Donate to Delectation of Tomatoes
WHY DONATE?
SEE THIS BLOG POST FOR STARTERS:
DT Blog: Pareto Principle and Rare Seeds
For over 14 years, Delectation of Tomatoes has been a one-person operation. Over that time, more than 200 people have donated their time, talents, and ideas, often with zero compensation or expectation of such. Occasionally, I've traded seeds, fresh produce, or seedlings for their contributions. I've also hired around 50 people, mostly on a very short-term, occasional, part-time basis during crunch times.
During the past four years, this tiny seed business (if you can call 4,000+ varieties on offer "tiny") has far out-stripped the ability of one person to keep up. Delectation of Tomatoes has finally hit that transition point: hire at least one person, full-time, year-round -- or collapse (in multiple senses of the term). Regrettably, I've not yet figured out how to produce and mail out seeds efficiently and at large enough quantities to simultaneously: keep up with demand; keep prices low; maintain some semblance of sanity; keep purchases at manageable levels; avoid taking on massive debt; and/or hire an assistant.
As of this update (January 12, 2024), I am more than 1,400 hours behind with processing seeds, running on continuous sleep deprivation, doing my best to keep up with seed requests, 4,000+ hours behind on other tasks (inventory, website work, etc.), and stubbornly do not want to raise prices. I want my seeds to remain affordable for gardeners around the world, whether they are well off or desperately poor. And I'm doing my best to live on under $600 per month (aside from business expenses) -- not an easy challenge in the United States of America.
Several people have suggested that I should raise prices, including shipping prices. This "Donate" page is an opportunity for you to voluntarily cover the gap between my minimum prices (as charged through this website and invoicing) and whatever you determine prices should be. For ethical and philosophical reasons, I am strongly disinclined to jump on the "Inflation Bandwagon". I still sell seeds for about 10 cents each, which is a really good investment, considering that one tomato plant can produce up to 50 pounds of tomatoes (10-15 pounds is more common for most varieties) that can sell for $3 to $5 per pound at farmers markets. I'll let you do the ROI (Return on Investment) math. In my view when inflation hits, the small business or entrepreneur should, ideally, view this as a signal to become more efficient, more creative, more innovative; not as a signal to contribute to the madness (and easy-out approach) of ever-rising costs.
Among the many objectives of Delectation of Tomatoes (encourage self-sufficiency through gardening; preserve heirloom varieties from around the world; etc.), contributing to the local economy by hiring somebody in need, even if it's only part-time for now, is fully compatible with DT's mission statement. According to some websites, East Carbon, Utah, is the poorest town in this state; and that's where I live and operate this business -- and there is nobody in this town who works full-time while earning less money than I do. And that is before business expenses. I can scarcely imagine, anymore, how luxurious it would feel to earn even minimum wage.
Anyhow, the primary reason for suggesting donations, whether one-time or repeating, is so that DT will be able to hire someone part-time (preferably full-time) to help in all aspects of the business. In theory, an assistant would make everything run more smoothly and efficiently. For more insight into the status of objectives of Delectation of Tomatoes, please view the "DT Disclosure Statement" published here:
DT Shared Files
Market Forces (economy of scale, large marketing budgets, etc.) strongly favor BIG corporations, while driving small, independent producers (such as Delectation of Tomatoes) into oblivion -- along with all of the rare varieties that I try to make available to backyard gardeners and small farmers around the world.
And the financial pressure is also VERY strong from the other end of the spectrum. Many thousands of hobby gardeners from around the world collect, save, and share seeds of heirloom varieties at NO CHARGE. There are many hundreds of seed cooperatives, collectives, and larger organizations who explicitly state something to the effect that "heirloom seeds are and should be free". The Request Form at Seed Savers Exchange, for example, states, "The prices in the Exchange reimburse the lister for the cost of packing and shipping seeds. The seeds themselves are free."
At virtually every seed swap I have attended, many thousands of seeds are given away for free by backyard, hobby gardeners; and DT is sometimes resented for charging money. Large, multi-million dollar seed companies often flood these events with hundreds, even thousands of extra and/or expired seed packets, which they give away for free. You can scarcely imagine how it feels to see a 50 to 1 ratio of people crowding around tables with all of those free seeds compared to the occasional gardener curious about what DT might be offering, for money.
Here is an excerpt from just one among numerous examples online of the "Free Seeds" movement:
"... program distributes between 30,000 and 100,000 free seed packets, equivalent to up to 33 million seeds, every year."
Frequently, people representing seed cooperatives, such as gardening groups on Facebook and online gardening forums, request thousands of free seeds from DT.
Of course, every gardener has the right to grow heirloom varieties, save seeds, and offer those seeds for free or in exchange for other free seeds. What nearly all of the thousands of people with the "Seeds Should Be Free" mindset have in common, however, is an alternative source of income to support their gardening hobby! I simply don't have that. Delectation of Tomatoes indeed started out as a hobby in 2008; but over the past few years, has grown to the point of taking over everything in my life, including the ability to attempt to make a living through some other endeavor; unless I were to close up shop completely.
And of course, there are hundreds of other seed companies, of varying sizes, that compete directly with Delectation of Tomatoes. It would serve no constructive purpose to judge or discuss those. An analogy will suffice:
SEE THIS BLOG POST FOR STARTERS:
DT Blog: Pareto Principle and Rare Seeds
For over 14 years, Delectation of Tomatoes has been a one-person operation. Over that time, more than 200 people have donated their time, talents, and ideas, often with zero compensation or expectation of such. Occasionally, I've traded seeds, fresh produce, or seedlings for their contributions. I've also hired around 50 people, mostly on a very short-term, occasional, part-time basis during crunch times.
During the past four years, this tiny seed business (if you can call 4,000+ varieties on offer "tiny") has far out-stripped the ability of one person to keep up. Delectation of Tomatoes has finally hit that transition point: hire at least one person, full-time, year-round -- or collapse (in multiple senses of the term). Regrettably, I've not yet figured out how to produce and mail out seeds efficiently and at large enough quantities to simultaneously: keep up with demand; keep prices low; maintain some semblance of sanity; keep purchases at manageable levels; avoid taking on massive debt; and/or hire an assistant.
As of this update (January 12, 2024), I am more than 1,400 hours behind with processing seeds, running on continuous sleep deprivation, doing my best to keep up with seed requests, 4,000+ hours behind on other tasks (inventory, website work, etc.), and stubbornly do not want to raise prices. I want my seeds to remain affordable for gardeners around the world, whether they are well off or desperately poor. And I'm doing my best to live on under $600 per month (aside from business expenses) -- not an easy challenge in the United States of America.
Several people have suggested that I should raise prices, including shipping prices. This "Donate" page is an opportunity for you to voluntarily cover the gap between my minimum prices (as charged through this website and invoicing) and whatever you determine prices should be. For ethical and philosophical reasons, I am strongly disinclined to jump on the "Inflation Bandwagon". I still sell seeds for about 10 cents each, which is a really good investment, considering that one tomato plant can produce up to 50 pounds of tomatoes (10-15 pounds is more common for most varieties) that can sell for $3 to $5 per pound at farmers markets. I'll let you do the ROI (Return on Investment) math. In my view when inflation hits, the small business or entrepreneur should, ideally, view this as a signal to become more efficient, more creative, more innovative; not as a signal to contribute to the madness (and easy-out approach) of ever-rising costs.
Among the many objectives of Delectation of Tomatoes (encourage self-sufficiency through gardening; preserve heirloom varieties from around the world; etc.), contributing to the local economy by hiring somebody in need, even if it's only part-time for now, is fully compatible with DT's mission statement. According to some websites, East Carbon, Utah, is the poorest town in this state; and that's where I live and operate this business -- and there is nobody in this town who works full-time while earning less money than I do. And that is before business expenses. I can scarcely imagine, anymore, how luxurious it would feel to earn even minimum wage.
Anyhow, the primary reason for suggesting donations, whether one-time or repeating, is so that DT will be able to hire someone part-time (preferably full-time) to help in all aspects of the business. In theory, an assistant would make everything run more smoothly and efficiently. For more insight into the status of objectives of Delectation of Tomatoes, please view the "DT Disclosure Statement" published here:
DT Shared Files
Market Forces (economy of scale, large marketing budgets, etc.) strongly favor BIG corporations, while driving small, independent producers (such as Delectation of Tomatoes) into oblivion -- along with all of the rare varieties that I try to make available to backyard gardeners and small farmers around the world.
And the financial pressure is also VERY strong from the other end of the spectrum. Many thousands of hobby gardeners from around the world collect, save, and share seeds of heirloom varieties at NO CHARGE. There are many hundreds of seed cooperatives, collectives, and larger organizations who explicitly state something to the effect that "heirloom seeds are and should be free". The Request Form at Seed Savers Exchange, for example, states, "The prices in the Exchange reimburse the lister for the cost of packing and shipping seeds. The seeds themselves are free."
At virtually every seed swap I have attended, many thousands of seeds are given away for free by backyard, hobby gardeners; and DT is sometimes resented for charging money. Large, multi-million dollar seed companies often flood these events with hundreds, even thousands of extra and/or expired seed packets, which they give away for free. You can scarcely imagine how it feels to see a 50 to 1 ratio of people crowding around tables with all of those free seeds compared to the occasional gardener curious about what DT might be offering, for money.
Here is an excerpt from just one among numerous examples online of the "Free Seeds" movement:
"... program distributes between 30,000 and 100,000 free seed packets, equivalent to up to 33 million seeds, every year."
Frequently, people representing seed cooperatives, such as gardening groups on Facebook and online gardening forums, request thousands of free seeds from DT.
Of course, every gardener has the right to grow heirloom varieties, save seeds, and offer those seeds for free or in exchange for other free seeds. What nearly all of the thousands of people with the "Seeds Should Be Free" mindset have in common, however, is an alternative source of income to support their gardening hobby! I simply don't have that. Delectation of Tomatoes indeed started out as a hobby in 2008; but over the past few years, has grown to the point of taking over everything in my life, including the ability to attempt to make a living through some other endeavor; unless I were to close up shop completely.
And of course, there are hundreds of other seed companies, of varying sizes, that compete directly with Delectation of Tomatoes. It would serve no constructive purpose to judge or discuss those. An analogy will suffice:
A large bench vise (photo source), with these comparisons:
Static Jaw = multi-million (or billion...) dollar seed companies that control >95% of the seed market; rock solid, enormous, and immoveable.
Sliding Jaw = millions of gardeners who contribute to saving heirloom varieties by offering seeds for free or in exchange for other free seeds.
Handle = ever-tightening demands of market forces, inflation, competition, business expenses, and the need to pay living expenses.
Narrow and ever-narrowing space between jaws = where Delectation of Tomatoes attempts to reside and survive against these very powerful, opposing forces.
If you have the ability to contribute financially to the mission of Delectation of Tomatoes, beyond purchasing seeds or seedlings, please consider donating so that prices can remain affordable for those who struggle even to purchase seeds.
Thank You!

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Donate directly with a major credit card or PayPal.
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=KZQUYWHGMP7R4
PayPal directly to: [email protected]
or paypalme/DaleTomatoes
Venmo directly to: @Dale-Thurber, last 4 digits of phone number are 5953
or Cash or check to:
Delectation of Tomatoes
P.O. Box 655
East Carbon, UT 84520
or paypalme/DaleTomatoes
Venmo directly to: @Dale-Thurber, last 4 digits of phone number are 5953
or Cash or check to:
Delectation of Tomatoes
P.O. Box 655
East Carbon, UT 84520