SSE 2018 Annual Yearbook - Page 2

jmsieglaff · February 20, 2018

I know about the SSE and it’s mission. I’ve purchased seed not from members but from their online store and was pleased. I’ve considered becoming a member but never more than a fleeting ponder. I’m thinking out loud here—but is the prolification of the Internet and with it the seed swapping abilities as well as reputable heirloom seed vendors from the very small to large making the SSE go the way of the brick and mortar store? Combine in the main outward facing product to members being filled with errors described here, does that make people say it’s not worth cutting the check the next year? I’ve searched for tomatoes available only from members and I think a full embrace of online technology and an investment in a much stronger web presence could go a long way. Take Tatiana’s for example IMO her website is superior—descriptions, history, seed sources, PICTURES! I know the goals of the two aren’t the same but it seems like a members web front more like that might ensure the next generation sees SSE as a worthy resource and something worth supporting.

neil · February 21, 2018

With all of this said,and I could say much much more,SSE is still worth joining for me!
I think they are trying to get things together and get back members that have dropped out for many reasons! I would hope that all would consider joining and making this a great thing again!

**carolyn137** · February 26, 2018

I think one needs to distinguish between

The Annual SSE Yearbook.

The new seed exchange one which is online which is just a reworking of a Yearbook,most at first were SEE listed members, but then it was opened to all.

Or it could be the picture heavy catalogue that members get each Fall,and just for the asking since anyone can get one.

Or it could be their relatively new one where you list what you want and what you have to trade like our 2 subforums here at Tville.

They've tried a lot to get paid memberships up,since if you look at those numbers in The Yearbook, well,they aren't good.

Carolyn

Materdoc · March 3, 2018

I didn’t get my yearbook until about 10 days ago.
They have had a pattern of not sending me one although I have repeatedly told them I want the book.
I have to say that I am extremely disappointed by all of the omissions & duplications.
I used to think it was a good resource but now it is just a disgrace.
And the “unsorted” section...what the heck is that? They even have varieties from SSE there.
Shouldn’t they know where their own entries should be?
I surmise that the haphazard appearance may have to do with online entries by members who are not familiar with it.
I love the stories and all. But the bottom line for me is the basic data...growth habit, leaf type, fruit color & shape. The assessments of taste that many people provide are fine but I don’t find it that valuable as taste is so individual.
A template where people could fill in the blanks followed by a blank space for the stories would be the best way to do it, methinks. Add a curator to clean up the mess & it would be good to go.

neil · March 4, 2018

I have talked to Bill Musser at SSE twice lately!!My new listings were added to unknown section even though I had sent in the right information and were to list them!My new varieties are just listed by name with no other information as to source or variety description!My edits to other varieties were not edited!Bill tells me for the last two years SSE has hired out the yearbook data entry and that is part of the trouble!He knows what a mess we have! I have tryed to get the information corrected on the online ,don't know if it was ever corrected as I hate to even go to the online version.Think it is even more of a mess than the print yearbook,if that is possible!!i I do think SSE is trying to get things worked out and get back members that have left for many reasons!!I would hope that all SSE members would give them a call and let them know what you think!!Maybe if we bond together we can have a good yearbook again!!

KarenO · March 5, 2018

[QUOTE=neil;687169]I have talked to Bill Musser at SSE twice lately!!My new listings were added to unknown section even though I had sent in the right information and were to list them!My new varieties are just listed by name with no other information as to source or variety description!My edits to other varieties were not edited!Bill tells me for the last two years SSE has hired out the yearbook data entry and that is part of the trouble!He knows what a mess we have! I have tryed to get the information corrected on the online ,don't know if it was ever corrected as I hate to even go to the online version.Think it is even more of a mess than the print yearbook,if that is possible!!i I do think SSE is trying to get things worked out and get back members that have left for many reasons!!I would hope that all SSE members would give them a call and let them know what you think!!Maybe if we bond together we can have a good yearbook again!![/QUOTE

You can and always could add to or edit anything in your own online listings.
perhaps you may wish to try that.

KarenO

Andrey_BY · March 6, 2018

I did the same last year talked with Bill. But nothing has changed in 2018. I have no time to edit online version and even deal with it. Having no printed Yearbook for 2018 it is very upseting all that is happening for the second year in a row. They are risking to loose even more members after such a disorder lasting years...

Quote:

Originally Posted by neil

I have talked to Bill Musser at SSE twice lately!!My new listings were added to unknown section even though I had sent in the right information and were to list them!My new varieties are just listed by name with no other information as to source or variety description!My edits to other varieties were not edited!Bill tells me for the last two years SSE has hired out the yearbook data entry and that is part of the trouble!He knows what a mess we have! I have tryed to get the information corrected on the online ,don't know if it was ever corrected as I hate to even go to the online version.Think it is even more of a mess than the print yearbook,if that is possible!!i I do think SSE is trying to get things worked out and get back members that have left for many reasons!!I would hope that all SSE members would give them a call and let them know what you think!!Maybe if we bond together we can have a good yearbook again!!

neil · March 6, 2018

Same for me Andrey,I don't have the time or know how to edit my listings!!The online is a big joke to me,I must be stupid! LOL I think when I spend many hours with my listings and send it to SSE then its there job to edit my listings!!

imp · March 6, 2018

Sometimes I miss the old SS catalogs that were on that cheap paper and looked almost like newsprint, no or very few pictures, all black & white. No glossy cover. Not great in some ways, but you could find things and it didn't have many errors.

**carolyn137** · March 6, 2018

Quote:

Originally Posted by neil

I have talked to Bill Musser at SSE twice lately!!My new listings were added to unknown section even though I had sent in the right information and were to list them!My new varieties are just listed by name with no other information as to source or variety description!My edits to other varieties were not edited!Bill tells me for the last two years SSE has hired out the yearbook data entry and that is part of the trouble!He knows what a mess we have! I have tryed to get the information corrected on the online ,don't know if it was ever corrected as I hate to even go to the online version.Think it is even more of a mess than the print yearbook,if that is possible!!i I do think SSE is trying to get things worked out and get back members that have left for many reasons!!I would hope that all SSE members would give them a call and let them know what you think!!Maybe if we bond together we can have a good yearbook again!!

Neil, the last time I spoke with Bill Musser was maybe 2-3 years ago when I called SSE and asked to have all of my listings deleted. I had already tried the online version, but I'll never go back to that for several reasons. he first asked for my acct #, well it is on the plastic wrap that contains the Yearbook and is on the label of the Heritage Farm copies that are sent out 4 times each year and I told him I no longer had that plastic and didn't know where my Heritage magazines were . He said OK, I can find it on the computer and why he needed to ask me so many questions I don't know, if he knew it already why bother me with all those questions.

He then said he saw that I was a long time registered member,yes, that's right, and asked me if I had thought about donating all my seeds to SSE, I said I'd think about it, knowing darn well I would never do that since I've been doing Seed offers for several decades and I don't need SSE for that.

What happened next really got to me. I got a call from someone at SSE,I don't remember his name,asking if I'd made a decision donating my seeds,this time I told him directly I had and the answer was NO.

SSE has been a big part of my gardening life for a very long time,but I no longer suggest it to others. When it started out it was all about seed preservation, but no more,IMO it has become a commercial seed catalog. Amy, donated lots of money to them and I've always thought that she wanted to own a seed company and if you look at the Advisor names, I think that makes it pretty clear with at least one of her lawyers names being there.

Craig,you posted some wrong info above and here's what it was. You said you had ALL the Annual Yearbooks, but you didn't since you didn't have the 1982 one with Glenn Drowns on the cover and nor did I. What this was all about is that Craig and I had volunteered to get out so much wrong info in the tomato section. So we were both sent all of the older Yearbooks going up to the ones we already had.
And I'm sure your remember the outcome. Amy was supposed to bring up our offer at the board meeting when Kent walked in and said he and Diane were getting divorced, and that was the end of us trying to help.

There is so much more I could say but it's almost time for my meals on wheels lunch to arrive, and then going back and worrying about how much snow I might be getting here tomorrow where I live.

Carolyn

**nctomatoman** · March 6, 2018

Actually Carolyn I have all of them, back to 1975 - a decade or longer ago they sent them all to me. So, yes, I have 1975 to current, inclusive. Glenn is actually on the 1984...a few are complete xeroxes, but I've got them all in their entirety.

I do wish you didn't take such delight in trying to prove me wrong on things - I find it quite disappointing.

**carolyn137** · March 6, 2018

Quote:

Originally Posted by nctomatoman

Actually Carolyn I have all of them, back to 1975 - a decade or longer ago they sent them all to me. So, yes, I have 1975 to current, inclusive. Glenn is actually on the 1984...a few are complete xeroxes, but I've got them all in their entirety.

I do wish you didn't take such delight in trying to prove me wrong on things - I find it quite disappointing.

Yes, I also have the 1975 one as well going forward, but it looks like I said 1982 for the Glenn one instead of 1984, and no way am I going to go thru the piles of Yearbooksto the left of me on the floor.

Craig,there is NO delight at all in my trying to suggest a correction to anyone at all. I'm not yet perfect myself, and won't be until I'm no longer on earth, hopefully, and many times you've seen me apologize about something I've said that was wrong.

All I've ever said is that I want to share my experiences growing tomatoes and other crops, starting back on the farm where I was raised, and pass those experiences on to others asbest I can.

Carolyn

**Lee** · March 7, 2018

I think I should probably call them and find out why no yearbook was sent to me this year..... too late to request anything as the tomato growing season has already started here. Alas.....

Lee

PotGarden · March 7, 2018

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lee

I think I should probably call them and find out why no yearbook was sent to me this year..... too late to request anything as the tomato growing season has already started here. Alas.....

Lee

They may think everyone uses the online version and doesn't need one, which isn't true but so many places do that now.

Nan_PA_6b · March 7, 2018

Quote:

Originally Posted by imp

Sometimes I miss the old SS catalogs that were on that cheap paper and looked almost like newsprint, no or very few pictures, all black & white. No glossy cover. Not great in some ways, but you could find things and it didn't have many errors.

This year I listed a variety in the Yearbook and renewed my "paperless" membership, which should mean no yearbook. But they sent me one. It's as you describe, Imp, newsprint, black & white, no pics. Cover is semi-glossy in color. Is this the standard yearbook, or is it what they give me for having listed? I wasn't expecting one at all, and am very pleased to have it, having nothing from the past to compare it to.

Nan

February 26, 2018	#18
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	I think one needs to distinguish between The Annual SSE Yearbook. The new seed exchange one which is online which is just a reworking of a Yearbook,most at first were SEE listed members, but then it was opened to all. Or it could be the picture heavy catalogue that members get each Fall,and just for the asking since anyone can get one. Or it could be their relatively new one where you list what you want and what you have to trade like our 2 subforums here at Tville. They've tried a lot to get paid memberships up,since if you look at those numbers in The Yearbook, well,they aren't good. Carolyn __________________ Carolyn

March 5, 2018	#21
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,931	[QUOTE=neil;687169]I have talked to Bill Musser at SSE twice lately!!My new listings were added to unknown section even though I had sent in the right information and were to list them!My new varieties are just listed by name with no other information as to source or variety description!My edits to other varieties were not edited!Bill tells me for the last two years SSE has hired out the yearbook data entry and that is part of the trouble!He knows what a mess we have! I have tryed to get the information corrected on the online ,don't know if it was ever corrected as I hate to even go to the online version.Think it is even more of a mess than the print yearbook,if that is possible!!i I do think SSE is trying to get things worked out and get back members that have left for many reasons!!I would hope that all SSE members would give them a call and let them know what you think!!Maybe if we bond together we can have a good yearbook again!![/QUOTE You can and always could add to or edit anything in your own online listings. perhaps you may wish to try that. KarenO Last edited by KarenO; March 5, 2018 at 04:14 AM.

March 6, 2018	#26
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	Actually Carolyn I have all of them, back to 1975 - a decade or longer ago they sent them all to me. So, yes, I have 1975 to current, inclusive. Glenn is actually on the 1984...a few are complete xeroxes, but I've got them all in their entirety. I do wish you didn't take such delight in trying to prove me wrong on things - I find it quite disappointing. __________________ Craig

March 7, 2018	#28
Lee Tomatopalooza™ Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NC-Zone 7 Posts: 2,188	I think I should probably call them and find out why no yearbook was sent to me this year..... too late to request anything as the tomato growing season has already started here. Alas..... Lee __________________ Intelligence is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put one in a fruit salad. Cuostralee - The best thing on sliced bread.

February 20, 2018	#16
jmsieglaff Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Southern WI Posts: 2,742	I know about the SSE and it’s mission. I’ve purchased seed not from members but from their online store and was pleased. I’ve considered becoming a member but never more than a fleeting ponder. I’m thinking out loud here—but is the prolification of the Internet and with it the seed swapping abilities as well as reputable heirloom seed vendors from the very small to large making the SSE go the way of the brick and mortar store? Combine in the main outward facing product to members being filled with errors described here, does that make people say it’s not worth cutting the check the next year? I’ve searched for tomatoes available only from members and I think a full embrace of online technology and an investment in a much stronger web presence could go a long way. Take Tatiana’s for example IMO her website is superior—descriptions, history, seed sources, PICTURES! I know the goals of the two aren’t the same but it seems like a members web front more like that might ensure the next generation sees SSE as a worthy resource and something worth supporting.

February 21, 2018	#17
neil Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 15	With all of this said,and I could say much much more,SSE is still worth joining for me! I think they are trying to get things together and get back members that have dropped out for many reasons! I would hope that all would consider joining and making this a great thing again!

March 3, 2018	#19
Materdoc Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bloomington , Indiana Posts: 6	I didn’t get my yearbook until about 10 days ago. They have had a pattern of not sending me one although I have repeatedly told them I want the book. I have to say that I am extremely disappointed by all of the omissions & duplications. I used to think it was a good resource but now it is just a disgrace. And the “unsorted” section...what the heck is that? They even have varieties from SSE there. Shouldn’t they know where their own entries should be? I surmise that the haphazard appearance may have to do with online entries by members who are not familiar with it. I love the stories and all. But the bottom line for me is the basic data...growth habit, leaf type, fruit color & shape. The assessments of taste that many people provide are fine but I don’t find it that valuable as taste is so individual. A template where people could fill in the blanks followed by a blank space for the stories would be the best way to do it, methinks. Add a curator to clean up the mess & it would be good to go.

March 4, 2018	#20
neil Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 15	I have talked to Bill Musser at SSE twice lately!!My new listings were added to unknown section even though I had sent in the right information and were to list them!My new varieties are just listed by name with no other information as to source or variety description!My edits to other varieties were not edited!Bill tells me for the last two years SSE has hired out the yearbook data entry and that is part of the trouble!He knows what a mess we have! I have tryed to get the information corrected on the online ,don't know if it was ever corrected as I hate to even go to the online version.Think it is even more of a mess than the print yearbook,if that is possible!!i I do think SSE is trying to get things worked out and get back members that have left for many reasons!!I would hope that all SSE members would give them a call and let them know what you think!!Maybe if we bond together we can have a good yearbook again!!

March 6, 2018	#24
imp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Wichita Falls, Texas Posts: 4,832	Sometimes I miss the old SS catalogs that were on that cheap paper and looked almost like newsprint, no or very few pictures, all black & white. No glossy cover. Not great in some ways, but you could find things and it didn't have many errors.