Carolyn's Seed Collection

FarmerShawn
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Carolyn's Seed Collection

#1

Post: # 33978Unread post FarmerShawn
Sat Nov 14, 2020 1:56 pm

With the increasing lockdowns, what better activity could there be to pass the time than to peruse lists of tomato varieties? So here’s one of epic proportions. I have entered into a Google spreadsheet all the info I can find from Dr. Carolyn’s renowned seed collection, which has been graciously sent to me by her brother. Thank you to him for that, and for all the work that went into prepping them for safe shipment!
This spreadsheet has over a thousand (1028, to be exact!) entries, each representing a packet (or more) of mostly old seeds. Some varieties have duplicates. Most packets have a lot of seeds, but some have only a few. I have opened the spreadsheet (I think..) to allow anyone with information about any of the varieties to edit and add what they know. So please, with any idle time you have, feel free to spend some of it with this sheet, and add your collective knowledge to what we know about these varieties.
The actual offer details for how you can get your share of this wonderful collection will come a bit later, probably after the holidays, although maybe sooner. I just wanted to whet your appetite right now, and to invite you to contribute your knowledge to help fill out what we know about the varieties in this vast collection.
A couple of notes: Some seeds are in coin-envelope-sized envelopes (e), some are in vials (v), and some are in larger white envelopes (we). So the second column on the sheet is there just to help me find the correct pack of seeds from the three types of storage they’re in. I have protected (I think…) that column on the sheet from editing by anyone but me. That is also true of the year column, which is the info on the seed packages themselves. You’ll note that many of these seeds are quite old, and some have no date at all. Many of them may be unrecoverable. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try, does it? And finally, there is one column of asterisks that simply indicate which varieties I may decide to try to germinate a few seeds of for myself. Just ignore that one.
I will periodically back up the sheet, so if something weird happens to it, all will not be lost. And please let me know if something doesn’t work, or if you know how something could easily be accomplished better on the sheet.
The link to the spreadsheet:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing
FarmerShawn
Last edited by FarmerShawn on Sat Nov 14, 2020 6:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Labradors
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Re: Carolyn's Seed Collection

#2

Post: # 33981Unread post Labradors
Sat Nov 14, 2020 2:29 pm

It's not possible to add to the spreadsheet. Perhaps we need to click on something to make it work?

Linda

FarmerShawn
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Re: Carolyn's Seed Collection

#3

Post: # 33986Unread post FarmerShawn
Sat Nov 14, 2020 3:13 pm

Ok, anybody know how to make a clickable link here? It works fine on the other forum...
FarmerShawn

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Re: Carolyn's Seed Collection

#4

Post: # 33997Unread post rossomendblot
Sat Nov 14, 2020 4:52 pm

Click on the chain icon above the text box, or do it manually with [?url]your link here[?/url] (without the two ?s). The forum seems to open the spreadsheet directly otherwise.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... edit#gid=0

FarmerShawn
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Re: Carolyn's Seed Collection

#5

Post: # 34008Unread post FarmerShawn
Sat Nov 14, 2020 7:01 pm

rossomendblot wrote: Sat Nov 14, 2020 4:52 pm Click on the chain icon above the text box, or do it manually with [?url]your link here[?/url] (without the two ?s). The forum seems to open the spreadsheet directly otherwise.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... edit#gid=0
Thank you! I think I have edited the original post so it works properly now.

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Labradors
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Re: Carolyn's Seed Collection

#6

Post: # 34019Unread post Labradors
Sun Nov 15, 2020 7:46 am



In case we should post a copy of the latest update.

Linda

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Re: Carolyn's Seed Collection

#7

Post: # 34037Unread post hybrid
Sun Nov 15, 2020 6:50 pm

I wish to thank Farmer Shane for all the hard work he put into this. I sent him three separate box's of seeds.These were each quite large as they had the containers that the seeds were in and then lots of packing to protect the seeds. When I told the local post office lady it was tomato seeds in the box she said no way. How can there be that many tomato seeds and I said there are two more to come. Yes over one thousand seeds. Thanks again Shawn. Dave

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Re: Carolyn's Seed Collection

#8

Post: # 34046Unread post MissS
Sun Nov 15, 2020 10:04 pm

[mention]FarmerShawn[/mention] I would like to thank you for all of your hard work putting this list of Carolyn's Collection together. It certainly is long and the work was tedious. Your generosity is outstanding in doing this for so many people. I can only hope that some of these seeds are still viable and can be brought to bear fruit to pass on these genes for generations to come.
~ Patti ~

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Re: Carolyn's Seed Collection

#9

Post: # 34307Unread post FarmerShawn
Fri Nov 20, 2020 8:46 am

Thank you all. I hope that as you look over the list you are jotting down which ones you'd like to speak for when the offer is actually made. I expect that if you express desire for a variety, you'll get all the seeds in that packet, especially for the older ones. For newer ones, I may divvy them up among multiple requesters, but mostly it'll be first come, first served. Again, details will be coming...
Shawn

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Re: Carolyn's Seed Collection

#10

Post: # 34374Unread post Dee
Sat Nov 21, 2020 9:06 am

Thank you for organizing this information! It was interesting to look through the list- many of those varieties are ones I have never heard of. I hope people are able to add details to the listings, it would be great to know more about each variety. :geek:

FarmerShawn
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Re: Carolyn's Seed Collection

#11

Post: # 34582Unread post FarmerShawn
Tue Nov 24, 2020 11:57 pm

Note - I was alerted to a mistaken entry that the person was unable to undo, so I have reset the spreadsheet to a November 23rd version. If you made changes since then, perhaps you could check and see if they need to be redone.
Thanks,
Shawn

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Re: Carolyn's Seed Collection

#12

Post: # 36950Unread post FarmerShawn
Sun Dec 27, 2020 12:49 pm

OK. We might as well get this offer thing underway.
So. Dr. Carolyn’s brother sent Carolyn’s collection of old seeds to me to both share, and to see if collectively we could save as many of the old varieties as possible. The task and the responsibility are more than a bit overwhelming for me, so I welcome all the help and suggestions you may have as this goes on.
That said, here are the basics of the offer as I currently conceive of them.
1. Carefully peruse the lists on the linked spreadsheets, and thoughtfully select all that you’d like to revive, or try to revive or keep going.
2. Make a list of all you think you’d like to try and know you can grow out this year, especially for the older varieties. (Most of these are very old seeds, so timely revival efforts are fairly urgent.) On your list, record the name, whether it’s in an envelope or vial as recorded on the spreadsheet, and the year for the seeds. That is, write on your list the first three columns of information on the “Carolyn’s Old Seeds” spreadsheet.
3. If you’re asking for up to six varieties, send a SASE to me at this address, replacing all the odd characters with spaces: Shawn*Conant@1584#State%Route*102&Maidstone,@Vermont#05905. If you’re asking for more than six varieties, PM me your address and wish list, I’ll pack them up and send them along, and later let you know via PM the shipping costs, which I trust you’ll return either with cash or check. Alternatively, I have set up my farmers’ market Square online store for this, where you can reimburse me (rounded to the nearest dollar) with a credit card. I’ll PM you the link to the online store when I let you know the actual shipping cost.
4. Important for every order – make sure to let me know your handle on either Tville or TJ, and which platform you’d prefer a response on.
5. For this offer, I plan to take in the orders for a brief period of time (a month, maybe?), then divvy up any seeds for a particular variety among all who ask for it. If you’re the only one asking for a particular variety line item, you’ll get all the seeds, and for most, that’s quite a lot!
6. I’m also including here a link to last year’s seed offer, “Carolyn’s Last Offer.” These seeds are newer, and we can assume they are still quite viable, so I will treat them similarly to last year. That is, you’ll get around ten seeds in a coin envelope for whatever variety you request, until the seeds are gone. A couple of the more popular varieties are running short, but most are still plentiful. Again, you’ll need to specify which spreadsheet you are ordering from, so I can find the seeds in their various storage locations!
7. I’m not putting on any limit to the number of varieties you order from “Carolyn’s Old Seeds” list this year; just be sensitive to the age of the seeds, and don’t order more of these older seeds than you can get to try this year. Although, you can order as many from the newer seeds list (Carolyn’s Last Offer) as you are sure to get to within a couple of years, since these seeds are not as old.
8. Finally, and most importantly, if you are successful at reviving any of these seeds, please remember to save fresh seeds from them, and share them freely to keep the varieties alive. I’d welcome receiving back any new seeds from any revived “old seed” varieties, five or ten seeds would be plenty! I also hope you’ll report here faithfully on the results of your revival efforts.

To save shipping and packing costs, I plan to transfer the seeds currently in the vials to coin envelopes, and I may do so also with any in envelopes that seem fragile. Just so you know…
I hope someone more capable than I will post in this thread either a link to or the actual text of Carolyn’s suggestions for reviving older seeds. I sure need a refresher!
Also, note that the old seed spreadsheet is mostly editable by anyone, and many varieties have no characteristics listed, so feel free to add in any information that you are fairly certain of.
The link to the list for this year’s offer, “Carolyn’s Old Seeds”:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing
The link to the list for last year’s offer, “Carolyn’s Last Offer”:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

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Re: Carolyn's Seed Collection

#13

Post: # 37041Unread post pondgardener
Mon Dec 28, 2020 8:42 pm

Shawn,
I did a quick search and ran across an old post on GardenWeb(2010?) by Fusion Power, listing some possible tricks. Carolyn seemed to mention the miracle grow solution, possibly in addition to other methods. I would be hesitant to try the microwave option.

The common methods of reviving seed are:

1. Roll the seed in a damp paper towel and place in a ziploc bag with lots of air. Place in the refrigerator overnight. Remove from the ziploc bag and place in soil trays in an incubator at 85 degrees with LOTS of light. Note that this is warmer than most recommendations. Note also the requirement for light. The seed should be just lightly covered over with very fine seed start mix (less than 1/16 inch).

2. Soak the paper towel as above in a dilute fertilizer solution such as miracle grow 15-30-15. The intent is to pump some nitrogen into the seed so it has an incentive to grow. Dilute means 1/4 teaspoon in 1 gallon of water.

3. Do the overnight soak as above, then remove the ziploc from the fridge and fill it with oxygen. No oxygen? No problem, get a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and a package of dry yeast. Add 1/2 cup peroxide to a pint jar and stir in 1 tablespoon of yeast. Place the ziploc bag mouth over the jar. It will rapidly fill with nearly pure oxygen. Do NOT get the peroxide on the seed, they don't seem to like it. Leave the seed in a warm place at about 80 to 85 degrees for 3 days, then start checking the seed daily for germination. When you see a sprout, remove that seed and place it in seed start mix to grow.

4. Some have reported results with lightly microwaving seed for just a few seconds followed by germinating as above. I do NOT recommend this, just putting it in because you will probably find it online.

5. Soak the seed overnight in various tea mixtures. One that works fairly well is plain lipton tea at about 1/10th normal strength. This appears to work because the tannic acid in the tea stimulates growth. You can make a similar tea from crumbled oak leaves that is effective.

6. Be patient. Often old tomato seed take up to 6 weeks to germinate. Keep the soil mix moist but not soaked, give plenty of light, and wait.


It's not what you gather, but what you scatter, that tells what kind of life you have lived.

FarmerShawn
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Re: Carolyn's Seed Collection

#14

Post: # 38777Unread post FarmerShawn
Tue Jan 19, 2021 9:30 am

I'm about to start packing and shipping requested seeds real soon. I wanted to be able to divide up available seeds for each old variety requested among all who asked for them, if there are enough (and for many, there's plenty). To make that possible, I have entered onto the spreadsheet beginning in column M all who have requested each variety. There are surprisingly few duplicate requests!
Anyway, if you have either PMd or sent an envelope with your lists to me, please check the spreadsheet to make sure I have entered your requests. If you are missing, let me know right away, and I'll check through my pile of requests to see if I just missed yours, or if I really don't have it. TVille seems to be down right now, for who knows how long, so I can't communicate with folks who are only on that forum. Oh, well...
I have not done this exercise for the newer seed list, as it isn't necessary - if a variety is out, it's out. But most are still available, either from Carolyn's stash, or from my own growouts and seed saving efforts.
If everything is in order, no need to communicate further, thanks. Fewer postings = less likelihood of confusing my old, forgetful self!
By the way, just for kicks I attempted to start a few of the real old varieties, and actually had some success with two - one from 1992 and the other from 1994! So there is some hope yet for a few of these!
Cheers!
Shawn

FarmerShawn
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Re: Carolyn's Seed Collection

#15

Post: # 39179Unread post FarmerShawn
Sat Jan 23, 2021 10:07 am

Hi. I just wanted to explain a few changes in the spreadsheet. I keep finding envelopes in the collection, and a few vials, that were cataloged and listed, but I discovered upon further inspection that they had no seeds in them. I caught many of these when I first went through them, but apparently missed a few.
Sorry!
Shawn

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Re: Carolyn's Seed Collection

#16

Post: # 39646Unread post FarmerShawn
Fri Jan 29, 2021 9:42 am

In the mail today! –
Retiree
Jeepcats
Vyrl
Pattihum
Steveok
Markt
Gthegrdner
Soilsniffer
kathyDC

About half of these had sufficient postage; the rest needed one additional stamp. No big deal.
I am almost done organizing the rest, and I will have them packed up ready to go out on Monday.
I’m still investigating how to best, most economically, send the European packages – a single, small, prepaid box is running about $45USD – pretty darned costly. But it may be considerably less if I just divide up the orders into several smaller envelopes and send them that way. I’ll keep those involved posted…
Shawn
Aka FarmerShawn

Dee
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Re: Carolyn's Seed Collection

#17

Post: # 39649Unread post Dee
Fri Jan 29, 2021 10:03 am

FarmerShawn wrote: Fri Jan 29, 2021 9:42 am
I’m still investigating how to best, most economically, send the European packages – a single, small, prepaid box is running about $45USD – pretty darned costly.
Good Heavens! I hope it costs SIGNIFICANTLY less to send to Canada! :shock:

FarmerShawn
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Re: Carolyn's Seed Collection

#18

Post: # 39668Unread post FarmerShawn
Fri Jan 29, 2021 2:05 pm

Dee wrote: Fri Jan 29, 2021 10:03 am
FarmerShawn wrote: Fri Jan 29, 2021 9:42 am
I’m still investigating how to best, most economically, send the European packages – a single, small, prepaid box is running about $45USD – pretty darned costly.
Good Heavens! I hope it costs SIGNIFICANTLY less to send to Canada! :shock:
Yeah, if need be I'll just pack several smaller envelopes and get the international stamps. I'm not worried about the Canadian connections. But a couple of the European orders are the largest ones...

FarmerShawn
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Re: Carolyn's Seed Collection

#19

Post: # 39883Unread post FarmerShawn
Mon Feb 01, 2021 12:56 pm

In the mail today went the larger domestic (US) orders. I’ll try to PM you the shipping cost and how you can try to reimburse me, if necessary and desired.
Encore
Happydog
Rootgrow
Rddback
Hl2601
George
Eyegrotom
Paulf
For these folks, I had your stuff all packed, but it turned out I didn’t do it the most economical way, by quite a lot, so I took them back home to repack in a way that should be less costly to ship. (I thought that by using several business-sized envelopes I could get by with international stamps, but the thickness of the envelopes with seeds in them makes them be treated like packages, which costs quite a bit more.) Anyway, either tomorrow or the next day, these will be going out:
Dorota
Littleukgarden
Lotte
Dee
Loeb
I have donnam all packed and ready to go, but I don’t seem to have an address to send it to!
Shawn

FarmerShawn
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Re: Carolyn's Seed Collection

#20

Post: # 39947Unread post FarmerShawn
Tue Feb 02, 2021 9:58 am

PMs seem to be a bit wonky here - I cannot tell if my individual PMs to let folks know the shipping costs have gone through or not - they appear to have gotten lost in the ether. I sent several out yesterday; none show up as sent, and one is stuck (apparently) in my outbox. Well, two now, since I just sent a separate one this morning, and that seems to be where it now lives.
Anyway, if you haven't got word from me regarding postage costs and how-to, and you don't get Tville PMs, please let me know, and maybe include an email for me to contact you. My email is netstuff@sjconant.com
Shawn

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