Cultivariable February 2021 Newsletter

What a wild ride this year has been!  It is the same for everyone I know who runs a seed company.  People have taken up gardening with an enthusiasm I’ve never seen before.  If even a tenth of that interest persists beyond the end of the Covid pandemic, I think it will be a really positive change for the world.

The last time I wrote, the shelves were looking pretty bare and that situation hasn’t really improved.  I have had to close down ordering a few times to make sure that I don’t build up a backlog that I can’t ship on time.  I have made some progress with that and reopened the store for root and tuber ordering this morning.  Root and tuber ordering may not remain open for very long, because the cold weather means I can’t do much shipping right now, so the backlog will start to build again.  I wouldn’t be surprised if I have to shut it down again in a week.

Seeds ordering remains open even when root and tuber ordering is closed, because I can ship seeds at any time.

I’m getting a lot of questions about when things will be back in stock.  Generally, in late March, I dig the last of the plants that spend the winter in the ground and do a full inventory of what remains.  So, if there will be any additional amount available this year, it will go into stock around the beginning of April.  Beyond that, what is in stock now is all that there will be.  Preorders will open again in May if you want to get in early for next year.

I’m really looking forward to having your orders out the door and getting back to growing!

Shipping

This is also a good time to review the shipping situation, because a lot of people find it confusing.  You should expect roots and tubers by April, unless you live in a very cold place where your weather is still freezing at that point.  I have been shipping to the west coast since the beginning of the year, but that is shut down right now due to the cold.  Hopefully, I will be able to ship again next week.  If you are in non-freezing areas of the west or the south, your order could ship any time between now and the end of March.

The exception is for plants that are not dug until just before shipment, which includes yacon, sea kale, horseradish, and tuberous mints.  Those will not be dug and shipped until late March.  So, orders containing those plants will be among the last to ship.

Seed only orders placed before this week should have shipped and the seed portion of any mixed orders should have shipped by now as well.  There is one exception for yacon seeds.  I had some lots that had no germ this year, so I am germination testing each batch before I send out the remaining seeds.  That should be done in 10 days.

New (Old) Forum

Cultivariable used to have a forum, but I closed it in 2017 for a variety of reasons, the biggest one being that it is hard to compete with social media.  I have reopened the forum on new software, because I don’t really like being locked in to social media.  So, our Facebook group will continue, but I am going to try to post everything first on the forum to help ensure that there is an alternative for people who prefer to avoid social media.

You can find the forum here:  https://forum.cultivariable.com/

New Podcasts On the Way

I’m preparing a new run of podcasts and I will start with a Q&A episode to work the bugs out.  If you have questions that you would like me to attempt to answer on the podcast, please send them to podcast@cultivariable.com.  Guest suggestions are also always welcome.