Very often things come down to us just that way, Tom. At one time it may have had an "official" name. But the folks growing and saving it don't remember what it was. Sometimes, however, they do. Get as much info as you can from your wife's granny. How long it's been in the family, who grew it and where, etc. Saving this information can be as important as saving the variety itself. >I certainly agree that the best way to keep them going is to pass them along to people with an interest in preserving seed. Too right, Tom. That's one of the reasons AHSC (Appalachian Heirloom Seed Conservancy) started its Living Seed Bank project. The best way of preserving a variety is to assure that somebody (hopefully, several somebodies) somewhere is growing it every year. For your own seed saving efforts, make sure to set aside at least two year's worth of seed. That way, if there's a crop failure for any reason, you still have enough stock to start over the following season.

>And what's the dog's name? DOG. LOL That's just not right. What's not right, Carolyn? I used to have a German Shepherd named Dog. I figured there are enough identity crises in the world as it is, so why add to the confusion? :>) And didn't Holly Golightly have a cat named Cat? As to naming otherwise unnamed varieties, isn't that what Gary Ipsen did with the Julia Child? Took an unnamed pink somebody had sent him, and turned it into a memorial. On one hand, I have no problems with that. If we're going to communicate about varieties they need to have some sort of name. But, on the other hand, I'm concerned about the proliferation of names for what may be the same variety. Sometimes we can straighten it out, as Melody Rose did with the Uncle Mark Bagby's---which is grown in western Kentucky under at least six other names. The seed can all be traced back to one source, however. But it's rare that the detective work _can_ be done, even if somebody is willing to do so. If you think this is a problem with tomatoes, you should take a look at cowpeas. Not only are there numerous names for the same variety, often enough they use the same names for totally different varieties. That is, to use a made up example, Yin/Yang might be a local name for Calico (or one of its many variations). But, somewhere else, somebody is using Yin/Yang for a red pea with a white blotch. In my collection I have at least seven cowpeas, under different names, that are indistinguishable from Calico. Are they really different varieties? Only the DNA mappers know for sure. And they ain't talking yet, not at $250/pop.

Hi All - First posting here. I stumbled in here, after searching for info on ground cover that grows rapidly and vertically. I live in the Metro Atlanta area, specifically about 30 minutes SW of the airport in Newnan. Our lot slopes up from the street, and our back yard has always been nearly non-existent. It went back maybe 10-15 feet, was uneven, and full of rocks. I had someone come in and do some grading to get a fairly flat surface, and 15-20 feet from the back of the house, so we could actually use part of the back yard. One spot was used to put a cheap pool (You can see it's still filling in the pic). Grading is a lot cheaper than building retaining walls, so that's not in my plan, at least not for a year or two. What I want to do is find something that I can plant at the base of this vertical slope (the loose dirt will be removed), and have it grow up the slope vertically, and hopefully root into it as it grows, to aid in holding it in place. Ultimately, I'd like it to continue to the upper part which has always been weeds, and cover that, choking out the unattractive weeds, and making it more maintenance free. It sounds like Confederate Jasmine may be what I'm looking for. As you can see in the picture, I am surrounded by hard, compacted clay, and to make it more fun, it's probably the rockiest soil I've seen here, and I've been in this area most of my life. How long do you think it would take Confederate Jasmine to grow to the top of the bare area (maybe 7' at the corner peak)? This area is in full Sun from maybe 11AM till just about dusk each day. Would it grow straight up, or would it fan out and grow up and out at the same pace? Should I plant it just at the base? How far apart should I plant it, and how is Confederate Jasmine sold? Thanks in advance!

Jsvand5, I don't know of any commercial source for Goose Creek seeds, but two people listed Goose Creek in the 2008 Seed Savers Exchange Yearbook. If you aren't a member of SSE yet, this would be a very good time to join because the 2009 Yearbook is just now going to the printer and will be out in a month or two. The Yearbook is a very good place to look for varieties that you can't find anywhere else, as many members list those for which they have enough seeds to offer. Laurel, there was never any patent granted for Goose Creek, nor will there be. Jimmy Williams applied for a patent on November 11, 2004 but it was never granted. Goose Creek was not "invented" by Jimmy Williams, and as noted above, the stages of ripeness described for Goose Creek are not unique to Goose Creek. Jimmy Williams can apply for a patent if he wishes but he won't get one. The United States Patent and Trademark Office has a public web page at http://patft.uspto.gov/ where anyone can look up patent applications as well as the patents that have been granted, and you will see that there is an application but it has NOT been granted. Anyone who wants to can go to the web page and verify this for themselves. Here is a link that might be useful: 2008 SSE Yearbook