Sowcial Media

I read this post on Emma Cooper's blog this morning and I think it's a cool idea. In a nutshell, it's a seed share organised by means of social media - she explains it much better in her own post!

I've requested the Nicotiana seeds that she listed, as it's a plant that was already on my mental wishlist (it's fragrant! and it doesn't mind a bit of shade! I definitely want to give it a go next year), but to be honest just participating is very exciting! It is the first time that I post on anybody's blog, and the first time that I try a seed swap with anyone outside my family, so please allow me the overexcitement...

OK, so here is my humble list of spare seeds. Yes, not very exotic and not very rare (and the biggest and easisest seed in the vegetable world to be saved), but if you're a novice gardener like me then they're guaranteed to be easy to grow - I have successfully done it myself! :-) And they're free - let me know if you want any and I'll post them!:

• Cineraria maritima dwarf silver - unopened packet from Dobies (I ordered two packets by mistake)
• Chives - unopened packet from Dobies
• Parsley - half a packet of seed I brought from Spain, I simply can't use that much seed myself
• Sprouting broccoli - half a packet I bought at the Chelsea Flower Show (see 'parsley'...)
• Beetroot Perfect 3 - opened Johnsons packet; I bought it because it's red and pretty, then realised that neither Nick nor myself actually like the taste of beetroot
• Marigold bonita mixed - opened random packet from Wilkinsons; I only used half of it last spring, and now I have enough saved seed for myself for next year so i'm happy to share the rest
• Calendula - same story as the marigold
• Runner beans - saved seed of unknown variety; it's got red flowers and the beans themselves have purple spots when dried (I got it originally from my mother in law two years ago)
• Foxglove - saved seed, also unknown variety; the flowers are pink and quite tall
• Matthiola Incana, aka purple stock, aka alheli morado (in Spanish) - saved seed, originally from my auntie's garden
• Yellow & white jalapa mirabilis - saved seed from last year, should be OK to plant next spring

The rules of Sowcial Media
The first rule is that you DO speak about Sowcial Media. If you can blog/twit/facebook about it, the better. These are the rules as per the original post:

When you offer seeds
There are no rules as to what you can offer, but do remember to mention whether the seeds you’re offering are home-saved or commercial, opened packets, F1 hybrids or whatever, so that people can make their own informed choices about what they would like to grow. If you’ve written a blog post about that variety in the past, then it might be helpful to link to it.
Explain your postage rules – where you’re happy to post to and whether you’re asking for postage contributions or swaps.
Add a copy of these Sowcial Medial rules, so your seed recipients can join in if they want to.

When you request seeds
There’s only one rule – that you link back to the site where you got the seeds. Maybe you’ll write a blog post about them once they’re grown, maybe you’ll just Tweet about how great Sowcial Media is, maybe you’ll shout about it to all your Facebook friends. How you do it doesn’t matter, but show your gratitude for your freebies with a link!
The idea here is that people involved in social media will be able to get free seeds to trial without having to sell their souls to commercial organizations. When you review your seeds you can be completely honest about how well they grew for you and whether you would bother to grow them again. Above all, you can have a garden for free next year, and support your social media friends into the bargain.