Reorganizing the BX

jnvkbarnes@nc.rr.com jnvkbarnes@nc.rr.com
Tue, 22 Oct 2019 04:24:53 PDT
Thank you for your comments...these will be most helpful as we move
forward. Should I get the BX (BSX my preference) job, all of your
suggestions would be met. We would have a BSX every 2 weeks (except
end of December and inclement weather...even then a notice would be
posted that the BSX was canceled and the reason for the cancellation),
the list would be posted on Sunday of the first and third weekends of
the month, there would be almost a week to make requests as the BSX
would close on Friday at midnight after the list of donations is
posted, donations would be equally divided among requestors and
equitably distributed by lottery except donors for that BSX would
receive priority, all donated material would be distributed the week
after the BSX closes, there would be no 'leftover' bulbs or seeds, and
information about number of requests would be available to anyone
interested. Thanks again...John

	PS: I could even help with cleaning seeds for the BSX for you J.

	-----------------------------------------From: "M Gastil-Buhl" 
To: pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net
Cc: 
Sent: Monday October 21 2019 12:06:24PM
Subject: [pbs] Reorganizing the BX

First, thank you to Albert for running the BX and SX. I value the PBS
BX
 for varied reasons. First, I feel it connects us as a Society, as I
am a
 firmly rooted plant person who does not travel myself but I like to
connect
 with other plant people all over the globe. I put the seed or bulb
donor's
 initials on the labels. Thank you all of you who have donated to the
BX and
 SX. Secondly, I cannot bear to throw out seeds or cormels and my
neighbors
 have no interest in waiting years to see a bloom. Thank you all who
have
 given the little I sent to the BX a new home. I cannot imagine how
much
 work it must be to run a BX! I can barely keep track of my own
repotting
 and seed cleaning, record keeping and labeling.

 1.1. Do you participate in the BX frequently, occasionally, or never?

 Occasionally

 2.2. If you never participate, why not?

 3.3. If you do participate, what problems, if any, have you had with
the BX?

 I was discouraged how much longer it took for bulblets to arrive, in
one
 case at the end of its growing season. The turn-around time to see
 donations appear in a BX seems long. But this is in comparison to the
Dell
 era, so my expectations were skewed.

 4.4. Do you obtain bulbs, seeds, or both from the BX?

 Both. More seeds than bulbs.

 5.5. Do you pay your BX shipping charges promptly upon receiving the
 material?

 Promptly, same or next day usually.

 6.6. If you donate to the BX, at what time(s) of year do you send
items?

 I seldom donate, only once in 2019, bulbs and seed. The time was
determined
 by dormancy of that bulb species, which has not yet appeared on a BX.

 7.7. If the BX occurred at a few specific times of year, what times
 would best suit your needs?

 July/Aug/Sep or late summer early autumn in N. hemisphere in time for
fall
 planting of the winter rainfall growers here. I do not grow
summer-rain
 species. November at the latest. For non-perishable seeds of course
timing
 is more flexible. But for short-lived seeds I appreciated the
freshness of
 frequent SX in the past.

 8.8. Do you donate plant material to the BX that cannot be held in
 storage for more than a week or two? If so, what kind of material?

 Never before, but had planned to send some Nerine filifolia seeds
ripening
 now. These are easy growers for me so I can sow here and send next
year's
 crop. I also considered sending some seed of my white Amaryllis
belladonna
 mystery cross because of the recent discussion.

 9.9. If you specialize in plants that cannot be held in storage, are
you
 willing to exchange them directly with other members rather than
going
 through the BX?

 No. I do not expect I could handle the logistics. And I do not
specialize
 in those.

 10.10. Do you think that donors should have priority in having their
 orders filled? If not, why not?

 I do not expect that would push me to donate more. The limiting
factor is
 seed-cleaning patience and time, not motivation. And others made a
good
 point about first-timers needing some early success. I think one of
the
 other societies does give donors priority so perhaps that helps
encourage
 donations.

 I agree as others mentioned that transparency and accountability will
 increase trust in the BX program. That would encourage me to donate
more
 than priority or postage credit. Perhaps the new system could include
a
 Wish List feature. If I saw folks were eager to receive my material
that
 would motivate me. Perhaps not person-specific, but an aggregated
list. If
 I saw 10 people wished for a species with hard-to-clean seed but 0
people
 wished for yet more Dierama, I would prioritize accordingly. Of
course a
 Wish List feature is of lower priority than turning over donations
rapidly.

 If there were a place to send un-cleaned seed pods instead of clean
seed, I
 would send more.

 I do suggest the BX/SX should still require PBS membership.

 Gastil
 _______________________________________________
 pbs mailing list
 pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net

_______________________________________________
pbs mailing list
pbs@lists.pacificbulbsociety.net
http://lists.pacificbulbsociety.net/cgi-bin/…


More information about the pbs mailing list