SANTA SWEETS

MsCowpea · June 10, 2006

(Posted this on DG but thought it might be of interest here.)

Do you want the REAL Santa Sweets from the Santa Sweet company? Hold on to your computer screens as you may fall out of your chair.

They are selling 10 (TEN!!!) seeds for $12.50
plus $6.95 for shipping
and $1.36 for tax
GRAND TOTAL $20.81 for 10 seeds

I can stand the (gulp) 12.50 for the seeds but the close to 7.00 bucks to ship 10 seeds really is beyond the pale. (OK they have to package and handle but $7.00???)

Ain't capitalism grand? Now for those of you who ask what idiot would order at that price even though they supposedly are running true from storebought tomatoes all I can say is I REALLY REALLY needed the real sweets for some Santa Sweet aficionados. Maybe I will have to sell 5 plants to offset the cost-ummm $10 bucks a plant???? Make it $9.99 sounds better.

http://www.santasweets.com/store-ite...06051511263376

HeirloomNewb · June 10, 2006

sounds like they know how many you would get off 10 plants and have charged you for all the trips you'd have made to the store.... that is very steep!

landarc · June 10, 2006

I wonder how prolific the plants are and if you can now sell them as Santa Sweets because you bought the seeds from them?

Also, I wonder what this means in terms of future seed availability, are they gonna become more available on the open market?

kimpossible · June 10, 2006

Going to the store, buying the pint for $2.50 for 50+ tomatoes (=.05 per/tomato), saving the seed (approx. 25 seeds per tomato = .002 cents per seed, 5 seeds = 1 cent), therefore 10 seeds will cost me 2 cents. Gee, wonder who I can market my seed to and realize a 625% profit??? There have got to be some suckers out there....

FlipTX · June 10, 2006

At that price, every single one of them better germinate!

MsCowpea · June 10, 2006

Actually now I am sorry I ordered them --I completely forgot they are the company with several lawsuits against them for worker safety violations.

AND I am the one that posted the thread in Conversations about pesticide effects on their pickers AND i still didn't remember til later.

The plants won't be for me --I don't even like Santa Sweets and I was kidding about selling them. Or maybe I will keep one plant and distribute seeds. I guess I will rationalize by telling myself that it won't help if their business went bankrupt as they need to pay off the lawsuits.

Goddessemer6 · June 10, 2006

Last year Carolyn said that Santa Sweets come true 99% of the time despite being a hybrid, so I took my happy keister down to the store and bought a pack for $2.50 and now have several hundred seeds. I'm growing it currently but it still has green fruit on it, can't wait to see the taste comparison of home grown to store bought!

Woodenzoo · June 10, 2006

Yup
I did the same thing as Goddessemer6 did. 2 pints for $4. Have one growing now also, though I can't remember if it's one of the plants with blooms now or not.

Can share seeds with anyone that can't find the tomatoes in the store. I'll never use all that I've saved so far especially if the one growing produces well. :wink:
Cathy

Sherry_AK · July 7, 2006

I've tasted these for the first time today (store bought). I can only hope that if I decide to grow them that they taste a whole lot better than these!

**carolyn137** · July 7, 2006

Let me add some information here.

It was Andrew Chu in FL who first made Santa F1 a household name as a so called grape tomato.

Santa F1 is bred by the Known-You Seed Co in Taiwan. Seeds for Santa F1 were not available after Andrew Chu was sued by the Procacci Bros, who almost ran him out of business, and who are the same folks who copied the variety Ugly by introducing Ugly Ripe, and then bought out the Ugly folks to eliminate the competition.

procaacci tied up seed sales with a deal with Known-You and no company registered in the US could sell those seeds but Tand M in England and others in Europe are still selling them/

But I digress.

It was Andrew Chu himself who told me that indeed Santa F1 was a hybrid, b'c that had been questioned, and said that of 100 F2 seeds saved from the hybrid that 99/100 come true. The off type is round and has a lower Brix concentration.

I now know folks on the F 6 and F7 of saved Santa F1 and the taste and production remains the same as the original hybrid.

I have never ever understood the popularity of so called grape tomatoes.

June 10, 2006	#1
MsCowpea Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: S. FLorida / Zone 10 Posts: 369	SANTA SWEETS (Posted this on DG but thought it might be of interest here.) Do you want the REAL Santa Sweets from the Santa Sweet company? Hold on to your computer screens as you may fall out of your chair. They are selling 10 (TEN!!!) seeds for $12.50 plus $6.95 for shipping and $1.36 for tax GRAND TOTAL $20.81 for 10 seeds I can stand the (gulp) 12.50 for the seeds but the close to 7.00 bucks to ship 10 seeds really is beyond the pale. (OK they have to package and handle but $7.00???) Ain't capitalism grand? Now for those of you who ask what idiot would order at that price even though they supposedly are running true from storebought tomatoes all I can say is I REALLY REALLY needed the real sweets for some Santa Sweet aficionados. Maybe I will have to sell 5 plants to offset the cost-ummm $10 bucks a plant???? Make it $9.99 sounds better. http://www.santasweets.com/store-ite...06051511263376 __________________ "When we kill off the natural enemies of a pest we inherit their work." Carl Huffaker

June 10, 2006	#3
landarc Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Left Coasty Posts: 964	I wonder how prolific the plants are and if you can now sell them as Santa Sweets because you bought the seeds from them? Also, I wonder what this means in terms of future seed availability, are they gonna become more available on the open market? __________________ Lets see...$10 for Worth and $5 for Fusion, man. Tomatoes are expensive! Bob

June 10, 2006	#4
kimpossible Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Z5b SW Ont Canada Posts: 767	Going to the store, buying the pint for $2.50 for 50+ tomatoes (=.05 per/tomato), saving the seed (approx. 25 seeds per tomato = .002 cents per seed, 5 seeds = 1 cent), therefore 10 seeds will cost me 2 cents. Gee, wonder who I can market my seed to and realize a 625% profit??? There have got to be some suckers out there.... __________________ *So Many Tomatoes ... So Little Time*

June 10, 2006	#6
MsCowpea Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: S. FLorida / Zone 10 Posts: 369	Actually now I am sorry I ordered them --I completely forgot they are the company with several lawsuits against them for worker safety violations. AND I am the one that posted the thread in Conversations about pesticide effects on their pickers AND i still didn't remember til later. The plants won't be for me --I don't even like Santa Sweets and I was kidding about selling them. Or maybe I will keep one plant and distribute seeds. I guess I will rationalize by telling myself that it won't help if their business went bankrupt as they need to pay off the lawsuits. __________________ "When we kill off the natural enemies of a pest we inherit their work." Carl Huffaker

June 10, 2006	#7
Goddessemer6 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NV zone9a Posts: 134	Last year Carolyn said that Santa Sweets come true 99% of the time despite being a hybrid, so I took my happy keister down to the store and bought a pack for $2.50 and now have several hundred seeds. I'm growing it currently but it still has green fruit on it, can't wait to see the taste comparison of home grown to store bought! __________________ ~Rose The beauty of being human is the ability to choose compassion over cruelty!

June 10, 2006	#2
HeirloomNewb Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Elwood, IL Posts: 53	sounds like they know how many you would get off 10 plants and have charged you for all the trips you'd have made to the store.... that is very steep!

June 10, 2006	#5
FlipTX Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 271	At that price, every single one of them better germinate!

June 10, 2006	#8
Woodenzoo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Ohio z6 Posts: 141	Yup I did the same thing as Goddessemer6 did. 2 pints for $4. Have one growing now also, though I can't remember if it's one of the plants with blooms now or not. Can share seeds with anyone that can't find the tomatoes in the store. I'll never use all that I've saved so far especially if the one growing produces well. :wink: Cathy

July 7, 2006	#9
Sherry_AK Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Alaska Zone 3/4 Posts: 1,857	I've tasted these for the first time today (store bought). I can only hope that if I decide to grow them that they taste a whole lot better than these!

July 7, 2006	#10
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	Let me add some information here. It was Andrew Chu in FL who first made Santa F1 a household name as a so called grape tomato. Santa F1 is bred by the Known-You Seed Co in Taiwan. Seeds for Santa F1 were not available after Andrew Chu was sued by the Procacci Bros, who almost ran him out of business, and who are the same folks who copied the variety Ugly by introducing Ugly Ripe, and then bought out the Ugly folks to eliminate the competition. procaacci tied up seed sales with a deal with Known-You and no company registered in the US could sell those seeds but Tand M in England and others in Europe are still selling them/ But I digress. It was Andrew Chu himself who told me that indeed Santa F1 was a hybrid, b'c that had been questioned, and said that of 100 F2 seeds saved from the hybrid that 99/100 come true. The off type is round and has a lower Brix concentration. I now know folks on the F 6 and F7 of saved Santa F1 and the taste and production remains the same as the original hybrid. I have never ever understood the popularity of so called grape tomatoes. __________________ Carolyn