Vegetable Seed Giveaway for 2014!

Neck Pumpkins! These are common in central Pennsylvania, but rare elsewhere. I hope you’ll enter the giveaway and introduce these amazing squashes to another part of the US. Enthusiasts love these for pumpkin pie.

Regular visitors to Your Small Kitchen Garden know that I’ve been very distracted by my dad’s house in Ithaca. Still, I grew a lot of produce in 2013 and I want to share. As in past years, I’m giving away seeds!

I’m most excited about the unique paste tomatoes I grow and about the neck pumpkins. This year, I’m giving away seeds to grow those and sweet Italian peppers (as I did last year). As well, I’ll include “mystery tomatoes.” The box titled Mystery Tomatoes? explains my motivation for this… but don’t worry, I’ll label whatever type of tomato seeds I send. Find the box titled, What Might You Get? to learn more about the seeds I’m giving away.

Here’s how the giveaway works:

I’ll organize seeds into “sets.” A set includes all types of seeds in the What Might You Get? box. I’ll create a mailing list sorted according to the rules listed below and I’ll mail complete sets of seeds to each name on the list (from top-to-bottom) until I run out of a type of seed. Then, I’ll mail partial sets having whatever types of seeds remain until I run out of seeds or mail to everyone on the list. It looks as though I’ll have at least 50 seed sets to mail, so please don’t be discouraged if you see a lot of entries.

I was relieved that seeds I gave away last year did, indeed produce gorgeous sweet red peppers. I’m planting these again in 2014 and I’m confident you’d be pleased if you planted some too.

Here are the rules:

1. The giveaway ends at midnight on Friday, February 21. No new entries or mailing list “bumps” are valid after that date.

2. To get on the mailing list, comment on this blog post using the comment form here. Please include a story about your gardening experiences that makes me laugh.

3. Use this link to send an email containing your snail mail address AND the email address you use when you leave your comment. If you expect to “bump” your entry (explained below), include your twitter name and/or facebook name in the email so I can identify when you bump. If you’ll be posting about the giveaway on your blog, include the blog’s URL in your email so I can give you appropriate credit (again: see below).

These could be Cornue Des Andes tomatoes (not yet ripe). Whatever the variety, they’re delicious raw, great for canning, and I’m giving away seeds so you can grow some.

Completing items 2 and 3, gets you onto the very end of my mailing list. All things being equal, I’d deliver first-come-first served until the seeds are gone. But not so fast! You can improve your position on the list according to the following:

4. Tweet a link to this giveaway (on Twitter) that includes the hash tag #skgseeds.

5. Post a link to this giveaway on Facebook and include the hash tag #skgseeds.

6. Post a link to this giveaway on Google+ and include the hash tag #skgseeds.

A single daily post on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+ moves you up one space on the mailing list. So, posting on all three services in a day moves you up three slots; you cannot move up more than three slots in a day except for a one-time bump explained in item 7:

7. Pin the photo from the top of this post that includes the Seed Giveaway title. Include the #skgseeds hash tag in the pin’s description and you’ll move up 2 slots on the mailing list. THIS IS A one-time bump. While I’d love for you to pin the photo on multiple boards, I’ll count only a single pinning within the giveaway period toward your position on the mailing list.

I’ll monitor the #skgseeds hash tag on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. If I can match your posts to the email address in your original comment on this blog, you’ll move up the mailing list.

8. Here’s a shortcut: mention my giveaway on your blog and invite your readers to participate, and you receive instant gratitude. Also, I’ll move you to the front of the mailing list after any other bloggers who have already posted on their blogs. I’ll mail to all bloggers (in the order that they post) before I mail to anyone else on the list.

At Least Get on the List!

Don’t be overwhelmed by the options. At least leave a comment and email your snail mail address (items 2 and 3). TO RECEIVE SEEDS, YOU MUST LEAVE A COMMENT THAT INCLUDES A POSTAL ADDRESS! You’re likely to get some seeds (though, when I run out of these types of seeds, if I haven’t gotten to your name on the list, you won’t receive any). Last year I was able to mail to everyone who entered the giveaway (correctly)—more than 50 people.

During the growing season, please give me an update or two (with photos) of how the seeds are working out. I’ll share your updates with my readers.

This giveaway is open only to people in the United States and Canada.

I grew several tomato varieties in 2013 that made me happy without necessarily winning me over. Actually, White Queen and Moonglow were carryovers from 2012. Stupice, Indigo Rose, Mortgage Lifter, and Dutchman were new to me. My favorite in this list is Moonglow, though Stupice and Indigo Rose were the most successful in the garden. A seed set will contain 8 seeds from one of these varieties (my choice). From the top-left going clockwise: White Queen (fully ripe), Indigo Rose (fully ripe), Mortgage Lifter (ripens red), Moonglow (ripe), Stupice (nearly ripe; I understand you’re supposed to pronounce this as stew-peach-kay), Dutchman (ripens red; supposedly one Dutchman can grow to 7 lbs). Indigo Rose and Stupice tomatoes are about 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter – marginally bigger than a typical cherry tomato.