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Handbook Exchange Garden Collected Wild Collected

Seed Exchange 2008-2009
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
REGARDING THE NARGS SEED EXCHANGE

The 2008-2009 NARGS Seed List will not be mailed out to all members this year. It will instead be posted here on the NARGS Website on December 15, 2008.This will enable NARGS to get the seed list out to its members much sooner and will save on the high cost of printing and mailing. You will be able to download and print out the seed list and the order form from the website. All orders will still need to be mailed in to the Main Distribution Chapter (address will be on the order form) this year but we hope to have an online ordering system available next year.

A limited number of printed copies will be available to those who do not have internet access (or have a slow connection.) If you need a printed copy of the Seed List mailed to you, please send a request with your mailing address to:

Laura Serowicz
NARGS Seed List
15411 Woodring
Livonia, MI 48154-3029 USA

Or email your request to seedintake@twmi.rr.com. Your request must reach us by November 15, 2008 in order to get enough copies printed and mailed in early December. Note: You will not receive the mailed seed list until after it goes up on the website. Overseas and US donors orders will be filled before non-donor overseas and US members in the order they are received.

FOR YOUR REFERENCE ONLY, a copy of the 2007-2008 list is available online which can be imported into a spreadsheet. Click here to view Garden Collected, and Wild Collected. These seeds are NO LONGER AVAILABLE for order. The NEW seed list for 2008-2009 will be available on December 15, 2008. You must be a CURRENT member of NARGS to order seed.

Be sure to start collecting seed for this year's Seed Exchange!

How the Seed Exchange Works

The Seed Exchange is made possible through the generosity of many NARGS members. It begins with members collecting seed of plants in their garden or in natural areas. DONATED seed is sent to the Intake Manager. Here the seed is cataloged on a computer database, which is used to produce the Seed List. Each donor is assigned a Donor Number, which will be included in the Seed List. The Seed List is mailed to all current members by the end of December. At that time it will also be posted at this website.

After the last date for acceptance of seed, it is sent to the PACKAGING Chapters to be packaged into individual packets and labeled. The finished packets are then sent to the MAIN SEED DISTRIBUTION Chapter, where the main seed orders from members are picked and mailed out from early January to mid February.

For main distribution orders, USA and Canadian members pay $15 (no charge to overseas members).

A surplus seed list is sent in late February to members who request it and surplus seed orders are filled in early March by the SURPLUS SEED DISTRIBUTION Chapter. All members are charged a nominal fee for surplus seed orders based on the quantity of packets they request (currently $5 per 20 packets, up to 80 packets allowed). After that the remaining seed is sent to various NARGS chapters for distribution to their members.

Advantages of Donating

The Seed Exchange is now open for seed donations by members. For information, see the Donor Instructions. Donations must arrive by November 1st.

Donors are defined as members who contribute at least 5 different taxa. Donors receive 35 packets of seed, while non-donors receive only 25. Furthermore, orders from donors are filled before those from non-donors. Finally, donors receive the recognition and gratitude of their colleagues! Status as a donor will be determined by the Intake Manager based upon the Unacceptable Seed List.

APHIS Restricted Import List

Canadian and overseas donor members are restricted by the regulations set by APHIS (including noxious weeds, parasitic plants, hosts of known pests/diseases, items that require treatment [fumigation] for entry, etc.) and world conventions, such as ESA and CITES. Please click here for a list of seeds prohibited/restricted from *entry* into the US.

Harkness Seedlist Handbook

Through the generosity of Mabel Harkness and Timber Press, NARGS has been given permission to use the Second Edition of the Bernard E. Harkness Seedlist Handbook as the basis for an online version. Visit the Bernard E. Harkness Seedlist Handbook.

© 2007 by the North American Rock Garden Society. Commercial use requires the permission of the Society.