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FW: The June 2003 Johnny's Selected Seeds Update

Title: FW: The June 2003 Johnny's Selected Seeds Update
Rob is a member of this list, and what he is looking for here, below, is something that deserves wider exposure.  If anyone on the list can help find someone to take over the Planet, Jr. assets, please contact him.  I've used the Planet,Jr. and still have a very old one,  Though I don't need to plant that kind of quantity any more, I still use it once in a great while.  It's good equipment that deserves to keep being made.
-Lon Rombough

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From: "Johnny's Selected Seeds, Rob Johnston" <RobJohnston@johnnyseeds.com>
Date: Wed, 04 Jun 2003 17:40:16 -0400
To: lonrom@hevanet.com
Subject: The June 2003 Johnny's Selected Seeds Update

The June 2003 Johnny's Selected Seeds Update from Rob Johnston, Chairman

Dear Grower,

 This week's National Right to Mope Award goes to all of you in the soggy Southeast.  Rain, rain, and more rain.  "Today I'll have my rain without a tornado, thank you very much!"   Second place goes to sections of not-so-sunny north-central California, also busy sponging things up.   Meanwhile, those of you in much of the Midwest have enjoyed grand planting weather, especially if you can irrigate -- what's this, the fourth good spring in a row for you?  Here it's been cloudy and mostly cool, but we are working with it.

 Check how much it rained over the last week here, and click the map for more detail for that region.  http://tinyurl.com/8qrk

 And this map represents soil moisture differences from "normal."  http://tinyurl.com/czgr   


Need seeds tomorrow?

 The fastest way to get stuff "when you can't believe you waited until now to order this" is to call us at (207) 861-3901.

Call before noon (Eastern Time) M-F, and we will ship the same day assuming we have it in stock, which we usually do.  You don't have to sound wound up or beg to get the Sales Rep to do this -- it's the routine here.
If it's afternoon when you call but still you need the seeds, like, yesterday, ask the Sales Rep if s/he "can possibly ship it today."  Sometimes we can make it happen.
Ask for pricing on Overnight, 2-Day, 3-Day, and Ground delivery.  Those are routine here, too.


Is your garden "weed city"…?

 Well, it's the time of season for it and you aren't alone.  If you have a tiny garden, I would recommend this hand hoe:  http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/hoe-em.html

If your garden is small to medium, get the hand hoe, but also get whichever of these long handled hoes appeals to you.  By the way, you may not know that our wooden handles are finished only with linseed oil.  An oiled handle is a lot kinder to your hands than a varnished one, which tends to cause blisters.   We buy the handles unfinished and oil them ourselves.  I think that Johnny's is the only company that does this.  http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/lhhoe-em.html

If your garden is big, think carefully about a wheel hoe as a smart alternative to some kind of weeding machine that needs to be fed gasoline.  Werner and Andreas Glaser who make these wheel hoes are passionate about design, and the result is perfect.  http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/wheelhoe-em.html
 
And here you can find attachments for the Glaser Wheel Hoe.  http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/glaserhoeat-em.html



Flower bulbs

 We are working on a rationale for offering spring and summer flowering bulbs to market gardeners for cut flowers, and to critical home gardeners, beginning in 2005.  That might sound boringly distant, but we would like to have your advice.
 Please send an email to Kelly Comer, our flower manager -- kcomer@johnnyseeds.com , and make the subject line BULBS.  Your answer to one or more of these questions would help us out.  Thanks.
 -- What annoys you about buying bulbs?
 -- What would you recommend a market gardener plant for bulbs if making money on cuts is the objective?
 -- What do you wish your bulb supplier would do for you, but they won't?
 -- What are 2 or 3 of your biggest headaches growing or marketing cuts from bulbs?
 -- Why in heaven's name should Johnny's get into the bulbs business?
 -- Complete this:  It would be good to have Johnny's into bulbs if they would just _____________.
 -- Or this:  I think I could make better money selling cut flowers from bulbs if only _____________.


Market Farming list-serve

 If you are a beginning or intermediate market gardener, I suggest that you subscribe to the Market Farming mailing list.  It's worth a try for you enthusiast home gardeners, too.  There are growers from diverse places discussing everything to do with growing vegetables, flowers, and herbs -- from tillage equipment to retail displays, harvest containers to farm dogs, and pest control to comfortable boots.  There are searchable archives -- my search today for "irrigate OR irrigation" yielded 398 posts.  If you would prefer not to join the list, you can still read the list and search the archives.  Check it out -- http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/market-farming


Plan now for worms in sweet corn

 An age old control for corn earworms is the application of mineral oil to the ear tip.  Researchers at U. of Massachusetts and Hampshire College developed the Zea-Later, a clever, squirt gun-like mineral oil applicator designed specifically for the purpose.  It is the fastest, most precise applicator, fast enough to be practicable for small commercial sweet corn fields.  Tim Davis from Johnny's worked with Ruth Hazzard at U. Mass to move from their prototype to an improved final design.
 We have the Zea-Later on special June only for $195. http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/zealater-em.html  And, the Golden Pest Spray Oil which is used with the Zea-Later is also on sale. Quart: http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/gpoil-em.html.  Gallon: http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/gpoil2-em.html. These special prices end on June 30.  


Bobolinks need tall grass
 
A Bobolink flew into our back window at home early this evening.   It was lying on the ground nearly motionless.  I picked him up, he tentatively perched on my hand, and I undid a button and slowly moved him inside my shirt for warmth. Janika mixed water and maple syrup, which she applied to his beak with an eyedropper, and he finally did begin drinking it. After 20 minutes he awkwardly flew to a nearby bush.  A few minutes later Bobolinks from the tall hedgerow 200 feet away began vocalizing, that song that sounds like springs coming undone.  Seemingly in response, he flew in their direction to one of the apple trees.  We hope that he revives fully and heals.

 Bobolinks are declining in most nesting areas in the northern US and southern Canada.  An important factor in their decline is the earlier and more frequent mowing of hayfields in recent decades.  If you live in Bobolink territory and have a big spread, you can help them by leaving some grass to grow without mowing into the summer, and even into the fall.  Here is some reading on Bobolink trends -- http://tinyurl.com/d0jx.


Germination anyone?

 We have a rigorous quality assurance procedure to give you seeds with a reliable germination.  We are always interested in feedback about your success with germination. Email Cathe Cochran - ccochran@johnnyseeds.com mailto:ccochran@johnnyseeds.com.

 We began doing our own seed germination testing in 1977 with a small box germinator.  I first learned and then taught Tom Vigue, who taught Gretchen Purnell.  Following Gretchen was Norma Rossel (Norma Fagan back then) in 1982, and Norma has been managing the lab since then, 21 years indeed!  During the 80s Norma studied on her own and tutored in several road trips to the New York State Lab in Geneva, NY under Ellen Chirco -- Thanks Ellen!  Finally she passed her RST exam to become a Registered Seed Technologist.   As an RST, Norma breathes rarified air.  Very few vegetable, flower, and herb seed companies have an RST on staff.

 Norma and her staff of three to five, depending on the time of year, test the germination of all of our seed lots every five months.  This amounts to over 5000 tests each year.  They perform these tests according to AOSA (Association of Official Seed Analysts) rules which are specific to every species.  The objective is to predict the percentage of "normal" seedlings, those seedlings which have potential to develop into healthy plants.  In addition, we have our own system for rating the vigor of a seed lot on a 0 to 3 scale:  0 means too low a vigor to sell; 1 is lower than normal vigor but salable; 2 is normal vigor, and 3 is above normal vigor.  Johnny's is unusual in this vigor rating; it gives us more to go on when evaluating the quality of each seed lot.

 The Johnny's Quality Assurance Lab, in addition to testing germination, tests for moisture content and the presence of weed seeds or inert matter contaminants.  They also work with cooperating labs for seed borne disease testing on the species where this is important.  These are stories for another time!


Farm equipment manufacturing opportunity

 Planet Jr. seed sowing machines were important tools for American vegetable, herb, and flower growers for over 90 years.  The brand changed ownership several times, presently in the hands of Powell Manufacturing Co. in South Carolina.  Over the last few years there were various quality problems in the seeders that Powell was making, and we stopped selling them except on special order, though we continue to offer spare parts.
 Powell has, apparently, recently come into hard times, and the assets, including the Planet Jr. brand, are going to be auctioned by sealed bid on August 15.  We have reverence for properly made Planet Jr. seeders, they would enjoy a strong market in my opinion, and we would dearly love to see somebody pick up this opportunity.  Johnny's would be first in line to become your customer.
 Are you experienced in manufacturing, iron casting, machine tool work or the like and looking for a new opportunity?  Somebody you know, maybe?  I suspect that Planet Jr. could be had for a screaming bargain.  This link has the information --  http://www.rosensys.com/auctions.htm.


Progress report

 -- Caesar the cat.  As a modest service to our community and to liven up things here, last month Johnny's became a satellite adoption center for our local Waterville Area Humane Society.  We have a large, multi-level cage in the catalog store, but the cage door is often open!   So far, two of our store customers have taken home cats.  It's pretty exciting.  Our present cat is Caesar, a young male.  Janika and I rode our bicycles to the store on the Memorial Day holiday when no one was around and had a picnic lunch with Caesar.  What a great cat -- he's playful but gentle, invents games, isn't too vocal, and doesn't jump up on things.  I expect he'll be going home soon.  Here is what he looks like -- http://www.johnnyseeds.com/images/caesarcat.jpg

 
COMING UP ...
       I'll be updating you again next month…summer!!  Until then, thank you for your support and guidance.  And thanks for the business.

Be well,
Rob Johnston
Founder and Chairman

PS - If you would rather not get e-mails like this from Johnny's, click on the link below, send the e-mail, and we will take you off of our e-mailing list.
<mailto:remove@johnnyseeds.com?subject=remove>

 
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