Sandhill catalog (Web site) updated as of Jan. 4

[Ruth_10]

The Sandhill catalog for 2009 is now updated on their web site. The print catalog is going out this week.

http://www.sandhillpreservation.com/...d_catalog.html

[shelleybean]

Thank you, Ruth! Glad to hear it.

[carolyn137]

And my Sandhill catalog came today, which I much prefer, since I cannot stand staring at the screen at ANY seed site.

[shelleybean]

Mine arrived today, as well. I think this is the earliest I've ever received one. Don't they usually come out in Feb.?

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by shelleybean

Mine arrived today, as well. I think this is the earliest I've ever received one. Don't they usually come out in Feb.?

No, early to middle to late January and a couple of years early February.

But I know Linda has been going full out to get everything updated as well as getting the catalog printed and sent out.

How they get everyting done with Glenn having a full time teaching job I simply can't imagine.

But starting last year they had more help processing seed requests sent in and the same will be true this year, so the wait time from years ago won't be nearly as long.

As soon as I order some more books and read the King Arthur Flour catalog to see how much the price of my fave dark bittersweet chocolate has gone up I'll pick up the catalog and start by reading thru the poultry section.

No, I'm not interested in buying any birdies but I get a kick out of reading about them and how Glenn breeds them and keeps the stock pure. I'd say a bit more complicated than keeping tomato varieties pure.

[tjg911]

hey carolyn guess what?

i got my sandhill catalog today and i went to the paste tomatoes and prue was not listed! dropped!

so before i came here and said that i started going thru all the tomatoes and they moved prue from paste to red! we'd both agree that is where prue belongs.

tom

[bcday]

Got my Sand Hill catalog today too.

Prue is listed on page 51.

[cdntomato]

I had a look at the SH per usual. Still real problems with the Canadian-bred stuff. Roger Doucet is not happy with AgCanada registered varieties being renamed, ignoring the mandatory naming protocols. Not Q-1121, it's correctly Quebec 1121, for example. That's how it was commercially released as a government-bred variety.

Also the history of Provenzano. It's from an octogenarian Italian-Canadian who may have brought it from Italy (he doesn't remember clearly) and has been grown/selected for the northern BC climate for decades. Not the same baby any more and, in any case, this is a selling feature to those who don't think a large Italian variety would work in the north. I have all of Emile Provenzano's seeds now, tomatoes and other stuff.

Also who gave Glenn the Burgess Lemon? I've grown it for 5 years and it's sure nothing like the cherry he has listed. History-wise, the description doesn't really seem to fit. Sure doesn't match the USDA characterization either, USDA being my source of seed. I grow between 10-20 plants of it each year: Lillian Heirloom Yellow colouring in a June Pink body. Indet/RL.

I know Glenn cares about this stuff. Not clear how to communicate it to him. Have not had emails acknowledged in past.

Jennifer, back from oblivion and still grumbling

[carolyn137]

I had a look at the SH per usual. Still real problems with the Canadian-bred stuff. Roger Doucet is not happy with AgCanada registered varieties being renamed, ignoring the mandatory naming protocols. Not Q-1121, it's correctly Quebec 1121, for example. That's how it was commercially released as a government-bred variety.

Also the history of Provenzano. It's from an octogenarian Italian-Canadian who may have brought it from Italy (he doesn't remember clearly) and has been grown/selected for the northern BC climate for decades. Not the same baby any more and, in any case, this is a selling feature to those who don't think a large Italian variety would work in the north. I have all of Emile Provenzano's seeds now, tomatoes and other stuff.

*******

I know the history of Provezano as well Jennifer and I do help out with blurbs from time to time but no way is there room to put ALL info known about all varieties for which a history is known. I have grown Provenzano. It has to do with page limitations. I noted to Linda Sapp that some info was missing in her new catalog and she told me that she lost a couple of lines for a couple of varieties again, b/c of page limitations. Going from a certain # of pages to more can cost big time in increased money/

And there are other large fruited Italian varieties that also do well in the north although I'm not remembering them at the moment.

*****
Also who gave Glenn the Burgess Lemon? I've grown it for 5 years and it's sure nothing like the cherry he has listed. History-wise, the description doesn't really seem to fit. Sure doesn't match the USDA characterization either, USDA being my source of seed. I grow between 10-20 plants of it each year: Lillian Heirloom Yellow colouring in a June Pink body. Indet/RL.
*****

Only Glenn would know who gave him the Burgess Lemon.

*****
I know Glenn cares about this stuff. Not clear how to communicate it to him. Have not had emails acknowledged in past.

**** Yes, he cares about histories, to the extent that they don't take up too much room. There are some that he wrote that are much longer than anything I might do and I help only with those varieties I know well, and there's a lot that he lists that I don't know well. The goal lately has been to get basic info for each variety as to early, midseason and late, plant habit, leaf form, fruit color and size, and that would take precedence over any histories, or should, so folks will know how to confirm they have the right variety.

He lists varieties as folks send them to him so if someone sent to him something called Q....... and that should be Quebec, as you noted, there's not much that can be done about that.

He simply does not have the time to do extensive research, as I'm sure you already know. And nor does Linda.

*****
Jennifer, back from oblivion and still grumbling.

****

I see that,and welcome back.

[Polar_Lace]

Hmm... I checked out the web site last week (not for the first time mind you) the fact that the Tomato seed page is so long...... makes your eyes tired.

I've taken to just copying & pasting the page to a text editor & then make my selections from there by cutting out the ones I don't really like or don't want.

If they would only make the 'Blue Bar' on the left much shorter, they would have more space below for the text to expand fuller so the page length would be shorter. - IMHO

[cdntomato]

I hear you, Carolyn. With the Doucet stuff though, it's a bit different than the pedigrees and histories of the others. These are deliberate name changes of government released varieties. I've tried to get this information to Glenn with no luck, clearly. And so the domino effect marches on...

And Italabec should be Itabec.

One more thing:
When did Rugose move from being a leaf form to being a plant form? which leads to...

Why are the tomato characterizations that the USDA spent/enlisted so many resources developing just a few years ago not being more universally adopted, if only for consistency's sake?

Jennifer

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Polar_Lace

Hmm... I checked out the web site last week (not for the first time mind you) the fact that the Tomato seed page is so long...... makes your eyes tired.

I've taken to just copying & pasting the page to a text editor & then make my selections from there by cutting out the ones I don't really like or don't want.

If they would only make the 'Blue Bar' on the left much shorter, they would have more space below for the text to expand fuller so the page length would be shorter. - IMHO

Robin, the page limitations I'm talking about refer to the catalog, not to the website which can be as long or as short as one wants.

But since the same blurbs are used for both it's the catalog page length that's the sticking point.

The new catalog is done first since there are deadlines to get it to the printer and then Linda transfers the data to the website.

As for me, I absolutely cannot stand looking at ANY website seed source and must have a catalog so I can sit in my recliner chair and be comfortable. I also find it easier to find stuff in a catalog than I do at a website where I'm constantly clicking here and there to find what I want.

[VGary]

I help Thieneman's Nursery each season in planning for heirloom tomatoes for germination. For the last several years we have placed large orders with Sandhill and have been extremely pleased with their service and their seed. While I was house bound this fall with health issues, I counted the surplus seed of each variety in planning for the 2009 season.
I will be adding some varieties I have grown the last several years and want to share; this is my ninth year as a volunteer there and I always look forward to seeing and talking with the folks who return; It is good to see folks who return each year and are able to share their experiences from the past season. The only hybrid variety we carry is Sungold Cherry.
This spring we will be growing a large number of Kentucky heirlooms (some in limited quantities) which my friend, Maria at blueribbontomatoes.com, has grown along with some of my more rare Kentucky varieties. She will be our guest on the day we begin our sales to talk with folks about her love of gardening old tomato varieties. Our sale day is usually the last Friday and Saturday in April.
Gary
"...a garden is like life: something is always doing well, something is struggling, something is being born anew, and something is dying."
~ Edith Reed

[carolyn137]

One more thing:
When did Rugose move from being a leaf form to being a plant form? which leads to...
****

It moved from being a leaf form to a plant form when Glenn added that for the 2009 Catalog and I didn't see it until today. At first I was skimming thru the varieties looking for a variety named Rugose b'c of what you wrote above.

I think Glenn was thinking of some way to describe what some of us would consider dwarf varieties, but many he lists are also noted as having rugose leaves. And of course dwarfs come in both RL and PL foliages as well.

*****
Why are the tomato characterizations that the USDA spent/enlisted so many resources developing just a few years ago not being more universally adopted, if only for consistency's sake?

****

Jennifer, I'm sorry but I really don't know what you're referring to in the above paragraph. I think what the USDA wants to adopt, whatever it is, would pertain to the PC-Grin listings. I don't think that our Federal Government is asking/suggesting/demanding that ALL private seed companies conform to what they might want to conform to themselves.

[PaulF]

Got my catalog last week and my order is in the mail. I've never had a problem with varieties being wrong and the prices and shipping costs are the best I know.