Bloody Butcher not pl?

[Chucker]

Originally Posted by Suze

I can't tell you how tall the imposter will get because I ended up just pulling my plant after tasting the first few fruits, but the correct Bloody Butcher is on the compact side and probably gets about 4 ft max.

Interesting. I've been growing Bloody Butcher since 2009. My original seeds were from Tomato Fest. They seem to be true to type, shape, size, color, flavor, PL. Except mine are huge, like 8' to 10' tall, certainly not compact. Maybe it's my shady growing conditions. I never questioned that I had the real thing till now. I've given out seed to several people, so I hope I have the real thing. Anyone else want to comment on plant size, growth rate?

[333.okh]

Half od my PL seeds are RL for BB, and my other PL types as well...★★★★ing me off really.

[ddsack]

I've been growing Bloody Butcher since 2009. My original seeds were from Tomato Fest. They seem to be true to type, shape, size, color, flavor, PL. Except mine are huge, like 8' to 10' tall, certainly not compact. Maybe it's my shady growing conditions. I never questioned that I had the real thing till now. I've given out seed to several people, so I hope I have the real thing. Anyone else want to comment on plant size, growth rate?

I've never given the size much thought. I only grew them one year to compare with Stupice, and I found them taller and more productive and a bit later to mature. I'm thinking they were flopping down from some support, so must have been at least 5-6 ft tall. They were PL and fruit was the correct size, seeds came from a local friend, don't know where she got them. For my purposes, I still prefer Stupice, because it consistently is the earliest decent eating tomato, and I don't care about long term productivity since I don't do much with it once the mid-season tomatoes start in.

[travis]

Originally Posted by feldon30

I sent them an e-mail:

Any reply from Burpee yet?

[feldon30]

It's funny you should mention...

Originally Posted by Burpee

Thank you for your feedback.

Our Research Department is working on the issue with the Bloody Butcher seed. We are very concerned about the seed not being true to type. We believe our customers should get what they expect to receive.

We have had to trace the seed lots and grow the seed to verify that there is indeed a problem. This process can take some time.

The correct seed will be available by the spring of 2012. I would like to send the correct seed to you next year. May I have your mailing address?

I am very sorry to have disappointed you.

Please be assured that we do strive to provide the best products and service to our customers.


Sincerely,

##########
Customer Service Department
W. Atlee Burpee & Co.

Well, they've only been sending out thousands of the wrong packet for 3+ years, give em a break I say.

Should I point them to this thread?

[bboomer]

You're right Suze. No potato leaf. I wonder what it could be. Maybe I'll give it a try anyway.

[erlyberd]

Looks like we all got ripped off! I threw mine out already. Best of luck Cloz.

[cloz]

Originally Posted by erlyberd

Looks like we all got ripped off! I threw mine out already. Best of luck Cloz.

I'm still waiting to see what my Burpee seeds turn into. I wasn't too badly ripped off. I got the seed package for one dollar at Job Lots.

Erlyberd: What part of CT are you in? I may have a couple of spare Bloody Butcher PL plants. I couldn't see throwing plants out, so I put spares in some plastic cups. I figured my wife can take them into work and give them away. My kids are up at the Uconn Storrs campus so I will be bringing their stuff home sometimes in the first week of May if you are anywhere near there I could bring a couple of plants with me if they survive my care till then.

[travis]

Originally Posted by feldon30

It's funny you should mention...


Well, they've only been sending out thousands of the wrong packet for 3+ years, give em a break I say.

Should I point them to this thread?

Funny that Burpee was first aware of the discrepancy in leaf type only after this email from Feldon. Seems uncanny that no one else ever called their attention to it over the past 3 years.

Also seems funny that Burpee doesn't test grow their seed to determine whether it's true to type before distributing it for sale. Oh wait, that's right, "that process could take some time."

I agree with Feldon. Give poor Burpee a break here.

As to whether they should be directed to this discussion, I say please don't distract them with it this time of year. I'm sure they are far too busy sending out even more catalogs. I've already received four this year, all with different covers, yet same basic content and offerings. Barf.

[Suze]

I looked back through my old planting spreadsheets, and yes, it was fall crop '07 (not '08) that Feldon and I grew the imposter.

I do not still have the seed pack (tossed it), but remember it was packed for 2007. I got it at either a Home Depot or Lowes in '07 in the Austin area off of one of their seed racks.

What I also recall is Burpee was not the only company who was selling RL Not Bloody Butcher. This came up on Gardenweb a couple of years ago. Someone started a thread about this. SSE (public catalog) was mentioned. This tends to suggest to me that some distributor might have been the original source of the problem.

I did pass that along to someone at SSE when I saw the thread on GW (suggesting they do a test sow of their BB stock), and hopefully they have long since rectified the problem. I may have even sent something to Burpee at the time, but honestly I can't remember for sure.

In any case, regardless of the cause - four years is a long time to offer off-type seed.

Any comments listing vendors who are known to be supplying the correct seed type for Bloody Butcher would be appreciated. I bought seed from Glecklers Seedmen this spring and didn't plant it. I plan on growing it next year. I feel pretty secure having purchased the seed from Glecklers. Any comments appreciated.

Ted

[farmall]

Tedin
I know for sure my BB are true PL. It was not to hard for me to figure out my plants are 3" tall right now and have good sized potato leaves.

Adam

Thanks Adam!

Everything I've received from you folks has been the highest quality. I'm growing quite a few of yours this year including Orange Minsk. I'm really looking forward to that one. I am curious about your Minsk though. Most of the images that come up on the net for Orange Minsk show fruit that is odd shaped and not very attractive in shape. Was that also your experience with the fruit on the plants you grew?

Ted

[coronabarb]

I grew BB several yrs ago...2006? I do remember that it was PL, a compact plant and I wasn't wowed by the flavor. Too many other great tomatoes to grow...

[farmall]

Ted

Orange Minsk is odd shaped mainly flat. I would not say they are un attractive though. OM was a very heavy producer for us. Our seed came from Carolyn. Thanks for the feedback.

Adam