No. Totally no.

Do NOT put your personal contact info on a packet. Many of these trade packets wind up circulated around, and you don't know who will ultimately get them. If you want, you can put the date of the seed on the packet but NEVER EVER put your contact info on them.

WHY?

Because you don't know what prisoner, rehab inmate, or creepy-creep will be opening that packet.

A lot of these trade packets do eventually land at charitable institutions. Here, I black-out or repack and relabel any pack with contact info. But there are other places that may just pass it on and never remove the contact info--regardless of who thoese seeds go to.

Please be smart about your personal safety.

Our seed swapping has always been relatively informal; it is not the same as buying seed with all of the expected guarantees. I know that there are other seed trading groups that are much more formal with strict processes.

If you have arranged a swap, then you know who you are getting the seed packets from and you can keep all of the records you like. But they may have included packets that came from other traders, especially as bonuses. I pass along many bonus seeds that are for full sun plants and I don't know what conditions those seeds were stored under before me.

A round robin swap is even more reason not to put contact information on the seed packet because extras often get donated to newbies (who could be trolls or anyone) or outside good causes.

At most, I put my gardenweb handle on a packet.

Dates are no guarantee either, although I try to remember to date my packets. Seeds from last harvest that were stored wet at high temperatures may be less viable than three-year-old seed that has been in low humidity and frozen or refrigerated.

This forum has grown as a community of acquaintances and friends who swap among themselves. There is a rate and review forum where swapper references can be checked. And if someone always sends out nonviable seed, it would catch up to them.

But frankly, if it is a seed that I must just have grow this year, I would probably buy it from an expert source that I know preserves under good conditions and knows whether seed needs to be sent moist packed or anything else.

That's a good warning, Trudi.
What I've done in the past when getting the seeds in swaps is list them down and note who they cam from. I will usually lose the seed envelope/baggie anyway eventually so it is better for me to have a list.
The few times I have sent seeds (I am such a horrible seed saver!) I have included a short note in the envelope just to be friendly.

If I read pippi21's post correctly it only mentioned adding a year and gardenweb username, not any other contact info.

I try to always put the year on packets, just as a courtesy. I have noticed that most people don't put a year on though. Some seeds I get in swaps look like they have been around the block for quite a while. I would rather not sow decade old seed, if I have a packet that is from the last year or two. Any seed I get that is not dated gets the current season's year written on it so I know that it is at least that old if I don't use it right away.

I don't see an issue with including your username. Most swaps require it so as not to get back your own seed and to make the swap easier on the host. If someone has my username that is all they have. I don't have any contact info or my real name on my user page and you have to be a gardenweb member to see my e-mail. An e-mail address can be easily changed.

Plus, there has to be a certain level of trust to do trades and swaps as you have to give them your address to get your seeds. I think you are far more likely to have an issue with stalkers and weirdos with people that actually know you, or think they do because of pictures on Facebook or something similar.

There are tons of people that already have our basic info anyways, like the call centers and customer service operations run out of prisons. I don't know... it doesn't worry me much but that is just my opinion. I don't expect to be harassed because someone didn't like my hollyhocks:) But trudi has been doing this a lot longer than me, so maybe she has had some experiences. The seed I donate I do not put my username on though because there isn't a need to, just on packets part of a swap where required.

I hear what you're saying Molanic, but a username is ID, and through it someone can be traced and/or contacted. People obviously can and will do what they want so sharing their experiences and advice enriches us all. I am hugely against providing any contact info on seed packets, I would rather err on the side of caution.

I think what I react negatively to is pippi21's suggestion as a way of fixing her concern that she "sometimes wonders if people don't knowingly pass off seed that has been around a long time that may never germinate."

Requiring names and years on seeds isn't going to fix such dastardlyness (if we really have people doing this). A person who would deliberately "pass off old seed" could just as easily write any year on the seed packet and or any name they want.

kimka,
I could be wrong but...now that I re-read Pippi21's post I'm wondering if what was meant to be said is ,"people UNknowingly pass off seed". That has a very different meaning and is something I have wondered about myself.

I'm not saying that people are intentionally giving others very old seed. But if there is no date on the packet and "person a" gives it fresh to "person b" who saves it for a year, and then gives it to "person c" who assumes it is fresh but they can't use it, and give it to "person d" who maybe uses some and gives leftovers to "person e" the next season, who also assumes it is fresh.....etc, etc. By the time it gets to someone who really wants it and plans to sow the whole packet, only to find out there is poor or no germination because the seeds are now 10 years old and have been stored in various environments the whole time. Had they known and really wanted that plant they might have sought out fresher seeds to have better chances.

Maybe I'm completely naive when it comes to swapping but I assume seed is fresh & harvested in the year it is traded unless stated otherwise. In addition, if a person sets up a trade with old seed, it seems only fair & courteous to notify the other person and give them the option of not trading for those old seeds. It doesn't seem fair (to me anyway) to trade old seeds, not tell the other person and let them open a bubble envelope only to find seeds that are 5 or more years old.

Granted, seeds retain their viability for many years if kept under ideal conditions but the recipient of those old seeds has no way of knowing how the seeds were kept. Essentially, it boils down to the "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you" adage. If you know you wouldn't like opening a bubble envelope to find old seeds instead of fresh, chances are others are likely to feel the same way so don't do it.

Thanks to all who expressed their opinions..the only information I was suggesting was the username that one uses on GW. Say for example: If I get some seeds in the swap that I have been looking for and if that person has their GW username on it, I could contact them to see if they may have more of the desired seed available for trade. I know that I rec'd certain seeds back in my SASBE that was in a small plastic ziploc, a size I'd never seen before. I made contact with that person through her username here to find out where she had purchased that size as it was perfect for seed trading.

I haven't done any round robins, but have done a few trades with individuals (around 10), mostly because I have specific interests in the seeds I want to grow, and usually buy them commercially. The seeds from trades do not have the same quality control as commercial seeds, since I've received a much greater proportion of seeds that don't sprout or are mislabeled. In another case I received some New England Aster that was mostly a baggie full of fluff with about 10 seeds, although I did get one sprout from the fluff!

Trading/exchanges are hit and miss sometimes, but they are a fun way to get some good seeds. It would probably be helpful, if the seeds people used in trading or swaps were limited to either commercial seeds or garden-collected by the trader themselves. You could make an exception for seeds that are re-traded, if the trader grew them first, and verified their viability.

For me it's hit or miss. I figure if someone goes through the trouble of packaging and paying postage to send me what I ask for and then some, I am truly grateful.

I hope the seed I send sprouts for everyone. If it doesn't and the recipient isn't happy, I hope they would call me on it so I can fix it.

It makes me so happy to trade seeds in the mail, just thinking of the promise in each and every one makes me giddy.

I've participated in numerous trades, and countless swaps, and the general rule of thumb is that seeds included in a swap should be no older than two years of age, unless the age of the seed is disclosed on the front end, and the other person agrees to receive old seed.

To me, sending in seeds that I received from a trade requires a bit of discernment. If the package looks like it's been around the block a few times, I would not send it to someone else. If the package looks new, and has a date on it, and the seeds are in good condition, I might send it, if it's something someone else really wants. What I have found, is that people that give you a lot of information on the packet, such as variety name, age of seed, their GW user name, source of the seed - harv., commercial, or received in trade, are less likely to try and pass off old seed. It's the packets that just say "hollyhocks" or "poppies" that I assume are probably seeds received in trades that are being passed on, and therefore, the age of the seed is suspect.

As a swap host, I think it's unfair to send in vaguely labeled packets. The people receiving them really have no idea what they are getting, and if they sent in clearly labeled packets of fresh seed, it's not fair that they get back seeds that of unknown age, they probably won't even use. I end up getting stuck with those unusable seeds, and have to use seeds out of my own inventory to make up for it, or order seeds to fill in the gaps. Honestly, if the person is not a new swapper, I am insulted, as a swap host, when I open a envelope to find so little effort being made.

Bonnie