Subject: getting plant material from NPGS

From: Jack Rowe <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 6 Dec 1997 00:41:00 -0500

The National Plant Germplasm System will share some germplasm under
conditions determined by them. Requests shouldn't be made for
commercially-available materials, and need to be specific. There are
several locations for regional germplasm centers covering specific plants.
Horticulture Dept.s in Universities are another good place to track down
plant materials, though sometimes a considerable phone trail needs to be
followed. Academicians are often helpful. Ag. Extension specialists are
also helpful and experiment with all types of wild and semi-cultivated food
plants... again, some calling around may be needed before you find the
plants you're looking for. Seed people have usually in my experience been
eager to share materials if convinced the seeds will live. Call around, it
works.

Were I at home I'd also mention ARCS and the international germplasm
centers called something like IGRCC's (Internat. germplasm resource
conservation centers?)... these places are filled with MANY thousands of
wild to semi-wild to domesticated food plant seeds taken from geographical
'centers of origin' (oftenlabelled with only numbers) and will share with
professionals.

Following are some other good sources for interesting plants... all but the
first one are commercial. These all have interesting food plants and some
(notably Peters, Willamette, Meristem, Peace Seeds) have highly-variable,
wide-genetic-base "breeding stock" which makes good candidates for
selection programs aimed at producing locally-adapted seeds. Oregon Exotics
is amazing. Interestingly, they are all on the US West Coast, where I guess
conditions are good for most things. 

Perennial Vegetables Group
c/o Carol Deppe
Box 471
Corvallis, OR 97339-0471
(send name, address, phone #, and SASE)

Oregon Exotics Nursery
1065 Messinger Rd.
Grants Pass, OR 97527
(541) 846-7578
("sub-zero to sub-tropical", catalog $4)

Willamette Valley Seeds
c/o Miriam Ebert
1955 N.E. Seavy Ave
Corvallis, OR  97330
(catalog $2, open-pollinated plants)

Meristem Plants
Dan Borman
Box 254
Deer Harbor, WA  98243 
(catalog $2, open-pollinated plants)

Peters Seeds
Tim Peters
407 Maranatha Lane
Myrtle Creek, OR  97457

Peace Seeds
Alan Kapuler
2385 S.E. Thompson St.
Corvallis, OR  97333 
(catalog $4, open-pollinated plants)

J.L. Hudson Seedsman
California
[I'm in NM and can't find address in computer, lots of perennial legumes,
etc... worth finding the address... I'll e-mail around]

Jack

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From: Miekal And <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 06 Dec 1997 10:35:55 +0100

I wanted to follow up on Jack's response by quoting an answer I also
received from Joseph Postman from the Corvalis Repository. In answer to
my question he said,"You do not have to have any particular affiliation
to request plant 
material.  Although our primary 'customers' are plant breeders, both 
public and private, we get many requests from nurseries, and private 
individuals.  We try to prioritize requests so that researchers get
first 
access when plant material is limited - and we try to direct back-yard 
growers to commercial sources.   But much of the material we maintain is 
not available elsewhere, and the wider it is distributed, the better the 
chances that the germplasm will not be lost, and the more likely it is 
that we will learn about new characteristics, adaptations or uses for 
this plant material.  All we ask is for information back about any 
interesting or useful traits that are observed, or copies of research 
publications with information that can be added to our data files."

& Ive been spending the last days scanning listing that include things
my hortus know not of.  Im familiar with most of the seed companies Jack
mentions & Ive been a JH Hudson addict for a number of years.  But I
still am kicking myself that I never found out about this sooner.  For
instance Ive collected a lot of the fig varieties that are good for
container growing but confronting a list of 100s from around the world
opens up a different way of thinking of plant material.  

& finally an annecdote.  I was scanning the cranberry listings & lo &
behold I ran into a variety called "Rezin Native" from wisconsin, which
would be the variety from my grandparents bog in Cranmoor WI from around
the turn of the century as they were some of the first cranberry growers
in Wisc.  Whoda thunk it.

Miekal
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From: Miekal And <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 06 Dec 1997 10:35:55 +0100

Miekal