PlantCatching spawned from a simple idea It should be possible to find plants, seeds and crops in your local area, given by neighbors who also garden. We all like to replace ornamental plants or try a new vegetable variety. As citizens, we also would like to get a solidarity access to the food produced by vegetable gardens, thanks to, among others, the Incredible Edible movement. The avid gardener always has plants to offer. This may be a plant to be divided, perhaps a plant which doesn’t fair well in the garden conditions, or extra seedlings and seeds too. We don’t always know with whom to share this surplus of plants, and more often than not it ends up in the garbage or compost. PlantCatching wants to solve both of these problems by helping you find new plants close to you and giving you the means to provide your own. The service also partners with the Incredible Edible movement to promote the shared edible containers on the map. It would be very surprising if you did not meet more people with the same passion as you after using PlantCatching!

The PlantCatching platform is all about sharing

And there is always something to share when gardening: your plants and your passion

All things issued from your garden are shareable. This is not always obvious, so sometimes you just need to open your eyes. There is always a plant that seeds itself everywhere, ot this mint that can't stop from producing, or these seeds you just harvested. Once you start and like sharing, it's impossible to stop, for the pleasure you get, and for the nice get-togethers it creates. To make it easier to find and share on the site, these categories have been created for you:

An indoor or outdoor ornamental plant, already planted. In general, this is a perennial, or a part you just divided. An edible plant, i.e. one that produces edible fruits, leaves, roots, ... From the seedling to the mature plant, all steps are welcome. A pack of seeds or bulbs, i.e. everything ready to grow. About seeds, if possible, do a germination test before sharing. Surplus produce issued from your own crop. Fruits and vegetables, if there are extra, you will please someone. An Incredible Edible container, prepared with love. It is ideal to geolocalize it so that all the city knows where to find it. Gardening materials, like soil, compost, rocks, sand, and so on. In other terms, everything that can be used in the garden and that is not a vegetal. All or a part of your garden. Invite a passionate gardener who is looking for some land to cultivate, and ideally share the crops and the pleasure of the result.

Sharing is good. Doing it the way you like is even better.

Share freely in the street, on your property, or more traditionnally at home.

In public mode, you leave your plant or other item in front of your home or at an authorized public space and you attach a special label printed from the website. Like existing members, a passerby can take it without your presence and in turn discover what PlantCatching is all about. In semi-private mode, you place your item somewhere on your property, out of sight from passersby, and your listing must clearly indicate where it is hidden. One needs the PlantCatching map to discover what you offer under this mode. In private mode, you want to meet the other party. Again, one needs to check the PlantCatching map to be aware of your item. This sharing mode is similar to traditional classifieds but can be useful, for example, to be two people to divide a plant and minimize its suffering.

The choice of method used depends on your personal taste. You may prefer to meet your neighbors, in which case the private mode is preferred. You want to make your plant available quickly just before leaving for work? Public or semi-private modes are for you.

The contents and presentation of the donation itself can guide your choice. A packet of seeds may be donated, attached to a support for visibility. But what about a fragile perennial for which it would be better to dig up and replant as soon as possible? In this case, the private mode seems more appropriate.

Finally, if you wish to develop PlantCatching more effectively in your neighborhood then public mode is preferred. This will challenge passing gardeners who will take your plant donations and surely want to help enlarge the family of PlantCatching members. Remember, there are also other ways to create the donation offer and demand.

Worldwide sharing by post / Search by keywords

It makes a long time that gardeners send seeds to each other by post, and this is often done by exchanging different varieties. During 3 years, PlantCatching was only connecting people locally, by showing on a map was is available around you. But it was natural to make all these sharings available on bigger distances by using the old good post. Therefore, what you share in private mode is now accessible on a new Search by keywords page.

This is an advanced feature that meets some specific needs. That's why it is available only to people who support PlantCatching with a Bamboo Shoot account. You will be able to access all those plants shared anywhere in the world, create a unique and convenient list of all your offers (instead of one listing per offer) as well as a list of all your requests. This last list will also be indexed which means that you could receive something you need from far away. On your side you can also offer something that is not in demand locally to someone who is interested at the far side of your country or anywhere else.

The principles of labeling

This is an original PlantCatching labeling system, used in public and semi-private modes. To help the service increase its visibility with your neighboring gardeners, you will attach a label to your donation. It contains the name of the plant and the sunlight requirements if applicable. But the label provides two useful additional informations to the passerby: first, that this is the PlantCatching service which was used, at the same time giving him the opportunity to do the same, and second, a link to a web page where they can read comments from the donor regarding the plant.

This label also enables the gardener who took your plant to retrieve your listing on the web site, to thank you with a short message there and to mark the plant as "caught" so that other PlantCatching members won't walk to your plant for nothing.

Find plants and edibles

At any time, you can search this website, indicating the desired precise address, or even more loosely a city. PlantCatching will indicate all active donations in the searched area and you will only have to retrieve the sought after plant or visit the edible container. If this is a unique donation (as opposed to a fixed container), once in possession of the label, you then return to the site to indicate that it was retrieved. When the donor confirms it, the donation will then disappear from the system, preventing other members from coming for nothing. In the meantime, the donation is marked with a specific icon indicating that it has "maybe" been caught: At any time, you can search this website, indicating the desired precise address, or even more loosely a city. PlantCatching will indicate all active donations in the searched area and you will only have to retrieve the sought after plant or visit the edible container. If this is a unique donation (as opposed to a fixed container), once in possession of the label, you then return to the site to indicate that it was retrieved. When the donor confirms it, the donation will then disappear from the system, preventing other members from coming for nothing. In the meantime, the donation is marked with a specific icon indicating that it has "maybe" been caught: If you are a passerby and discover a public donation at the edge of a property, simply read the label and decide whether to take it. Once home, you should immediately go to the web page mentioned on the label to read the donor comments regarding the given item and especially, as in the previous case, to click a button indicating that it is no longer available to others. If you are a passerby and discover a public donation at the edge of a property, simply read the label and decide whether to take it. Once home, you should immediately go to the web page mentioned on the label to read the donor comments regarding the given item and especially, as in the previous case, to click a button indicating that it is no longer available to others.

Request plants and materials

If you create a user account on PlantCatching, you will be able to add a few requests. You can list the plants you would like to acquire, the compost you need or the new vegetable variety you dream to try. When a user makes a search on the map in your neighborhood, he will see the existing local demand and could be tempted to donate some of the requested plants.

Publish and find events / activities

PlantCatching wants to be a central point where to discover events in horticulture and urban agriculture near you. As a citizen, you can publish an event you know will happen in your area, even if you are not the organizer. The free citizen/community events are concerned. By doing this, you serve your community.

If you organizes some events, you are also welcome to display them here. This is free as long as it is also completely free for the visitor and as long as the event is not related in any way to a commercial activity. If one of these conditions is not met, you can still promote your events while having the opportunity to support PlantCatching: this is done thanks to the Bamboo account.