I am updating the information regarding trialing lines with us. The points below are more explicit regarding what we are looking for, and what we can offer.
Artisan Seeds is always on the lookout for new open-pollinated varieties to release. Here an explanation of what we are looking for, and what releasing a new variety with us implies.
1. We are interested in trialing unique new varieties from breeders. Breeding need not mean anything more than recognizing a natural cross or mutation and growing the novel line for a number of generations until it "breeds true"
2. We only want to trial new varieties received from the person responsible for the creation of the line, or the maintenance of a family or cultural heirloom that is not generally available. Lines should be at least F5, and we are interested in trialing a maximum of 3 lines per breeder per year. We will not distribute your lines to anyone else without your permission, and we will only save seed after requesting that we be allowed to do so.
3. We only plan on releasing a handful of varieties a year, and once they are readily available elsewhere, we may no longer sell seeds. For example: Maglia Rosa is a variety we bred. We are proud of it, but since it is carried elsewhere, we do not sell seeds for it.
4. The bar is very high. The vast majority of our own true-breeding lines will never be introduced because they fall short. If you are submitting a line to us, for evaluation, please understand that you are essentially entering it into a very tough competition. We are not interested in introducing 20 good new tomatoes a year, we are focused on introducing at most 3 or 4 outstanding tomatoes in a year.
5. We want our website (still under construction) to be a simple place to find some of the best new varieties around. We are focused on new introductions, almost exclusively. That's our niche.
6. If we sell the variety you submitted to us, we will pay a royalty on all sales for as long as we sell it. Occasionally, there may be a larger seed company that becomes interested in a variety you submit to us (because they see it among our breeding populations and taste it). At that point we will inform you as to their interest, and we can discuss potential options.
7. Please contact us by February 1st if you have any unique lines you would like us to evaluate. Submitting a line with us does not obligate you to release it through us. We will consider it your property, until the day we negotiate with you to sell the variety.
8. One final note: We do not have the space to grow out lines that are going to be sold through other channels, or that are freely available to be sold through other channels. We are only interested in trialing new varieties that we can potentially adopt for an exclusive release (directly, or through larger seed company collaborators).
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