Charles Gorenstein

You say you want to run a seed exchange? Hats off to you, let me shake your hand and buy you a drink. Let me give you a few tips; some words from the wise to make your life a little more comfortable. After being the seed exchange director for the last 6 IBS seed exchanges, I feel what all survivors must feel: gratitude of being alive.

Let me be blunt. If you have the least inclination about running a seed exchange you must be, pardon the pun, nuts. You have either lost your sanity or your will lose it soon after you realize the folly of your actions. Don't sneer, I know where I speak from.

I was not always this negative. In fact I recall with a certain degree of giddiness that one day when I saw a little note in one of the APLS newsletters. It read, "needed, a person to run the seed exchange". I vividly recall that particular moment. It was a milestone in my life. My eyes bulged and a pleasant warm feeling of well being overwhelmed my body. "Contact Dr. Harold Koopowitz", the ad continued. I didn't finish reading the ad. Before I knew it, I was dialing Dr. Koopowitz's number. The line was busy. I panicked. Maybe, someone else got to Dr. Koopowitz first. Maybe I had lost the opportunity of a lifetime. "I will never be director of the seed exchange", I thought. When I finally got through, he was out of the office. I didn't sleep well that night. Early the next day I called again and this time Dr. Koopowitz's pleasant voice was a welcome relief.

"I am calling regarding the seed exchange", I said, nearly running out of breath. "I am interested in running the exchange, I have cold storage facilities to maintain seed, I have a computer to keep track..."

I didn't finish the sentence when Dr. Koopowitz piped, " You have the job, good luck." I didn't say anything. I was stunned. I thought I had won the lottery, and basked in the knowledge that I was the winner out of so many candidates. Years later I found out that I was the only applicant.

But I digress too much. Let's say that you are now the new seed exchange director. What do you do next? Simple. Get seeds, lots of seeds. Your job is to get as many selections as you can; it is the only way to keep the membership from getting restless. How do you do that, you ask? Well, the first thing is to find out who grows bulbs, lots of bulbs and write. Write pleading letters. Write to anyone who grows bulbs. Plead with them. Tell them that the future of the IBS is in their hand. That they must donate seed. You do not know whom to ask? Ask me, I'll tell you.

In my first year, Alberto Castillo of Argentina was a kind soul that encouraged and helped me greatly in getting the seed exchange going. He gave me names of bulb growers and often told me how to approach them. In one of his many letters to me he said, "Charles, you must make the seed exchange the biggest bulb exchange in the world!" Alberto always set his sights very high and has always been an inspiration to me. Whatever success the present seed exchange can claim, can be traced to Alberto's kind and wise advice.

Soon I was able to contact wonderful people throughout the world. Charley O'Neill, Gordon Julian, Harry Hay, Willem Reuter, Eric Walton, Charles Hardman and so many others. They all sent large quantities of seed and made the seed exchange what it is today: the largest collection of bulbous seed in the world. We all owe them a debt of gratitude.

Soon your mailbox will be bulging with big and little packages. Strange postmarks. You will get perplexed looks at the post office when you pick up little packages from Peru, India, Belgium, Argentina, France, New Zealand and other exotic lands. Seed, seed, seed everywhere. You will be inundated with seeds. What to do next? First, get organized. Input all the accessions in your computer. Each package received gets a unique accession number and relevant information. Keep the seeds in cool place until you are ready to package it. You must be organized. Think of yourself as a banker managing other people's money.

The next step is tedious. You must put the seeds into little packages. This is no job for a machine. It requires a human touch. After some thought I decided to use small glassine envelopes, the kind that are used by stamp collectors. They are cheap and serve the purpose well. You will spend many an evening packaging seeds. Pick a comfortable table, some good music and start. It is laborious so you might as well enjoy it. Look at the seeds; look at them closely. In a short time, you will be able to identify many species of bulbs just by looking at the seed. Little shinny seeds of Lachenalia, black papery seeds of Hippeastrum, dark orange seeds of Watsonia, feathery seeds of Eriospermum and the giant seeds of Crinum.

How many seeds should you put into each glassine envelope? It depends. It depends on how many seeds you received and how many requests you expect for them. You must make an educated guess. Sometimes you may receive 10 seeds of one species. In that case one or two seeds per envelope will be OK. Sometimes you may get several hundred grams of seeds. In this case you can stuff as many seeds as you can into each envelope. Sometimes you only get three seeds. I still don't know what do in this case. The rule is that if you have very few seeds you will get many requests for that item. It is unpredictable and perverse.

In no time you will be getting requests. Filling the request has been a job my two daughters have helped me with. At a price, of course. They are teenagers and they will do anything if the price is right. There is no choice here; I pay. You should, too.

The instructions on how to get seeds are quite clear so it is surprising that 10-20% of all requests do not follow the instructions. The main problem is that of alternatives. I have insisted that alternatives be chosen in case the species of interested is exhausted. Sending money back for items not in the exchange is additional work that I refuse to do. Yet, many members do not include alternatives. Bulb growers are a difficult lot. My advice is to get used to people ignoring your instructions and pleas.

Dealing with complaints is you next job. Seeds not received are the main complaint. I confess, with some embarrassment, that I sometimes have lost some requests. They fall behind the desk, they are blown by wind in the back yard, and they simply fall through the cracks. Eventually, all complaints are resolved. I have on occasion been accused of playing favorites! "Others get the best seed, while I get the leftovers", was a memorable complaint which angered me so much that I threatened the complainer with physical harm. This job is not for the faint of heart. The most difficult and prevalent complaint, however, is that of dead seeds. I often hear that the seeds received did not germinate. It is a complaint that troubles me. Some of the seeds offered have short viability. By the time the annual seed exchange takes place, the seeds received are dead. I have not been able to resolve this problem, perhaps you can.

On rare occasions you will get compliments. Something like, "You are doing a fine job". Enjoy them. They are few. Sometimes you will get seed from somewhere afar. It will come with a note saying, "This seed is from a plant that originates from seed you sent." At that moment you know it has all been worth it.

After all this, are you still interested in running the seed exchange? It truly is a rewarding job. You will be at the center of the bulb world with your finger on the pulse of this wonderful gardening hobby. If you have the stamina and desire, write to me. I will help you get started. Don't wait too long, somebody may beat YOU to the job.