Mint Julep - a.k.a. Michael Pollan

[Tania]

Thank you Fred!

[Doug9345]

I think you have a good handle on what I would do. Go with the breeders name unless some other, more common name is more useful. I don't think it is critical, since it is a data base and the DB is searchable.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Salsacharley

I just received the 2014 Totally Tomatoes catalog and they have their entire back cover listing WBF products and give Brad Gates credit. They also call Michael Pollan Mint Julep. All his other varieties use his original name. The photo of the Michael Pollan looks more "pear-like" than the MP's I grew so at first I thought a new variety based on MP was being released.

The inside front cover has the Artisan Bumblebee and Tiger varieties presented with very nice pictures. They don't have Lucky Tiger, and they throw Blush in with the Tigers, calling it "Tiger Blush".

I was "Lucky" to order Lucky Tiger on Nov 19 when it was released, so I only have to wait until Dec 29 for my backorder to arrive from Johnny's.

I got my TT catalog today and noticed when listing Mint Julep, it says after it, aka Michael Pollan.

When Jung's first bought all the companies I offered to one person who doesn't post here anymore, ahem, to try and correct all the wrong infomation that came with the former TT, did so, spent hours doing it, gave it to him and he said he lost it.

So when I see Mule Team described as being grown by generations of folks, to give one example, I wince and eat some more chocoloate to calm down.

Carolyn

[travis]

There's a Tomatoville member who works at Jung or Totally Tomatoes, I believe. Maybe the corrections could be transmitted directly to her rather than thru an intermediary.

However, I am relatively sure Totally Tomatoes knows about some of their "issues" since the last catalog of theirs that I received had several tomato varieties described using the same photograph, although they did take the time to rotate and crop the photos rather creatively in a half-hearted attempt to camouflage what they'd done.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by travis

There's a Tomatoville member who works at Jung or Totally Tomatoes, I believe. Maybe the corrections could be transmitted directly to her rather than thru an intermediary.

However, I am relatively sure Totally Tomatoes knows about some of their "issues" since the last catalog of theirs that I received had several tomato varieties described using the same photograph, although they did take the time to rotate and crop the photos rather creatively in a half-hearted attempt to camouflage what they'd done.

Yes, her nameis Ruth, but I haven't seen her here at Tville in a long time, I think her user name is Jungseed, or something like that and she's not specifically at TT, rather Jung's in general. And I have talked to her in the past about it, but I can try again.

When I ordered something from the main Jung's catalog last year I asked the person who took my order to say HI to her, but there are now two Ruth's there and I never knew her last name, only that she grows tomatoes in Canada in her off time.

Carolyn

[Fred Hempel]

Back to Michael Pollan,

Maybe someone could ask Brad why that particular tomato was re-named. Did Michael Pollan have issues with wide use of the name? That is one possibility.

[frogsleap farm]

I'm a very unlikely cop, but the Federal Seed Act prohibits more than one name for the same plant variety. Confusion in the marketplace is almost never in the best interest of the consumer. Although, absent a consumer complaint, it is unlikely USDA regulators will catch wind of this - it is unlawful.

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Fred Hempel

Back to Michael Pollan,

Maybe someone could ask Brad why that particular tomato was re-named. Did Michael Pollan have issues with wide use of the name? That is one possibility.

It is a possibility, but I would have thought that since Pollan is known so widely and has written so many books that Brad would have cleared it with him first.

Summary?I don't know the answer, and don't know him that well but could PM him, and now I don't even rememember his user name,to see if I could reach him BUT, if someone has his website handy,it might be even better to e-mail him off his website, now that I think of it.

And I know that many here at Tville order seeds from him, so I'll let someone else do the contacting and hopefully reading this thread.

After looking at the TT catalog again, I wonder who
is doing all those Indigo ones.Would that be Aaron by any chance?

Carolyn

[Fred Hempel]

Interesting. I think that I found the pertinent section

(d) Name of variety. The name of each variety of agricultural or vegetable seed is the name determined in accordance with the following considerations:

(1) The variety name shall represent a subdivision of a kind, which is characterized by growth, plant, fruit, seed, or other characters by which it can be differentiated from other sorts of the same kind.

(2) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the name of a new variety shall be the name given by the originator or discoverer of the variety, except that in the event the originator or discoverer of a new unnamed variety, at the time seed of the variety is first introduced into channels of commerce of the United States for sale to the public, cannot or chooses not to name the variety, the name of the variety shall be the first name under which the seed is introduced into such commerce. However, if the variety name so provided is in a language not using the Roman alphabet, the variety shall be given a name by the person authorized under this paragraph to name the variety, in a language using the Roman alphabet.

Thanks Mark.

[travis]

Just got the Totally Tomatoes 2014 catalog today. Congrats to Artisan Seeds! Very nice stuff, Fred and Mark.

However, looking at the back cover, I too wonder where and when Michael Pollan became such a pronounced "necked" pear shape. I had not seen that before over the past few years. It always appeared more of a elongated plum shaped pear or whatever you might call it when there is no pronounced neck as in "yellow pear" or Yellow Submarine type pears.

Edit: I just went and looked at Wild Boar Farms 2014 photos, and there too it appears there are several necked pear shapes in Brad's photo of his own Michael Pollan tomatoes. I guess I just never saw this expression so pronounced before now. I must have gotten seeds of an earlier F-gen, before the neck became so pronounced.

[dustdevil]

Sounds like carp to me. I wonder how many of those 20,000 tomato varieties out there are really Big Boy renamed? Shame on you Uncle Floyd

[Wi-sunflower]

Here is a pic from 2012 of what I get for Michael Pollan. I got my seeds originally from WBF probably the first year they were out. They have always been this "plump" look with narrow ends.

Sorry for the misspelling of the name.

Carol

[travis]

Yes, that is what I've seen in the past. Fat, elongated, plum/pear with distinctly pointed blossom ends. Like a plumb bob.

But now the ones shown as "Mint Julip" have much more pronounced necks, and rounded blossom ends, all appearing more like what folks traditionally call "pear tomatoes" ala Yellow Pear, Yellow Submarine, Red Pear, etc. Not the pleated piriforms, but the single, smooth, necked pear shape.

[Tania]

I will message Brad via Facebook and ask.

[travis]

Thanks, Tania.

Another one you might ask Brad about is Apple, which I think is his too. Maybe it's Tom Wagners. Don't really know right now.

Anyway, Totally Tomatoes has it described as "a cross between Indigo Rose and a red cherry tomato. First of all, wasn't Indigo Rose just made available by Oregon State Univ. in 2013? How then could seeds be available for a stable, open pollinated variety resulting from a cross with Indigo Rose and a cherry tomato? Maybe it's an F1 hybrid?

Secondly, if Apple is an F1 hybrid, it certainly appears, from the catalog photo, to be a bit large for a first generation cross between Indigo Rose and any cherry tomato I've ever seen.

Maybe Brad or Tom has the answers.