SeedsNTrades Shareware

I have a lot of trouble keeping myself organized these days now that my toddler is hitting her full stride.  We have been cooped up in this house together for several weeks between the bitter cold, snow and now the inevitable winter sickness.  The knowledge that Spring is literally just around the corner (33 days from today) keeps me sane.  It's the goal-line I am pressing toward.  I spend a lot of my free time each day working on my plans for this year's garden.  I like to have all my ducks in a row before I start.

Today I want to pass on some very helpful software that I was introduced to this winter by a friend on a gardening forum I frequent.  It is called SeedsNTrades and it is a wonderfully simple program that will help you get your seed stash organized.  It is geared mainly toward tomatoes, but you can use it for all of your seeds.  It will help you keep inventory on what you have, what you intend to plant, what you are trading off/receiving, detailed information for each variety and more.  I have three 1-gallon Ziploc bags full of seeds, so I have really gotten a lot of benefit out of SeedsNTrades.

Here are a few screen shots to show you what it does.

This is your main screen when you start the program where you select to enter either the trade info database or the seed inventory database.



The following is a screen shot of the details I entered for my Cherokee Purple tomato seeds.  As you can see, it stores quite a bit of information about the plant and you can even insert a picture if you like.  You can enter multiple seeds sources with the specific seed age and quantity for each.  Be sure to check the box if it is for planting or trade.  This will be necessary when you go to create and print lists later.  I like that I can quickly pull a trade list without having to dig through my bags of seed to see how much I have of what.  The planting list is nice to have for various reasons.  I can see what I have and what I still need to buy.  I can see if I have several varieties of a bean, pepper or tomato and plan ahead for where I want to place them in my garden plan, especially for things that need spaced out to prevent cross-pollination should I intend to save seed from them to trade later.



Although the fields are geared more toward tomatoes, you can also enter all of your other types of seeds.  The database will store them in alphabetical order, so it is best to begin the listing with the plant type (ie. Bean), then follow it with the variety (ie. Bean, Kentucky Wonder).  This way, when you go to print your lists, all of your Beans will be listed together.  Tomatoes, Peppers, Lettuce, Squash, Cosmos, Marigolds, so on and so forth.  Lists can either be sent directly to your printer or to a text file which you will find located under the SeedsNTrades program folder on your computer.



Here is a screenshot of the trade tracker entry screen.  Here you can store contact information and list what you are sending and receiving and whether or not it has been sent or arrived.  I've just started using the trade side of things.  It will be very helpful if you make a lot of trades (perhaps on different forums) and will help you keep straight what you have committed to send out or what you are still waiting to receive in the mail.



SeedsNTrades free software is available, along with three other similar programs by the same author, via a tomato lover's forum called Tomatoville.  If you join the forum, you can download it there.  Or you can download it from me here.  It is a small file, only about 6 MB.  You will need to save it to your Downloads folder and extract it to your Programs folder using a Zip utility.  I use jZip, which is completely free with no hassle.

It is very important that you open and read the Readme file (located in the SeedsNTrades folder once you've extracted the program).  Instructions on how to use the software are there.  If you just jump in and start playing with it, you are likely to have a few error messages and possibly crash the program.  The Readme file will show you how to use the program properly and explain all that it can do, more so than I have explained here.

DOWNLOAD SeedsNTrades FREE SOFTWARE NOW

SeedsNTrades Software is Copyright (C) 2009 -- by Ted Maiden.  All Rights Reserved.  It is written in Visual Basic Version 5.0 and is 100% new code.  The databases are in Access Version 2.0.  Some reports are in Crystal Reports Version 4.6.1.  This program is uncrippled Shareware and can be distributed freely as long as it is unmodified.  It cannot be sold for profit by anyone for any reason.  For questions about its operation, the availability of its source code, or other inquiries, send an email to tedmaiden@aol.com.

If you like the software, be sure to email the author and let him know you appreciate his work.  If you have any trouble downloading or installing it from me here, just drop me a comment and I will try to help you out.  I hope you find SeedsNTrades as valuable a planning and organization tool as I do.

Foolproof Dark Chocolate Fudge

Ok, how about another recipe!  Dark chocolate fudge with black walnuts--I made this the other day and although I set aside a baggie for my mother-in-law (also a great lover of dark chocolate), there is very little left now.  This might even be something you fellas could do to surprise your sweetie for Valentine's Day.  As the title says, I promise you it truly is foolproof!  And when she says, "oh honey, you really shouldn't have" (interpret--"you've just gone and ruined my diet"), you can point how how heart healthy dark chocolate and walnuts are.  You know, antioxidants and omega-3's and all that good stuff.  :)

Foolproof Dark Chocolate Fudge

• 3 (6 oz.) pkgs of bittersweet (60% cacao) chocolate chips (equals 3 cups)


• 1 (14 oz.) can of sweetened condensed milk


• a dash of salt


• 1/2 to 1 cup of chopped nuts


• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a heavy saucepan over LOW heat, melt chips with condensed milk and salt, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.  Stir in nuts and vanilla.  Spread evenly into a wax paper lined 8" or 9" square pan.  Chill 2 hours or until firm.  Turn fudge out onto a cutting board and cut into squares.

See?  Easy!  I had some black walnuts I had collected from a tree on my mother-in-law's property last year and had been saving them for something special.  They were perfect in this fudge.  I lightly roasted them at 300 degrees for a couple minutes which adds a smokey flavor to the nut and I hear also makes them even healthier. 

It takes a long time to hull out and crack black walnuts with a hammer.  The effort is well worth it.  Their flavor cannot be beat and the regular walnuts you buy at the store for cooking cannot compare.  I feel sorry for people who don't have black walnut trees where they live.  They don't know what they are missing!  They literally grow like weeds around here, but it takes a little time to locate a tree that produces good quality, large nuts.  Like I said, it is a lot of trouble to crack them, so you hope to get a lot of nutmeat out of them.  One of these days I am going to invest in a heavy-duty nut press for these types of hard shelled nuts.

So this fudge is so easy you have no reason not to give it a try.  Pecans or hazelnuts (filberts) would also be great in it.  If you surprise your sweetie for Valentine's Day, drop me a comment and let me know how it went.  :)

Vinegrette Tuna Salad Sandwich

Well, since there is not much going on in the garden this time of year, I think I'll share some recipes.  This is what we had for dinner tonight.  I got this recipe for tuna salad from the coffee shop I worked for in college.  Well, they didn't give me the recipe (they were very secretive with their recipes).  I played around with it until I got it right. 

It is very good for you!  Tuna is of course pure protein and an excellent source of Omega-3's.  The onion and olive oil are very heart healthy, parsley is very high in iron and bell peppers are chock full of antioxidants.  This would be good for "diet food", but definitely fills you up and gives your body good fuel for the day.  I prefer this version over any of the mayo-based tuna salads.  The cider vinegar gives the tuna a clean taste, not fishy at all.

Vinegrette Tuna Salad

• 4 regular size cans of tuna in water, drained well


• 1/2 of a large red onion, diced


• 1/2 of a red bell pepper, diced


• a handful of fresh parsley, chopped


• 1/4 tsp salt


• 1/8 tsp black pepper


• 1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil


• 1/8 cup apple cider vinegar

Combine all and mix well.  The flavor is best if you let it sit in the fridge for a few hours to blend.  I like to serve it up on either a hard Jewish rye bread or in a whole wheat pita pocket with a slice of sharp cheddar cheese and toast it on my George Foreman grill.  Then I add alfalfa sprouts, but lettuce would be good too.  Yummy!  And very satisfying.

Winter downtime

Can you feel it?  Spring is coming!  Yeah, my father-in-law used to tell me I was crazy too.  But no, seriously, now is the time to be thinking about Spring.  If you don't start planning now, you'll be way behind time May rolls around!

I have finally come out of recovery mode following Christmas and New Year's and now I am ready to move on to bigger and better things.  The seed catalogs are pouring in and I have a stack nearly a 1/2 foot high that I have barely had time to go through.  But before I get all starry eyed and overwhelm myself with endless gardening possibilities (and monetary impossibilities), I better sit down and take stock of what I want and need to plant and what I already have in my seed stash.

January is the time for getting your seed orders in.  If you plan to start your own plants like broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, peppers and bedding/container flowers, February and March will be here before you know it.  I am also hearing a lot of buzz this year about getting those seed orders in early because of an anticipated high demand.  There are many newcomers to home gardening now because of rising food costs, health-consciousness regarding how our food is grown and environmental concerns over how far out-of-season crops are shipped.  If you procrastinate too long, you may have difficulty finding the varieties you want.

I am currently finalizing what all I want to plant and consulting my West Virginia University ag extension service gardening calendar for indoor/outdoor planting times.  Next I will consider the layout of my 2500 square foot garden.  This year I plan to do a variation on the traditional row system and divide my garden into 4 sections, which will make it easier for me to manage my crop rotation for disease prevention.  One quadrant I plan to plant entirely with June-bearing strawberries.  The other 3 will be rotated with vegetable crops.

One thing I took note of last year as I did more canning than ever before was that I really need to examine my canning recipes and plant for all the ingredients involved.  At $2.89 for a seasoning packet, it becomes really costly to can 40 quarts of spaghetti sauce.  I can easily grow all the herbs I need if I plan for them ahead of time.

If it weren't for full color garden catalogs, I do believe I would lose my mind on these gray January days. These are a few of my favorite catalogs with links to their websites to receive a free catalog in the mail.










Well, I just happened to look out my window and spotted a male blue bird on my curly willow. A definite sign that Spring is on its way! As I watch the cold, drizzling rain coming down outside there is nothing more uplifting than dreaming of the upcoming garden season and the lush abundance of things I plan to grow. I can't wait to get my hands in the dirt!