Seed availability issues

[Fusion_power]

I'm starting this thread to document varieties that have availability issues. Feel free to post anything that you are having trouble finding or would like to have but can't get.

There are three varieties that come to mind.

1. Earl's Faux - I don't think it is in short supply but I have had 2 emails requesting seed recently. Who is selling it for next year?

2. Plum Regal - Only seed available currently is from Randy Gardner. Have not yet heard if bejo will make it available commercially for 2011.

3. Mountain Magic - ditto for bejo availability.

DarJones

[maf]

I know that Casey's Heirloom Tomatoes (from Canada) has Earl's Faux in their 2011 listing, but don't know if you were just talking about U.S. sites. They are also the only site (in any country) I can find that is listing Vorlon this season.

[walkinggin]

This is a useful question.

Sarnowski Polish Plum. It sold out in 2009 from Sandhill and was listed as unavailable in 2010. Tatiana's TOMATObase is also sold out. They were the only ones selling it as far as I can tell.

the same story for Phil's Fantastic. A red beefsteak, I grew it this year and couldnt decide whether it or Linnie's Oxheart was better. When I was looking for information about it I realized it isn't widely available.

Ginny

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Fusion_power

I'm starting this thread to document varieties that have availability issues. Feel free to post anything that you are having trouble finding or would like to have but can't get.

There are three varieties that come to mind.

1. Earl's Faux - I don't think it is in short supply but I have had 2 emails requesting seed recently. Who is selling it for next year?

2. Plum Regal - Only seed available currently is from Randy Gardner. Have not yet heard if bejo will make it available commercially for 2011.

3. Mountain Magic - ditto for bejo availability.

DarJones

Darrel, lots of seed sources for Earl's Faux:

http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Earl%27s_Faux

I also told you last week that I would contact Elaine at Bejo Seeds to see what info I can find out about availability for Plum Regal F1 and Mt Magic F1. I'm only now getting things back together from the surgery Monday and will try to do that tomorrow b'c to be honest I'd forgotten about doing it.

I know that Randy does NOT want to be known as a source of seeds, as you mentioned above, for Mt Magic F1, Plum Regal F1 and Smarty F1. When I asked his permission to distribute those seeds here at Tville that was mentioned to me and actually makes good sense as I see it. Tomato hybridizers such as Randy are not personally seed sources to the general public. rather, contracts are made with those companies that do that, such as Bejo in this case.

So I'll post here if you wish, instead of the other thread, when I hear something back from Elaine at Bejo Seeds about where and when those two varieties are expected to be available.

[fortyonenorth]

Originally Posted by walkinggin

This is a useful question.

Sarnowski Polish Plum. It sold out in 2009 from Sandhill and was listed as unavailable in 2010. Tatiana's TOMATObase is also sold out.

I noticed just yesterday that Marianne's Heirloom Seeds is listing Sarnowski. I believe they list it as "in stock."

[Stepheninky]

Earl's Faux is also avalible at Sampleseeds.com

[farmall]

We will have both Earl's Faux And Sarnowski Polish Plum plus 75-100 other new tomatoes for the 2011 season.

Thanks
Adam

[mdvpc]

I had great trouble getting seed for Al-Khuffa. Earl was able to get me seed from a friend of his.

[amideutch]

farmal; Adam when are you going to make the new list available? Ami

[geeboss]

I'm ready to order

George

[habitat_gardener]

Originally Posted by farmall

... plus 75-100 other new tomatoes for the 2011 season.

drooling...now I have to figure out how to get more growing space and more time to tend to more plants....

[pinakbet]

how about OSU blue...?

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by walkinggin

This is a useful question.

Sarnowski Polish Plum. It sold out in 2009 from Sandhill and was listed as unavailable in 2010. Tatiana's TOMATObase is also sold out. They were the only ones selling it as far as I can tell.

the same story for Phil's Fantastic. A red beefsteak, I grew it this year and couldnt decide whether it or Linnie's Oxheart was better. When I was looking for information about it I realized it isn't widely available.

Ginny

Ginny, Sandhill usually lists Phil's Fantastic and it is a good one but I'd take Linnie's Oxheart over Phil in an upstate NY minute.

Tania's site is pretty darn good at listing all the possible " acceptable" seed sources for a specific variety so I'd look there before saying there is no seed source and she's now including Remy's Sample Seeds and Carol's Knapp seeds as sources as well.

Sandhill had a positively horrible season last year which is why so many varieties were not available. I haven't chatted with Glenn or Linda lately to see how this season went but will be doing so soon, and fingers crossed it went much better.

Things went pretty well with Mike at Victory Seeds and he and his wife and his two youngest kids were East a couple of weeks ago attending a seed packaging conference at the USDA labs in Geneva, NY, with side trips to Cornell and the Bejo trial fields at Geneva. I was so pleased when they stopped by to visit me on their way back from Fort Ticonderoga. They made an educational trip out of it bc Mike is a real history buff and they wanted to show the kids, and themselves, some historic places such as the Saratoga Battlefield and more. Victory Seeds is one of the places where I sent some of the best of what I grow for trial, along with Sandhill and Gleckler's and usually TGS and it was great to meet Mike personally.

Yes, Darrel, I WILL e-mail Elaine at Bejo, but not right now at 4;30 AM b/c now I'm tired enough to go back to bed.

[patty_b]

Looking for Top Sirloin (not the OP one).

[Wi-sunflower]

I'm glad to see a thread like this early enough to possibly do something about it.

Last year I didn't find out that Oregon Star was a "crop failure" for the big catalog companies until it was winter. While I grow it, by that time it was too late to get good seeds processed. I did get some poor germinators tho so I should have some good seed this year.

I do have seed for Earl's Faux now.

I'm growing and hope to have have seeds for Phil's Fantastic. Already processed and drying are seeds for Cowlick's Brandywine.

I planted close to 200 new-to-me varieties this year. Unfortunately the weather did in some of them, But I hope to have around 100 new listings by around Thanksgiving.

Keep listing those varieties you are looking for so those of us saving can make the effort to get them saved. Sometimes if we don't know what will be in demand we have to make a choice of what to work on when time is in short supply.

Carol