Personal Seed Auction
I guess I should not have been suprised to see someone selling their seed
collection on E-Bay. If you send out SASE to other growers to obtain seeds, there
is cost involved both in time and money. This particular grower wants to
recapture that cost but probably looks forward to making a profit as well. The
pumpkin growing scene is changing. There are many good seeds out there. The
problem is in discovering them. There are only so many growers even though the
numbers are increasing. Where will this all end? Will it ever get to where growers
actually pay people to grow their seeds so that they can become famous proven
seeds so that they can then sell them on E-Bay. I doubt it will go that far.
How do the people feel who send out free seeds and then see those same seeds
for sale by someone they freely gave them to? I recall one year when the
Checkons grew a huge pumpkin, a world record. When the pumpkin was opened there was
not a single seed inside. Later that month there was someone selling seeds on
E-Bay that were said to have come from that pumpkin. As we trade seeds and
give away seeds there is a lot of trust involved. These seeds are not created
with a label on them. They all resemble on another. I sometimes wonder how many
seeds have been sold or traded or grown from the 723 Bobier or 846 Calai versus
how many seeds there actually were inside those pumpkins? When pumpkin seeds
become highly sought after there will always be someone willing to sell them
for a profit or, for that matter, willing to pay a huge price for them. Who
knows, maybe even a bit of fraud could be involved at times. When buying a really
great seed, maybe you need to know the person you are buying it from so as to
be certain, as best you can, that the seed actually is what it is supposed to
be. This seed business may be just that, a business. I have trouble believing
that any of the really great growers who put so much time in their pumpkins
and have benefited themselves so much over the years from the generosity of
other growers will be selling their seeds at big prices. But then, two of the
greatest do have businesses selling pumpkin seeds. Oh well, on to the next
growing season. Anyone got an extra 846 Calai or 723 Bobier? Most true pumpkin
growers are honest generous people who give freely and willingly of their seeds and
their growing techniques. Most growers also celebrate the successes and
accomplishments of the other growers. Most growers appreciate a great pumpkin and
the work that went into creating it. That is what has made growing pumpkins
such great fun and such a great sport.
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