paper)bags meant to hold a pastry, or maybe a small sandwich in a deli-4x6 inches to take a wild guess..not sure what they'd retail at, i get them from work for a nominal cost...
while collecting in the field, i have used a lot of plastic zip-lock bags--really tiny seeds and hairy things tend to stick, but i find if i breathe into the bag, the humidity causes the seeds to release and i can tap them out.. i'm sure that would still be a pain for packetters doing dozens and hundreds! my hat is off to you folks, in any case!

[johnw]

what I find does not work so well is anything like a little zip lock bag or something with cellophane - the seed sticks to this and it is difficult to remove. I DID manage to get most of the seed out of these packets but himself will tell you I did a  lot of muttering.

And another horror, there are a few groups that send seed out in glassine envelopes that have pre-applied glued flaps.  Most of the tiny seeds are embedded in the glue by the time they arrive, extracting them is no fun.

Even with decent glassines the donor rule is to fold, fold, fold in every possible direction.

Keep up the good work Carol et al.

johnw

[Rodger Whitlock]

while collecting in the field, i have used a lot of plastic zip-lock bags

Away from home, I use brown paper bags intended as lunch bags, in the belief that in them the seed will not sweat. As many readers know, sometimes when collecting seed, you have to take a whole pod or capsule and there is significant moisture in that. The name is written on the outside in pencil or waterproof pen.  With the top folded over and the whole bag flattened, you can fit a surprising number of these into ordinary pockets.

At home in the garden, I use plastic tubs about 500 ml capacity, labelled with a scrap of paper *in* the tub. Some plants demand that you collect every few days as seed ripens, and I just keep these "open" collections on my desk. Seed collected away from home is decanted into the same tubs on my return, then treated just like garden collections.

All seed is allowed to ripen and dry further in a cool, well-ventilated room, then cleaned and packeted as soon as it looks ready. (I'll save for another day the witchcraft necessary to clean berries and such.)

I've learned the hard way not to let uncleaned seed pile up, lest you have the submission deadline looming and dozens of collections yet to clean. This year I sent about half my donations off at the end of August and the other half at the end of September, with one late ripening item (Anemonopsis macrophylla), going a little later.

It's a good feeling to go to the post office and mail off fat envelopes of seed, knowing that they are now off your back.

[Lesley Cox]

Our Arilnut Forum member John, has sent me a link for glassine envelopes of different sizes and they are not pre-glued so should be just what the doctor ordered. I'll order some anyway. You used to be able to buy them from the AGS but I thought then that the price was exhorbitant when maybe 100 or more may be needed in a year. These ones don't seem so dear and I'll put the link here as soon as I get back to it.

[Lesley Cox]

Here it is. Darned if I could copy and paste so I hope I've written it correctly.

http://www.clearbags.com/stationery/envelopes/translucent/glassine
(edit by Maggi : link corrected       )

[Lesley Cox]

500 gram margerine pots are good for the seed from the garden waiting to be cleaned. I've been tweezing dropped Crocus seed today.

[Lori S.]

NARGS sells non-gummed glassine envelopes at $30 per 1000, or $3.50 for 100.  I finally broke down and ordered a box of 1000 with my last book order... should do me for a while!

[art600]

Isn't it possible to get glassines from the Seed Ex Team in advance? Or was that long ago?

Off to search Ebay!

I do know that an awful lot of seed donations leak " summat chronic" !!


edit: Yes, lots of results on Ebay.co.uk     many from philately suppliers.... if that's the right term.... supplies for stamp collectors!!

It is philatelic - and the envelopes are excellent - non glued