There appears to be no break for joining in mid-year. No idea what they do for someone joining now since the 2005 Yearbook and public catalog would be about worthless. You'd probably be started off with the Fall Harvest publication and your fees come due on the anniversary of your joining date. (My own comes due in October, for whatever reason.) Link below has the rates plus contact option.

Martin

Here is a link that might be useful: SSE Subscription/Membership Rates

When to join depends partly on your purpose in joining.

If you're mainly interested in supporting SSE (lots of people do), join anytime.

If you're only planning to request seeds or whatever through the Yearbook, as Martin said the 2005 Yearbook wouldn't be much help to you for that. The cutoff date for requests is June 1 unless the member listing the seeds specifies a different date, and only a few say they will fill requests year-round. Some even specify dates earlier than June 1. You might as well wait until the end of the year to join and get the 2006 one if you aren't going to list any seeds or other materials yourself.

But if you do have seeds or whatever that you're planning to list, and you want to get your listing into the 2006 Yearbook, join soon. They send you the form to fill out for listings I think in October and you have to return it by early November. If you wait until the end of the year to join, that's too late to get anything into the 2006 Yearbook and you'll have to wait until the 2007 publication to get your things listed. You do get a price break on things you request if you're a "listed member".

The Yearbook comes out in February and your membership includes one Yearbook, so essentially everyone renews around October in order to get their Yearbook on time. I joined around April-May 2004 and I still got a renewal notice in October, because I got the 2004 Yearbook. If I didn't renew until my anniversary in May 2005, I wouldn't have received the 2005 Yearbook until too late to request seeds from anyone.

You might want to clarify with SSE which Yearbook your membership starts with, so you don't get a renewal notice two months after you join, LOL.

-- BC --

from the website:
"SSE's 8,000 members receive three publications each year: Seed Savers Yearbook (450 pages, mailed in February), Summer Edition (80-100 pages, August), and Harvest Edition (80-100 pages, November). Seed Savers Yearbook is the greatest source of heirloom varieties in the world, and contains the addresses of 800 of our members and listings for 12,000 rare varieties of vegetables and fruits that they are making available to SSE's members."

Is the Yearbook the only one of these three publications that one uses to request listed varieties from other members?

If so, what are the other two publications for?

Here are some more questions --

Are there any minimum listing obligations for members?

What are the logistics of requesting seed from other members -- one sends an SASE with some sort of nominal fee to the other member, correct?

If so, what are the other two publications for?

Various articles on various topics that may include articles about certain SSE members from local newsdpapers, reports on teams collecting seeds and scions in foreign geographic places, updates on what's happening at SSE, lots of small blurbs about various GMO issues ( too many of these according to some), and you never know exactly what the topics will be.

I enjoy reading both of those issues each year.

Here are some more questions --

Are there any minimum listing obligations for members?

One listing is all that's required and as time passes I seem to see more folks listing just one b'c in doing so it makes them a listed member and allows them to pay less for seeds requested from other SSE members. There are two categories of SSE members, listed members and non-listed members, and the latter comprises the majority of members/

(What are the logistics of requesting seed from other members -- one sends an SASE with some sort of nominal fee to the other member, correct? )

Suze, all the logistics are spelled out in great detail in the front of a Yearbook, so I'm not going to go into great detail here.

The price one pays depends on both where a person lives, as in US/Canada versus elsewhere, and also the type of seed sent as well as special prices for potatoes, scions, garlics, etc.

For a person in the US/Canada the 2005 Yearbook price requesting tomato seeds is $2/pack for listed members ( those who do list something in the Yearbook) and $3 for non-listed members. The price was just changed last year from $1 and $2 to $2 and $3 and the SSE listed membership are the ones who voted on the three options presented. A pack should contain a minimum of 25 tomato seeds.

YOu cannot assume that b;c someone is an SSE member that seeds will be pure, b'c wrong varieties have and will occur. You deal with the member on that if you can't get out the rare variety you've requested.

I say rare variety b'c I personally see little to be gained from joining SSE to get tomato seeds if it's varieties that are commonly available elsewhere.

For instance, why pay $2 as a listed member or $3 as a non-listed member when you can get lots of varieties, and some of the them even rare ones, from, for instance, Sand Hill, for less money.

I encourage **everyone** who is interested in preservation of heirloom varieties to join SSE so that their membership monies will help to support the organization/

And indeed while I can't find the number right this minute, about 80-90 % are unlisted members.

There is a request form that you send to the person listing the seeds. You are not required to send postage monies, etc. The person sending the seeds is responsible for envelopes, postage and any packing materials, altho I find that quite a few folks, especially if they're requesting just a few varieties that don't require special packing, will send an SASE along with the request form/

Padded mailers are suggested. Being an SSE member since the late 80's and sending out thousands upon thousands of seed packs to many different countries in addition to the US and Canada I've not once gotten back info that says the seeds were crushed. Craig and others have had the same experience. So I don't use padded mailers unless the number of varieties requested warrants it.

Carolyn, who for many years offered hundreds of varieties but since 1999 has offered, at the most, 22 varieties, but all those are new ones, not relistings of ones already being offered.

I only request not so common varieties from SSE members. I wish the Yearbook came out in January instead of Feb. I always end up needing to cross some varieties off my list because the seeds didn't get to me by my last possible seed starting date. Carolyn, this year I'm just going to send my list and money over to your house.

Need friends in USA, UK and Canada to exchange seeds from Bangladesh.
Thanks.
Md. Abu Naser Khan
KANAIYA, JOYDEBPUR,
GAZIPUR 1700,
BANGLADESH.

Bumping this to keep from getting auto-deleted. I would love to have the Yearbook in December. That's when I plan to start seeds.

There have been years that I didn't request anything from the SSE. But I still love to read the yearbooks. Getting this year's winter yearbook now, if you don't already have it, wouldn't be a waste in my opinion. I love to look over descriptions, comments and reviews made by the members.

George
Tahlequah, OK

If you intend to offer seed through SSE, you would have to join & submit your list of seeds in October. If you only wish to order seed from other members, join any time prior to (or just after) the February release of the annual Yearbook.

Of course, if you just want to support their mission, join anytime.

I too wish the yearbook dates were different; the November cutoff for listings seems too soon, when crops are still growing in some parts of the country. And a January mailing date would be wonderful for planning purposes.

But consider the logistics. The 2006 Yearbook is 462 pages, most of which must be entered by hand. It is a remarkable accomplishment for Seed Savers to put out this _book_ every year by February. My hat's off to them...

How many seeds do they remember you save if you are going to offer in the catalog?

Actually SSE ought to be able to add a member login to their website and setup a form to allow the members to enter in their own offering, thus saving much time compiling the yearbook. Just an idea.

Dean

That's a very good idea Dean.

If you offer seeds through the SSE there are different ways of listing them. "HAS" is the most free or generous listing. This means you have enough seed to offer to anyone who requests. "Limited Quantity" (L.Q.) means that you don't have a lot of seed. Depending on what it is I'm offering, I will sometimes use L.Q. if I can offer only 3 or fewer samples of 25 seeds. Incidentally, the SSE asks that members distribute seed samples of at least 25 seeds, not cutting the size of samples as supplies run low. "Must reoffer" means that if a person requests this seed they agree to reoffer it at least once. To me, "Must reoffer" is a very serious category and one which ought not to be requested unless one is experienced with that kind of seed and truly committed to re-offering it. Even using "HAS" its possible that one may run out of seed. In that case one ought to return the person's money with a note of explanation.

In my experience, some things I list are almost never requested. Others, sometimes with little to no warning, become rather popular and I run out of seed.

George

"How many seeds do they remember you save if you are going to offer in the catalog?"

I'm not sure I understand the question (George may have answered it above) but here's my part of the answer. Once you list seeds with SSE, the listings are entered into an Excel database, from which the Yearbook is generated. Then each year, as the next Yearbook of seed offerings is being compiled, you are mailed a listing of every seed that you have offered in recent years - which you edit & return. You check off those that you will be offering again; those left unchecked will remain in the database, but will not appear in the next Yearbook. You can also add, delete, or change your listings at this time.

Dean, your suggestion of a member login is a good one; I also would like to see SSE become more "member interactive". They have recently added an email newsletter, and you can post questions to SSE staff through the website... but in my opinion, they could still do more. For all I know, there may be more changes already in the works. But nostalgia runs deep in a portion of the membership, so there could be some resistance against fully entering the digital millennium. Here's my thoughts...

There could be, perhaps, two tiers of access; a basic level for all members, and an expanded access for listing members.

At the basic level, at the very least, establish a board where members can correspond with other members. I believe that such a board would be very active, and would help new members (and those who can't make the campouts) feel a sense of belonging. There could also be seed saving FAQ's, links to seed saving resources, and perhaps reprints of selected articles from past SSE publications... but these features could be phased in gradually.

For listing members (those who offer seeds) there would be a higher level of access. As you have suggested, Dean, this could include the ability to edit listings electronically - saving SSE some postage, and allowing members (especially those with large listings) the option of an earlier start. I, for one, would like to edit listings throughout the year... it would be a less daunting task than doing it all at once in November. The listed-member login could also allow searchable "read-only" access to SSE's "Super Yearbook", which is a database of all seeds & stock ever listed since SSE's founding. This would be a valuable research tool for the serious seed saver, since you could look up more information on a particular variety... I think that it would lead to more descriptive listings in the Yearbook.

I will be communicating these ideas (as well as a few others) to the staff during my visit in September.

"How many seeds do they remember you save if you are going to offer in the catalog?"

Should be

"How many seeds do they RECOMMEND you save if you are going to offer in the catalog?"

I seem to recall a recommendation, that to offer seed as "HAS", you should have at least enough to fill 10 requests. That is probably a good guideline; as George mentioned, most seeds will likely be requested only a few times per year... and some not at all. I only have 3-4 that ever went over 10 in one year.

With the minimum sample size of 25 seeds cited by George, that would mean _setting aside_ at least 250 seeds. That is not a lot, even for a small garden. Of course, you will need to save seed for yourself as well... and larger samples are always appreciated. I try to send at least 50, except for very large seeds and those that are hard to produce.

Of course, be sure to save some to swap seeds on Gardenweb. ;-)

Thanks Zeedman and MacMex, that is exactly what I needed to know.

I only can offer one variety(Wapsipinicon peach) next year, and it was offered by SSE in their catalog this year as well. Next year I am hoping to offer more varieties.

I am planning on attending the tomato tasting at SSE next weekend. Is this for members only or for the general public as well?

While there is there any way I can get a heads up of the most likely varieties of tomatoes to be offered in next years catalog?

When do the SSE's catalogs usually come out?

I hope to see some of you there!

thanks,

Dean

"While there, is there any way I can get a heads up of the most likely varieties of tomatoes to be offered in next years catalog?"

There are many gardens on Heritage Farm used for seed production, in widely separated fields. "Preservation gardens" usually have fairly short rows (I think it is 20 feet) of any one variety; these have markers with the variety name, source, and SSE accession#. If you find larger plantings, with only a name on the marker, they are usually seed production for the catalog. Some of that seed (sold in bulk) will also appear in other heirloom seed catalogs.

Once I have finished taking notes, I look in this year's catalog (they have them in the Gift Shop) for any of the varieties noted above that interest me. If they are in the catalog, seed is usually available for sale on the premises. If any of those varieties are _not_ in the catalog, then they will most likely be offered next year.

This will be my first time attending the tomato tasting... but if they will be adding new tomato varieties to next year's catalog, it would make sense to give them some free PR in advance of their release. Last year I believe over 300 people drove in for the event, and there's no better advertising than "face time". If "a picture is worth a thousand words", what's a taste worth? ;-)

Catalogs are mailed in late December or January.

What are the differences in the membership levels?