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Post by macmex on Oct 3, 2019 10:11:55 GMT -6
I received that seed from a couple in Canada, named Dan and Val McMurray; though I didn't know them by those names. She was dubbed Grungy and he went by "Grunt." They hung out on the Homegrown Goodness forum. They grew a LOT of tomatoes, even being featured, one year, by the Farmers Almanac. My memory of them was that they were EXCEEDINGLY generous. Their moto was "pay it forward."
I was looking for seed of Black Cherry and corresponded with them. In response, they sent me an envelope with, perhaps, more than 20 varieties! I simply couldn't grow them all and was grateful that you took the seeds you did!
I want to say that I sent you that seed in 2009. Is that correct?
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Oct 21, 2019 21:53:55 GMT -6
You're lucky, Bon.
All my tomatoes have been toast since the October 12th freeze. Thanks, for posting the photos too. It's good to see something is still green somewhere.
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Post by macmex on Oct 22, 2019 5:57:01 GMT -6
I remember when black tomatoes were virtually unknown in this country and when traveling gardeners from North America went on a trip to Russia and the Ukraine (I want to say it was with Rodale) and hobnobbed with gardeners over there, returning with some of these seeds.
Sounds like a winning combination of traits!
I need to grow out Little Bells again. They're not black, but they have these same excellent traits, and they were developed in the same region.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Oct 27, 2019 21:54:03 GMT -6
Bon,
I've sold okra seeds in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, India, Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Panama, kind of all over the world. I don't think there would be a problem buying from Russia. The ruppies are kind of tough to convert, but PayPal will figure all that out for you. The main concern, is with selling seeds in these Countries. It's not illegal, it's just that some Customs Agents have 'sticky' fingers ... Also, some Postmen are very inefficient in their duties, causing some of my packages to be delayed by several months.
Glen, from Panama still hasn't received the pepper seeds I sent him, back in early September. As much as we like to complain about the good old, US Postal Service, things like that really make you appreciate the honesty and efficiency of our Civil Servants, here in the United States.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Oct 28, 2019 13:57:28 GMT -6
I guess I'm lucky I live so far out in the country. I've had letters delivered to me with nothing more than the name of the nearest town written on the envelope. Out here, everyone knows their neighbors. I had an old guy drive all the way here from Georgia once. He apparently found my house by stopping at Moodys Store and asking for directions.
It turned out that he had dementia. He was an elderly man who had read one of my gardening posts, then just jumped in his wife's car and took off driving.
It probably doesn't hurt that I leave tomatoes in the mailbox for my Mail Lady and her crew back at our rural, Post Office. (They tend to look after me pretty well).
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Post by rdback on Oct 29, 2019 20:33:23 GMT -6
I found my tomato niche, I guess. I do love the flavors. After hours of research, it was found that many growers (and breeders) in the US buy direct from Russia and rebadge these.) Everything makes sense now - including the seasonal outputs. When looking for early varieties that taste good - like Gary O'Sena- it's not uncommon to find the cross between an American and Russian tomato. Black Mavr/ Black Mavri / Black Mauri / Black Moor is amid season variety, but its prolific behavior is worthy. Looking for other varieties from Russia now. I need to look up the legalities and consequences. The rate of conversion in currencies of the USD to the Rubble makes them very cheap on Ebay and irresistible. Sounds like an interesting tomato Bon. When you mentioned Russian tomatoes, it made me think about Tatiana Kouchnareva. She is from Russia, lives in Canada, and owns and maintains a huge private seed bank. I went over and looked and she lists over 200 tomato varieties from Russia alone. Here's a direct link to that list: Tatiana's Russian tomatoes Unfortunately, it looks like her family is dealing with a person family crisis right now. Evidently her mother went into the forest to pick mushrooms 3 weeks ago and hasn't been seen since. Needless to say, website updates, seed orders, etc are on hold right now. Still, its a great site to poke around on for research. Lastly, I'd be careful purchasing seeds on eBay. Lots of scammers and ripoff artists there. I've purchased seeds from Tatiana before, albeit several years ago, and was very pleased.
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Post by macmex on Oct 30, 2019 3:39:28 GMT -6
Tatiana has a pretty good reputation in the gardening community. I'll be praying they find her mother. That's terrible!
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Oct 30, 2019 17:03:11 GMT -6
That is wonderful, Bon!
Thank you, for the tomato photo; those are really pretty this time of year when everything else is on the wain, going toward a long, cold, winter's sleep.
Happy salads
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Post by macmex on Sept 27, 2020 5:22:02 GMT -6
I never heard if they found Tatiana's mother.
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