Help needed; Andrey, Alex, Tania, etc.

[carolyn137]

What a surprise when in todays mail I received 15 seed packets with varieties pictured, but everything is in Russian.

Now I do admit I was able to translate the name Bordo on that package of beets, but let's get real, no way could I translate these. The tranlater had written some translations in heavy black ink across the face of the tomatoes, but I couldn't read all of those either.

So I did almost cry b/c I don't have a scanner, couldn't read the names and the VOILA, at the bottom of the pack was a translation sheet with name , ripening period( clearly from time sowed to ripe fruits), average weight, in grams, and height, in cm, and then Comments.

So what's a haulm?

So I'm looking for some help here. I'm going to list them as typed on that sheet and ask any of you if they have names in Russian that you can give me, and ****most importantly, are there any that I should be growing this summer that aren't especially widely known.**** Since Martha is growing only 12 plants for me and two new ones are already in there, perhaps 2-3, if not known otherwise might be targeted from this list.

So here we go, and at the bottom I'll tell you the amazing amusing story as to how I got sent these.

Astronaut Volkov ( OK, is Cosmonaut Volkov)
Yellow Giant
Early Ground Tomato
Early Tomato-83
Russian Hero
Tzar Bell ( looks great to me)
Market Miracle
Chernomor ( should know, but forgot)
President F1
Bull Heart
Gorgeous Gift
Danko
Gift from Zavolzhye
Giraffe ( I know, and comment says mainly for pickling)
Red Giant

So go at it my friends.

So why did this surprise find me.

I have a long time friend who livews in Pacific Palasades in CA and met Dennis several years ago when I was asked to present a tomato doo dad at the now defunct Hortus Nursery in Pasadena, although their Tomatomania plant sale lives on.

A couple of years ago Dennis drove to a nursery nearby and bought lots of stuff, not just tomatoes. When he went to pay he found he had no cash and no credit cards with him.

You have to know Dennis, suffice it to say that he's a fast talker, originally from Brooklyn, and runs a huge PR agency in LA.

So the nice lady at the check out counter not only told him she'd let him take the stuff and he could come back later to pay, she also gave him a $20 bill if he needed it for gas or whatever while driving home.

Dennis was so pleased and surprised by this that he asked me if I'd autograph my book and send it to the woman, whose name he remembered. It turns out that at the checkout counters were stacks of my books and Dennis had gotten into a chat with her saying he knew me and all that.

So I sent the book and received a lovely thank you back from her. She said her husband was in the former Soviet Union, working there, and she'd ask him to see if he could find some tomato varieties for me.

Now that was 2-3 years ago and I'd forgotten all about it. But here today comes these 15 varieties that her husband got and he had the Russian translater who works with him do the translations and obviously typed the page in English that I thankfully found at the bottom of the larger package the seed packs were sent in.

Nice story, yes?