April has arrived in the Pacific Northwest, and with it comes some torrential rains and overall cooler, wetter weather.  Ah… Spring in NW Oregon!

Here are just a few OGS updates and notices.

1.  New Variety

I’ve recently added another variety to the online shop — Nepalese Rocket.    A great variety for you outdoor growers with less than perfect grow conditions.  Its very resistant to powdery mildew and molds and finishes by mid September in northern Oregon.

I’ve also added some Lebanese/rocket chunk, Lebanese/Quick Freeze, and Lebanese pollinated with Nepalese and Gorilla Grape males into inventory and will be adding those listings into the shop over the ‘break’ in May (see info below).  The Lebanese hybrids are part of a medicinal/cbd project I’ve been working on for a while.  These hybrids from the Lebanese landrace (mom) are great for growers looking for tough, resistant plants capable of finishing by mid september or earlier.

2.  Temporary shutdown for new orders

Starting sometime around the first week of May, the shop will temporarily be closed to new orders.  The site and seed shop WILL be up and available to visitors, and people can browse items listed in the shop.  But all ‘add to cart’ buttons will be disabled.

During this time (estimated at about 12-14 days) I will be doing some website updating, adding new listings, and inventory control.  Because this is also the time of year when plants and gardens demand my full-time attention to keep development/breeding projects moving forward,  I will be also be working in the ‘lab’ and outside gardens.  With Winter projects winding down and Summer projects gearing up,  more time and ‘critical’ attention to plant matters is required of me.

3.  Online payment feature — Although I feel it is important to offer a safe and secure way for customers to pay for their orders online, it is a service that takes a significant amount of time out of each day in order to provide.  I am HAPPY to do the work to provide this service in a safe and responsible way – truly.  But…

Ttime is being wasted with customers submitting a formal request to pay online, only to change their minds to sending by mail AFTER I’ve spent over a half hour coding up their stealth payment link and sending it out to them.  This, and issues with customers using ‘non deliverable’ email addresses is making it more and more difficult for me to continue to offer this service.

I am strongly considering going to MAIL-in-only payments.  Once the Fed gets in line with the legal states, this will hopefully and finally be a moot point.  But until that time comes, an online payment solutions that is safe, secure, and stealth for OGS customers requires extra time from my web developer for each customer that requests it.

If you’re reading this and feel strongly one way or the other about the ability to pay online for your OGS order, I invite you to post your opinion in the comments section below this post.  I will be making my decision to keep or quit the online payment option after the shop resumes taking orders again, in May.

4.  Contact US Page – OGS office phone number

I must stress the importance of READING the FAQ page.

If I had a dime for every support email and telephone call asking a question that is already answered prominently on the FAQ page, I could take that vacation to the ‘Big Island’ I’ve been dreaming about.

Seriously.  These types of support requests hurt all OGS customers, because they take my time away from the important necessary duties and operations that keep OGS orders flowing smoothly and more, including the breeding/work required to keep new, fresh seed stock flowing into the online shop.

PLEASE, before submitting a support request:

# Read the FAQ page.  Likely your question is answered there.

# As you browse the varieties listed in the shop, READ the strain/listing descriptions (long and short descriptions, where applicable) completely.  There is a WEALTH of information I’ve included in these descriptions… right down to the BOLD print at the end of both the short and long descriptions detailing how many seeds per pack for the listed price.

# If you still have a question unanswered after completing steps one and two, by all means submit a support ticket.

But from here on out — any support requests submitted for questions that are already answered big and bold and in multiple locations on the website WILL NOT BE RESPONDED TO.

5.  Germination and grow advice

Support requests for germination and grow advice can not and will not be answered.  I’m not trying to be mean, cruel, rude, etc.  It is simply NOT safe for OGS to answer these types of questions.   Since not all US states are green-legal,  OGS must enact this rule to help ensure we’ll be around for your gardening needs for many years to come.

There are PLENTY of well-established grow forums where you can find any and all kinds of grow advice and information — even get help directly from other growers.  I HIGHLY encourage you to use these places as your schools of “HIGHer learning”.  The added benefit is that they are there for you 24/7, at YOUR convenience.    This is how even the best of growers and breeders have gotten their feet wet and become ‘expert’ green gardeners.  So don’t be shy – go create a free account at one or more of these great forums and start reading, asking, and learning.

That’s all, folks.  For now.

Remember to ‘Keep Oregon Green’.