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SEED EXCHANGE SCHEME

I thought it might be useful to post here the exchanges Rob and I have
been having about the possibilities/complexities of such a scheme.
Maybe, if other folks are also interested, they'll be able to see a
clearer way through the complexities than we've been able to do so
far. 

Before I post The Rob & Tim Letters (!), though, a query: Is Hugo's
suggestion that such a scheme might find a natural home at Sean's web
site a good one? Would Sean care to comment?! Would it be (a)
technically possible, (b) a good/sensible/valid use of space?

Ok. Here are the letters. I'm playing in black, Rob's in blue.

Rob: Good to hear from you. Yes, encouraging. A bit bewildering, too!
I.e., I'm not really clear about possibilities/best system(s). I
rather suspect you may not be, either. So let's see if we can grope
our way towards something that makes sense. I'll kick off by working
through your message, commenting/asking questions/making suggestions.

>I have thought it would be nice if an exchange were formalized,
>organized etc. but I've been willing to settle for personal exchanges. 
>
Do you mean you've already actually made this sort of trans-Atlantic
growing-on/seed-for-plant scheme work at least on an individual
(person A to person B) basis? I've done plenty of straightforward seed
swapping with friends in the US and other countries ("Here's my list
of available seeds...Here's what I'd like from yours...") but I've
never gone further than that. So far! 

>It seems like it would be more effective to be organized, if a person
>grew enough seed for twenty people it would make more sense to
>distribute it more broadly. And a centralized resource could be quite
>helpful in general.

In theory the notion's attractive - obviously! 

Question is whether in practice it would work/add more to what's
available via simple exchange between A and B. Possible problems that
occur to me: (1) Would there be things that 20 people (or however many
people were needed for it to make sense) really wanted, for example?
Or (2) would you (=any/every-one)  in reality find yourself more or
less back in the 'waiting and hoping' situation you describe (all too
acurately!)  re Society seed lists later on in your letter? Answers,
from my end: "I don't know," repeated ad lib! 

I'd be happy enough to start just by making such an arrangement work
on a basic one-to-one. A possible way to go might be: if that
one-to-one succeeded, then post details of what's been done and how it
worked to Medit-Plants and suggest extending it/formalising it?? 
>
>I guess the difference between this and the present Society seed
>exchanges would be the personalized aspect of being able to request what
>you want, rather than endlessly digging through just what there is,
>waiting and hoping "maybe this year"....
>
Yes, exactly! Though of course you could only "request what you want"
if it were available from a nursery in the country of the other person
or persons.

>I don't quite know how to set up a webpage that people could add
>requests to unless I could use a guestbook feature, or I'd be happily on
>it, I think.
>As a non-profit concept certainly it merits a free website...

Sorry, I sympathise with the inclination to dive in and make the most
of the notion straight off, if it's feasible, ie, to set up a web page
to deal with it, but I can't help with the technology. Just don't know
either how setting up a free webpage would be done or how arranging
the page to make it function efficiently would be done. I'm too
ignorant even to make suggestions. 

(Second exchange:) 

I'm mulling over the organization idea still, I sort of see perhaps a
>website where specie names can be added and then persons can add their
>own name as either a donor or recipient. A prospective donor could look
>for specie with the most recipient names added if they like? 
>
I see what you mean. Don't see why it shouldn't work - and certainly
can't think of anything better myself - to manage the crucial business
of first posting desires, then matching offers of aquiring
plants/providing seed, to requests for the latter.

>What's maybe more challenging is managing the responsibilities or funds,
>if it came out unfair that one person should pay for a plant and twenty
>persons received seeds free, or also the matter of whether people would
>be able to pay or contribute to receive seed if they have nothing to
>trade. Sounds confusing maybe. Still, the details here might make it
>flexible enough to be fun for everyone involved... 

The 'small print' that it would be possible to tack on to this could
certainly run and run - and drive all of us crazy (if we let it).
Indeed, once you get beyond straight
A-grows-plant-for-B-then-sends-B-seeds, it starts to get involved. If
seed is going to several people, for instance, how do you establish a
pecking order? Who's No 2 on the list and who's No 37 (the poor soul
who'd never get anything)?!

>I'm sure someone must be better qualified than I to wrestle with said
>details...

Amen - and than me!

>Maybe in the end the only difference from the existing seed exhanges is
>only the important part, for people to be able to aspire to getting what
>they want in particular, rather than what there happens to be. ... Sounds
>as if I'm about to elect a treasurer single-handedly... :-)
>
Agree about 'getting what you want in particular rather than what
there happens to be' being the essence of the thing.

More dubious about having actual 'treasurer' or indeed about using
actual cash at all. Then you're in to problems of which currency or
currencies.... plus the hassle and added expense (here, certainly) of
bank charges....etc etc. I'd like to think we could find ways to make
it work just on a 'trade-off' basis: 'No money need change hands,' as
they say.

>As with all good things, picking out a name confounds me...

Haven't thought that far ahead yet! As with all the other details,
"I'm sure there's somebody better qualified..."! 

(End of Rob-&-Tim Letters.) 

Anyone else got anything else to chip in? Could it work? Is it worth
trying? 

My own idea would be, at least in the beginning, to keep it simple.
E.g. - Rob's already asked me to chase a rare nepeta for him, which is
apparently not available in the US but is from a nursery near to me in
the UK. If I can get a plant, grow it on, save seed, Rob should be in
a position to grow his own plants either later this year or early next
spring. If at the same time, he can find for me, say, an unusual
tender verbena that I can't get over here, then he goes through the
same procedure. No money changes hand, costs of plants effectively
cancel each other out (certainly over a period of time, on the basis
of win a little here, lose a little there), costs of postage ditto.
Everybody's happy, everybody's got some new and unususal plants to
try. 

At that primitive level, I can't see why it shouldn't work and be a
real boon. At more complicated levels, I see the possible problems and
I dont't have the sort of mind which sees the solutions. Does anyone
else?
Tim Longville
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