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PDF**Update (1/17/2013)
This article has received the most comments we’ve ever had on any one article. As you’ve probably seen below. I reviewed the catalogs, as I’ve done with a handful of others, hit the ‘publish’ button, and watched a small firestorm erupt. I wasn’t sure exactly what to think about it. So I decided to find out for myself.
Like any human, I have preferences and I am also persuadable. So I kept an open mind. And here’s what I have concluded, after hours of research and observation.
For some reason, I think there are people who don’t like Penny’s Tomatoes (PT’s) and Pepper Joe’s (PJ’s). I don’t exactly know why.
It could be as simple as a personality clash. I’m not an intense personality, and I think Joe is a much stronger personality (judging from videos, comments, writings, etc.). But I have been around many people with great passion and zeal, especially for what they do. And when someone criticizes them unfairly, they (naturally) defend it. So even if you think Joe is a strong personality, I can also tell you that he happens to be very nice and open personality as well. Besides, some of the best business men (Henry Ford comes to mind) have been called strong and dominant personalities. Given Joe’s history as a businessman, that really shouldn’t be surprising.
Or the problem could have arisen simply from prejudices. For whatever reasonable or unreasonable reasons. (Read that sentence 3 times fast.) ;)
My official opinion is that Penny’s Tomatoes and Pepper Joe’s are both reliable, honest companies. They fulfill on their orders, interact with their customers in an agreeable way, and they care about their customers.
I came to this final conclusion after noticing some interesting things on Dave’s Garden and the BBB website.
When I first started doing research on PJ’s and PT’s, I noticed that on Dave’s Garden had a handful of good ratings about them, and several neutral ratings. Dave’s Garden noted that they had changed several positive ratings to neutral because they believed many of them had come from the same source, and Dave’s Garden didn’t want someone trying to amp up PJ’s and PT’s ratings dishonestly.
After writing back and forth with Penny and Joe several times, I finally got on the phone with Joe. And he told me what he believed had happened.
Joe said that someone had logged into Dave’s Garden and posted several negative ratings about PJ’s and PT’s. Joe contacted Dave’s Garden, noted that the ratings came from people who weren’t even customers and had never been customers, and Dave’s Garden took the negative ratings down.
Well, whoever had written them apparently wasn’t happy that the ratings were taken down. So they found a tricky way to work the system. They posted several good ratings, waited a bit, then notified Dave’s Garden that they thought that the ratings were falsely positive, having all come from the same source. (See the example below.)
From what I understand, Dave’s Garden doesn’t monitor the ratings system, and unless they’re alerted by one of their users, they don’t know that there’s a problem. So someone notified them that several ratings were falsely positive, and Dave’s Garden changed them to neutral which brought down the overall ratings of PJ’s an PT’s. Then, apparently the news was sounded on the Tomatoville forum (of which I am not a member and have little experience… I wasn’t very tempted to join, being a part of other forums I prefer more) as soon as Dave’s Garden took action. How else would they have immediately known.
I did keep in mind that it was Joe who was telling me what had happened, as we chatted over the phone.
But then, I noticed something for myself.
Shortly after I first published this article, I mentioned that, though there was so much controversy (apparently) going on over PJ’s and PT’s, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) rating for PT’s was an A-, having had only one complaint, and there were no complaints at all for Pepper Joe’s. For the complaint made for PT’s, the BBB stated that PT’s had made a good faith effort to resolve the complaint. A week or two later, after my comment, another complaint was submitted to the BBB which instantly dropped PT’s ratings to an F.
A few days ago, I checked it again. It is now an A+ rating, and that second comment has been removed by the BBB. Likely for being dishonest and fraudulent.
For whatever reasons, someone seems to be a huge dis-liker of PJ’s and PT’s, without ever having been a customer. I don’t know why. I’ve heard of people like that… I think they’re called “Trolls” on the Internet. It brings to mind the Far Side comic….
Photo Credit: Gary Larson
So, I agree with Joe when he says that their company is misrepresented by a handful of people. Unfortunately, a handful of smart trolls on the Internet is all it takes these days to drive down ratings. And that really can be a problem. (I know that I am much more likely to buy a highly-rated book on Amazon than a lower-rated book, for example.)
Business and consumerism is moving more and more to the Internet. People also seem to trust the opinion of other “average citizens” more than they do an official book reviewer or a company spokesperson. Which means that reviews by average people n websites like Dave’s Garden or the BBB website or Yahoo! can do a lot of good or a lot of damage, whether fairly or unfairly. The damage done to PJ’s and PT’s seems to have been intentionally done by a handful of people. And like I said, I just don’t see why. I can’t see a reason behind it at all.
Also, Joe has just informed me that they’ve received the “Member Approved” seal on two of their products: the “Volcano in a Box” with the world’s hottest pepper seeds from PJ’s and the “Garden in a Box” from PT’s with 100% positive feedback for both (at the time of his email). Which, according to a National Home Gardening Club Gardening Magazine staff member, is not very common (to have 100% positive). See below.
There you go. I think that PJ’s and PT’s are both good, honest companies, and I hope you give them a try this year.
~~Anni Winings
P.S. Just for your interest, if you care to read that far, at the bottom are a handful of the notes I took.
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Original article (a review of PT’s and PJ’s 2013 seed catalogs)
Penny’s Tomatoes and Pepper Joe’s are related companies. The two, small catalogs are nearly identical in form and layout; and the two websites are very similar, and each has a link to the other site. BUT they have different addresses, though both are located in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
- Website: http://www.pepperjoe.com/
- Phone number: 1-843-742-5116
The Pepper Joe catalog offers 39 hot peppers, including different varieties of habeneros, cayennes, jalapenos, and others. Most of the hot peppers are listed in the front, but the jalapenos are listed in the back, after the sweet peppers. There are only 8 sweet pepper varieties listed… apparently he’s a bigger fan of hot than sweet. But there are definitely some interesting varieties of hot peppers listed, such as the Yatzy, the Bolivian Rainbow Pepper, and the Italian Pepperoncini (which is apparently a good pickling hot pepper). On the order form on the back of the catalog, customers are informed that they will receive 2 free packets of “special variety” seeds. That sounds like the “mystery” wrapper on dum dum suckers… it might be fun to see what you randomly get.
On the Pepper Joe website he has not only lists of the pepper seed varieties he sells, but also a smattering of recipes, and some information on peppers, such as how to de-seed the peppers, and ‘how to grow’ articles.
I found no listings (by name) in the Pepper Joe catalog in common with the Seminis/Monsanto seed list (see the article HERE for more info on this project), but one tomato that he lists is the same, in name at least, as one listed on the Seminis seed list (the Floradade tomato). On his website he has a pledge that states “No genetically altered seeds, Open Pollinated, No Hybrid, 100% Organic seeds, clearly marked”. (Are they ALL open pollinated? He says “Open Pollinated” but doesn’t say that they ALL are open pollinated.) It also has a guarantee that states, “Our seeds DO Germinate. We guarantee that fact 100%. If not, we’ll gladly replace them. Once they sprout it’s up to you and Mother nature to take it from there.” Naturally. 
He also states that “Pod shapes, sizes and colors may vary from our pictures. Especially with the Superhots.”
I also found it interesting that he lists several Pepper Joe and Penny’s Tomatoes sauces (wing sauce, steak sauce, tomato salsa, hot sauces, etc.) on his website. I’ve never tried any of them, though I’d be willing to give them a try… someday. I’ll let you know what I think when I get the chance to try them.
I am disappointed that their seed plots/test plots aren’t open to visitors. I know a lot of other seed companies have farms, greenhouses, etc. that are open for public viewing. (I think to help build people’s trust in their businesses.) He says, “We are a Internet business and Catalog business only. This [725 Carolina Farms Blvd, Myrtle Beach, SC] is our shipping address only and NOT a store or farm. We cannot accept visitors for proprietary reasons. THANK YOU.”
- Website: http://www.pennystomatoes.com/
- Phone number: 843-626-4507
The Penny’s Tomatoes catalog lists 46 tomato varieties, including an “Penny’s Exclusive Giant Tomato Tree” which is her ‘signature tomato’, apparently. I’ve never grown it myself, but she says it grows 12 feet tall or more. The only thing with that, though, is that I’d rather nip off the tops when it reaches 7 or 8 feet tall and have it put its energy into tomato production and not into growing taller. Taste, flavor, and nutrition rate the highest on my scale of “must haves” when it comes to vegetables and fruits… not necessarily in that order.
The other 45 varieties of tomatoes come in all colors: red, yellow, black, green, and orange. On the order form on the back of the catalog, customers are informed that they will receive 3 free packets of “special variety” seeds, similar to Pepper Joe’s above.
I found 2 varieties of tomatoes in common with the Seminis/Monsanto seed list, but both of them were varieties that were NOT listed on the Seminis site, but were listed by other sites as being owned by Seminis. I cannot say whether or not they’re Seminis varieties, but I would hazard a guess at not. Penny states that she believes heirloom tomatoes are the way to go, but she doesn’t say whether or not all her seeds are heirloom varieties. She also states that 40% of her “Tomato Seed Matrix” is Organic Tomatoes seed.
On the Penny’s Tomatoes website, she also has recipes for salsas and other things, and a few articles on tomato topics. She also has a freebies tab which states that there are monthly drawings. I have to admit, though, that I didn’t much appreciate the graphic that appears after you’ve submitted your email address in the freebies slot.
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Notes:
- A- rating of Penny’s Tomatoes on BBB, one complaint, made good faith attempt to resolve it; No complaints for Pepper Joe’s
- On the Pepper Joe website, on the “About” page, there are several highlighted things under the title “Pepper Joe is Big News”, but they aren’t hyperlinked to any articles. I found an article on the Philadelphia Inquirer and found one article on Pepper Joe (http://articles.philly.com/1994-05-04/food/25830345_1_hot-peppers-wild-peppers-carolina-cayenne/2, from 1994) but it didn’t have the quotes referenced. And I couldn’t find any of the other articles from the other newspapers, presumably because they were from before the Internet existed. Link to when Pepper Joe’s was featured on Martha Stewart Today?…
- On the ‘hot pepper newspaper articles’ page, it says “Nominated for ‘Worlds most Influential Pepper Grower’ by PepperSeed.com at the top. (It’s www.ThePepperSeed.com.)
- “Chile News & Views” Newsletter that ran monthly from January 2010 to January 2011, through Constant Contact, and there aren’t any newsletter updates after January 2011? (They put up a whole year’s worth at the end of the year. 2012 should be put up soon… when the busy season is over.)
- Tomato Tree an indeterminate tomato or a big determinate? (I might have to grow it for myself…)
- Someone from Tomatoville claimed that Penny’s used a picture of “Red Star” tomato from totallytomato.com and listed it on her site as “Shooting Star” tomato. I went to www.totallytomato.com and they don’t even have a red star tomato. I went to Penny’s site and she has a red star tomato, but no shooting star. Weird. ?? I guess someone else needs to do their research first.
Be careful at pennys.The chocolate cherry image is copy of a gmo tomato from Briton.She is a reseller of seeds.No farm.Made up names.The tomato tree is not hers.Joes is the same way.No such thing as a Bahamian Seafood Pepper.Atomic Starfish?Turkish Cayenne bogus.Also a reseller.Plenty of info on web about the bogus varietys they have claimed as thiers beware!
We will be talking to Pepper Joe and Penny soon. Whatever is going on… I hope it clears up, and that good business, by both the producer and the consumer, will win in the end. It’s always good to learn more and investigate, and it’s also good to give the benefit of the doubt. We’ll be talking to them ourselves soon, and we’ll post an update on this article when we do.
~~Anni
Hi Anni,
Thanks for the nice article.
We’d be delighted to do an article with you. I sent you my email address and phone number to contact us..
Truk is either lying, or misinformed.
Some of the varieties mentioned aren’t even on our websites.
We grow many of our own seeds or have several growers helping us out. We ask the growers to do peppers in isolation. Then we have strict quality control protocol.
Where some of this poor information emulated from is a Tomato website that we are in the process of litigation against the owner and some members for “Civil Conspiracy”, “Defamation of Character” and “Slander”.
As much as we staunchly would defend Freedom of Speech, a few folks take that liberty too far.
We have 46,000 Facebook fans and I’ve only had to bounce a few off. Not sure where you get that misinformation that we’ve blocked several? I can recall maybe a dozen in the last few years. A few for bad language (we have a lot of ladies in our community and I just won’t tolerate that) , and a few from Tomatoville that said we ‘stole’ pictures… which Steve from Heritage seeds gave us AND WE HAVE HIS LETTERS AND RAW FILE FOR DOCUMENTATION. Again, our lawyers are handling this.
These folks lying about us must be held accountable.
The peculiar thing is when Tomatoville is proven DEAD WRONG they never put up a retraction. They have lied about some positive posts we’ve had at a gardening format, our pictures being stolen, etc. Several seed companies have contacted us about a ‘Class Action” Lawsuit against them.
Sorry, I cannot comment on that further at this point in time.
Anni, sorry for this drama…but we’re not backing down to a few bullies that try to tarnish a 24 year old companies impeccable reputation.
We have Thousands of satisfied customers, 21,000 Newsletter subscribers (opt-in…they can opt-out any time they want and most don’t), 60,000 Data BAse from Catalog requests (just THIS YEAR) and 46,000 Facebook Fans (again, that can UNLIKE us at any time…most don’t obviously) that would give us total support.
In todays world, anybody can say anything about a person or Company on the Internet.
How do you sift through the clutter and get to the truth?
Actually it’s fairly simple.
The CUSTOMER is the best “VOTING BOOTH” in the world.
If you do a poor job, you don’t survive. Your customers wioll vote you OUT.
If you do a good job with your customers, they keep coming back and reccomend you to friends and family. Your customers will vote you IN.
Our business at Penny’s Tomatoes and Pepper Joe’s has never been better.
THANK YOU to our supporters and we sure do appreciate you all.
We just want to grow our tomatoes and peppers and satisfy our customers.
The internet is a wonderful place for information, shopping and so much more. But when a handful of people abuse it…someone has to answer back.
Let’s chat soon, Anni.
Wow, thank you Joe for responding personally. We really appreciate it, and we’re very interested to talk to you later this week.
It’s always good to have information and greater understanding.
http://www.estatevaults.com/bol/archives/2008/10/27/purple_tomato_w.html If you notice,this GMO tomatoe published on the web in 2008 is the exact same image on your Pennys site.
Hello folks, I have been a customer for years of Penny and Joe I recently found a woman that will share my life with me and she also has a seed business, Joe and Penny are not considered
Competition by us, because with the vast amounts of seeds out there, there is somthing for everyone, FYI alot of varieties found in obscure regions HAVE NO NAMES.
So, what would people prefer..calling it by that red hotpepper, or should a description of some sort be better…I have over 12,000 varieties of tomatoes myself and many are given to me by folks that have had them in thier families for many years, some have no names so the person who grew the
usually will name it after a family of friend..histories are another story..many things are not accurate
alot of well known varieties have controversy attactched..so..that being said you can see why many of the peppers Joe offers could have a different or not known name.
People like to say things bad if it will make them look good in others eyes that they approve of,
I think this is perhaps the case for many of the negative comments…what is important is this.
Did you get your order on time?
Did you get what you ordered?
If it didn’t come true was it replaced and or did you get a refund?
I was Joes customer before i was a friend and a better company you will not find.
Some companies may not grow all their own seeds becuase of the simple fact they may have other people that have the land and the time to do so.
Mariseeds doesn’t have those issues because they produce thier own seeds and have 300 acres to produce their own FRESH SEEDS every year.
When you grow over 20,000 plants there is bound to be crosses, even with Heirloom tomatoes
which are open pollinated, meaning they do not need to rely on insects to be pollinated, each plant is self pollinated.
There are however species of bees that can chew open the anther cones thus producing a cross..
Penny and Pepper Joe are straight shooting people and will go out of their way to make sure your purchase goes well with complete satisfaction.
Like Marisseds read the part that says “Complete satisfaction or your money back”
This is and always was a good company..also remember, when you post a picture on the internet, unless it is copy written, it is up for grabs by any who wish to use it.
At Mariseeds we produce all of our own, but in Joe’s situation..perhaps his web person was more
to Blame for the urgency to get a picture up..it happens..and i am sure it was dealt with in a resposible manner.
Dean Slater
Dean,
Thank you so much for your detailed comment. It’s all been very interesting. I had actually never heard of Penny’s Tomatoes or Pepper Joe’s before looking up their seed catalogs. In a free economy, such as we’re privileged to have, people will vote with their dollars. If they are satisfied customers, they’ll keep coming back and the company will thrive. If customers aren’t satisfied and/or don’t trust a company, the company will inevitably disappear. I’ve now added Mariseeds to our catalog list, and I look forward to ordering your 2013 seed catalog when it becomes available.
Merry Christmas,
Anni
P.S. Do you really have 12,000 varieties of tomatoes? (Presumably as seeds?)
I have been a long standing customer of Pennys Tomatos for several years, I have always trusted her product to produce high yields of crops for my family and anytime I have a question or something new I’d like to try I call her or email, she responds very quickly with suggestions and my answers. I can’t wait to get my new catalog for 2013 and start planning my summer garden. Thanks Penny for shortening list, all my family and friends are getting the homemade Marinara and salsas. Lisa
Gentle readers,
Don’t be fooled by “Pepper Joe” Arditi and Dean Slater.
These two are as thick as thieves when it comes to libeling and defaming legitimate complainants. If you want to learn the shocking truth behind Penny’s Tomatoes and Pepper Joe’s, these links should be of great help,
http://thepepperseed.com/peppers/pepper-joe-claims-a-new-hottest-pepper-is-coming/
http://tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=19958
http://thehotpepper.com/topic/34176-hp22b/page__st__640
Thanks for the links. Information is always good.
Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to introduce you to Craig Shea AKA Mischka AKA ‘Truthseeker’. He owns and operates a sadistic website, “Tomatoville” that attacks Seed vendors…many of them. They just may be the most hated website on the Internet…there are even two You Tube Videos about them at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3czgV3W2qA and another one at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyzIb9UB7l0
Craig Shea totally disregards Freedom of Speech and tosses off anyone that disagrees with his deplorable tactics…and then you are directed to a Dog Neutering website or a Knitting website. There have been 100′s of poor gardeners tossed off.
If you have ANY doubt about this, join Tomatoville and disagree with Mischka.
Bottom line Craig Shea is a troll that is harrassing our companies at several websites.
We’ve served him with papers regarding “Defamation” and “Civil Conspiracy”.
We’re moving forward with a lawsuit against him and look forward to seeing him in South Carolina Court.
SORRY about the Drama folks…but if somebody doesn’t stand up to Internet Bully/Cowards that can hide behind a computer keyboard with perceived anonymity….it continues.
Just form your own opinion and visit our upbeat Facebook page with a genuine community & Teamwork feel to it. And visit our Tomato Seed and Hot Pepper Seed websites and judge for yourself.
THANK YOU.
To learn the horrid truth behind Tomatoville and Craig Shea visit http://www.webutation.net/go/review/tomatoville.com# We currently have our Detective Agency and lawyers checking IP addresses because someone appartently put up a virus there trying to stop people from expressing their “Freedom of Speach”. We have an awful good guess who did that. NOT TO WORRY…just hit the refresh button and you can leave your honest opinion about that sadistic Tomatoville site. Obviously there is growing concern and disgust with that site at http://www.webutation.net/go/review/tomatoville.com#
Anni, I have an idea. Why don’t you do an article on Tomatoville. See for yourself if there is a demeaning and negative tone over there…..in particular against seed vendors like Parks Seeds, Marianna’s Seeds, Penny’s Tomatoes. etc. etc.
Sorry about the drama folks…just visit our Facebook page for a positive, upbeat teamwork feel to our gardening community.
It doesn’t appeal to me to spend any more time on Tomatoville. :/ That’s my review for now.
http://www.pennystomatoes.com/cherrytomatoes.html Note the center image a copy from a gmo from a British firm.
An ABSOLUTE Lie. Please click on that link and see all 3 of oru pictures are personalized and Trademarked.
Wow. We have had more comments on this post than on any other post. I guess it just goes to show you never know what’s going to turn up a crowd.
I’m doing a Q&A through email with Joe and Penny in a couple of days. I hope it will be helpful and informative. I’d be really surprised if a seed company with 47,000 fans on their Facebook page and a loyal customer base would be a faulty company, but everybody makes mistakes, so that’s a possibility. I really don’t know what to think, especially since I’d never heard of either Penny’s Tomatoes or Pepper Joe’s until I started this seed catalog project, so I’m clearly in no position to take sides.
In the meantime, thank you for your comments. And make sure you keep them kind and entirely honest, to the best of your knowledge.
http://www.pepperjoe.com/ Another false claim,note if you try to look for pepperseed.com,there is none.
It’s funny you mention that. I just asked them that question myself. The thing is, I think it used to be a legitimate website. But whoever was running it probably took it down for some reason, and Pepper Joe just hasn’t updated his site since pepperseed.com was taken down. We’ll see what Joe says about it in his reply. I’ll let you know.
Wow Anni. A lot of erroneous and incorrect information flying around. ThePepperseed Website certainly does exists (Truk lied again)….and it has many thousands of viewers. You can check it out right here at http://thepepperseed.com/ The guy that runs it, Jeremy is a great Chilehead and gardener. He’s awesome. So please just ignore bad information everyone.
Pepper Joe
p.s. Annie….send through your Questions/Interview…we’re looking forward to answering.
And we couldn’t agree with you more when you say:
“In a free economy, such as we’re privileged to have, people will vote with their dollars. If they are satisfied customers, they’ll keep coming back and the company will thrive. If customers aren’t satisfied and/or don’t trust a company, the company will inevitably disappear”.
Customers vote with sales and December broke all records at both companies. Facebook fans are now trending towards 50,000 quickly…making us the Largest community of Tomato Growers and Pepper Growers in the World. Those folks can opt out ANY time…but they never do. That makes our Gardening site much larger than ALL THREE of the websites COMBINED that this alleged “TruthSeeker” mentions. The numbers NEVER lie.
Ah, there’s the website! I went to PepperSeed.com, not ThePepperSeed.com. That would explain it. Thanks!
I know I am not blind.Joes site says clear as day Pepperseed.com not “THE “pepperseed.com. Again there is no pepperseed.com.Again all lies.
I can see where you might think that. I think they could do with editing it so it’s correct. But I do think, after all my research into their companies, that they sell legitimate products and serve their customers well. So it’s not all lies. They fulfill on their orders for their customers.
(Sidenote… I just went to the BBC, and Penny’s Tomatoes used to have a B rating. It is now an F rating because a new complaint must’ve been filed in the last couple of days. I guess they have yet to receive a reply from Penny’s. Before that, though, they had a B rating. And they’ve only received 2 complaints. Park Seed, for example, has received 53 complaints in the same time frame.)
Let’s give people the benefit of the doubt in trying to be good, honest people. It’s my preferred way of looking at the world. And I’ve done hours of research into Penny’s and Joe’s companies, and even though they make mistakes… who doesn’t? I think they try to serve their companies well. “If you look for the bad in mankind expecting to find it, you surely will.” — Abraham Lincoln
I’ll put up the Q&A as soon as they respond. I’ve heard back from them, and they’re told me they’re working on it, so I hope to have it back from them soon.
I understand your view.Just would like to see the documentation or page of the “Most influential pepper grower in the world” on the THEPEPPERSEED.COM.I looked and there is none.As for Abe Lincoln reference didn’t he have a quote somewhat like “You can fool some of the people some of the time…….”.
Hi Folks. Let me introduce you to TRUK…who thinks he is hiding under anonymity of the name TRUK. He’s not. (and he is NOT nor has EVER been a customer of ours) He’s just another Troll named Kurt Magdic from Cutler Bay Fla. We have his full address and his email address . I tossed him and his wife Joyce off of our Facebook page for lying and trolling. Joyce (or Kurt) said we stole a picture of the Tazmanian Chocolate Dwarf tomato….or one of the Dwarf tomatoes…. that we posted on our Facebook page. However, Steve the owner of Heritage Seeds contradicted them clearly and told them they were mistaken. Here’s Steve’s email to us:
From Steve….a man of Integrity…”Feel free to quote the below as needed”:
“I (Steve from HeritageTomatoSeed) give Penny of PennysTomatoes.com the exclusive right to use the attached files of Beryl Beauty and Tasmanian Chocolate. The original photos were taken by me – the file numbers of the original RAW photos used in Penny’s exclusive photos are IMG_0117.CR2 and IMG_0017.CRW.”
I will keep the RAW files in a safe place.
Cheers,
Steve
Steve (THANKS Steve) also gave us the rights to Iditarod REd and Sleeping Lady Dwarf pics.
Did Kurt or the few antagonists at Tomatoville ever apologize or admit their mistake or lying?
Of course not. Trolls don’t roll that way.
Then Kurt Magdic had the audacity to put a false post on Dave’s Garden….which they promptly removed within hours. WE HAVE FULL DOCUMENTATION ON ALL OF THIS.
Kurt Magdic complained about some very minor descriptions on a tomato or two…we even corrected that to make him go away. He complained about a picture of the Chocolate Cherry Tomato and we replaced it with our own TM pics. Sometimes you can’t lose a Troll unless it is with legal action.
Sorry about this silly drama to our many friends and customers and Facebook fans and Newsletter subscribers…who total over 100,000 strong.
I’m disgusted with a few Trolls that try to tarnish good companies reputations. I’ve decided to take a stand. Somebody has to.
I’ve filed a lawsuit against Kurt Magdic for “Defamation” and “Civil Conspiracy” with our Attorneys from Grand Strand Legal and Angie Knight. In a Civil Conspiracy lawsuit in SC…you don’t have to prove intent…only that the conspiracy took place. Unless Kurt lied about his address he should have received this lawsuit notification a week or more ago. He will have to appear in a court of Law in South Carolina at his own expense if he doesn’t delete his posts. Then he could be responsible for our legal expenses which are fairly large..
I’m done with the Drama and won’t do many more posts here…just wanted to set the record straight. We can document any of this. If Kurt wants to take this nonsense to the Court system in SC…we’re ready!
Please give Penny’s Tomatoes and Pepper Joe’s a chance and see what 50,000 Gardeners and Customers and Friends are saying about us at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pennys-Tomatoes-and-Pepper-Joes/204328085055
You will see our garden community is SO positive…..and supporting…and such a community feel…. We’re sure you will get the POSITIVE vibes.
Thanks,
Penny & Joe
Sounds like pepperjoe is finally admitting to his “mistakes”.Still no answer on his non existant peppersed.com “mistake”.Lest we forget the most influential pepper grower” mistake”.As usual all rant and the same old boo hoo blame it on the other guy and now one week later 100,00 Fbook folowers(50,000 jump)retoric.Sorry Anni these “mistakes” go back a long way in time and documentation and it would be best for me to bow out of this discussion so as not to tarnish your wonderful site work here.
I appreciate your view of our site as being good and praiseworthy! We do try to keep things all good here, as well as being well-researched and documented! Wishing all the best, and hoping that good etiquette and correct business practices will ultimately win, however that may be.
“Truk” which is “Kurt” spelled backwards is actually Kurt Magdic from Cutler Bay, Fl. He initially thought he could “Troll” and harass us with Anonymity here at The Best Garden. Kurt was wrong. We’ve alerted AOL, the local Florida police, Dave’s Garden and are in the process of investigating another gardening site that we suspect is him as well. It is SO easy to hide behind a computer keyboard. At this point Anni, he’s been served papers from Angie Knight of Grand Strand Legal….and he’s well aware of that as well as the current & previous AOL complaints. He was CC’s on them. The BBB in Myrtle is currently investing his complaint there and they will remove it as he was NEVER a customer of ours. That will take our rating from a “F” back to an “A”. Apparently Magdic doesn’t read so well either….if you look above the reference to 100,000 Strong…is a TOTAL of our 49,000 Facebook Fans, 21,000 Newsletter subscribers and 60,000 Database of customers. Actually that TOTAL is 130,000 total customer base that we speak to…. But the Troll even attacks those black and white facts. Then he AGAIN persists that Pepper Joe wasn’t nominated for “Worlds most influential Pepper Grower”. Again he lies…please Anni talk to Jeremy, the owner of ThePepperSeed and I’m sure he will verify that I was indeed nominated. This guy doesn’t get ANYTHING right. Some people have to much time on their hands. Anyway Anni, enough of this Drama. It’s now between Magdic and our legal team. They are closely monitoring his every move.
Let’s all get back to just planting tomatoes and peppers. THANKS to our Customers for their support.
And thank YOU Anni for a wonderful article and your awesome website.
If anyone is reading this for the first time, please visit https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pennys-Tomatoes-and-Pepper-Joes/204328085055 and you’ll find a warm and loving and teamwork-driven gardening community. Unlike the confrontational and insulting website at Tomatoville where Magdic trolls. YOU be the judge.
Thank you, Joe, for your reply, and for clarifying some things for us. When we get settled after our Christmas travels, I look forward to ordering several peppers and tomatoes from you and growing them for myself for the first time, since I had never heard of your companies until the beginning of this year. And I’m excited to try their flavors and capabilities in salads, sauces, stews, etc.
I hope everyone has a marvelous year, for you and your families!
Nice update date timeline.It is 2013 I hope.Keep in mind that all of links for PT and PJ reflect the new catalogs,Original comments and images are from Pt and PJs 2010,2011 and some 2012 catalogs.The “bribe the gardener”quote is a little bit iffy and might be out of place for the discussion..
I have ordered seeds from both Pepper Joe’s and Penny’s Tomatoes. They are quick to send my items to me, offer great shipping deals, include more seeds than promised per pack, and free packs of seeds with my orders. I was lucky enough to be gifted Serrano seeds in early September with my Carolina Reaper order. They are a vivacious and hardy plant. What a nice and unexpected bonus for my garden. At one point, I was confused as to the best care for some of my plants. I e-mailed the companies and received fast replies with expert advice on how to best maintain my plants. I am proud to be a loyal customer of PJ and PT and will continue to purchase seeds for myself and my friends through their site. I am the envy of my neighbors, even in the middle of winter, because I have tomato plants taller than myself growing in my indoor garden. Fresh tomatoes and peppers at Christmas will make any summer gardeners jealous. And if these plants can do this well inside, I can’t wait to get my outdoor garden started in the Spring!!! Thanks PJ and PT for your abundance of seeds and advice! Loyally Yours, Amber
Amber,
Thank you for taking the time to stop by and leave a comment!
Anni
P.S. I don’t have indoor tomatoes (or any tomatoes) growing, yet. #ALittleJealous
I will second the claims made by pepperjoe. There is much wrongfull trolling going on at the cost of honest business owners that drive the gardening market and fuel the excitement of back yard soil turners across the country. The relentless time spent trying to dis-credit companies and their gardening products and services proves the unworthy ness of the negative content. Most of which stems from a website called tomatoville. The black cloud that looms over the site is directly related to the very people that run it.
Might want to click on the link above(Tomatoville)and read the lastest .Might change your views and convictions.
Might want to check the time stamp also seems kinda off.
Hello,Pepper joe,and Penny…mike burch here…I am flabergasted that anyone would want to impune either one of you!!!I can say that I have been treated with the upmost of respect,and my orders have been delivered in a very timely fashion…All my correspondence with either one of you has been a very pleasant experience…and I would reccommend your business to antone,and in fact have done so…youre truley….mike burch
Thanks Mike, Jim, Amber, Steve, Joe, Truk (Kurt) and everyone else who has taken their time to comment here. We really appreciate it!
Hello
I have been a customer of Pepperjoe’s and Penny’s Tomatoes
Have never had a problem with them, I have emailed them with questions and have gotten fast replies from them.
I recieved some tomatoe seeds and one of the varities was not in the order I wrote and three other types sent and the type that I did not havr they said they would take care of it once they got home from vacation yes even they must take some time off from work to note they was on vaction and still answered a email I sent them..
On Pepperjoe’s hot sauces are a killer I got a pack of five different hot sauces and man his Butch t hotsauce is to die for… you got to try it it is very good..
This comment is not meant to offend anyone, just simply, my honest opinion. I am a BIG fan of Pepper Joe’s and Penny’s Tomatoes. Why? Not only do I find their peppers and tomatoes to be quite tasty, but they are GREAT people. Joe, as you can see, the people that have had a great experience with you (thousands) will look past all of this. Keep selling the hottest peppers in the world and delicious tomatoes!
Sorry the actual time of day.Note the above post is at 157pm.
I see. Thanks for pointing that out. I changed it to USA Central Standard time. Sorry about that.
I have placed orders to both Pepper Joes and Penny’s Tomatoes and have always been completely satisfied with the Quality of the seeds ordered. So much so I have been a return customer for years. My yields for the past several years have been up and the varieties have been a pleasant change from the standard fair available locally. Their customer service is incredible, their professionalism beyond reproach, and their seeds some of the best out there. Never has any issue or concerns arisen from the products I buy from either site.
As for the nay-sayers (you know who you are!) not real sure to what end your slander leads…and always suspicious of anyone that has to build one self up by putting others down. Just remember – when your pointing at anyone there are 4 fingers pointed back at you!
The proof is in the pudding. In this case the seed order I just recieved in the mail from Pepper Joe’s. I will say that Joe took the time to talk to me for about an hour explaining the different varieties. My order was recieved on time and was packaged perfectly. I will record germination and growth. Not sure what Kurts problem is as he scratches for something to complain about it makes me wonder if his intentions are honest. If he has any association with tomatoville I can assure everyone he is up to no good. I would bet the house on it. lol.
I have been a customer a Pepper Joes for over 10 years. I have always been very pleased with both his services and his products. He’s always helpful with tips and advice on how to improve my gardening. I value his expertise.
– The slander and libelous attack on Pepper Joe and Penny Is not the first attack perpetuated by Craig Shea and other members of Tomatoville.
- He blatantly called myself and Dean liars and thieves, splattered it all over his Tomatoville website, inflamed the Tomatoville masses, shouted his false accusations from the highest rooftops! None of it was ever true. Not one iota. Yet when I posted “the whole story” did he ever publicly apologize and retract his previous false statements? No he did not. In fact, he continues to slander and libel anyone associated with myself and Dean. And he is still doing it at the time of this post. He did unban me from Tomatoville but when I tried to tell them over at Tomatoville in the “Avoid Penny & Pepper Joe’s” thread that they are opening themselves up to being sued I was banned again.
– The truth is that Craig Shea and those who so erroneously jump on his bandwagon have absolutely no basis [in truth] for their false accusations, either then [at myself and Dean], or now at Pepper Joe and Penny.
– They seem to form their accusations on assumption; “assuming” I and Dean had stole seed [from the dwarf project] and lied about it”, assuming that Pepper Joe & Penny “stole” pictures and posted them on their website.
– If Craig had just picked up the phone and discussed with any of us these presumed problems he would not be in the situation that he has now put himself into. And if anybody tried to defend themselves or post positively for myself, Dean, Pepper Joe or Penny, then they were immediately banned [from Tomatoville].. and anyone found in association too.
I know that if I had the money I would surely be suing Craig Shea and a few others at Tomatoville for trashing my good name and reputation: {Dean’s good name, reputation and business, Marianna, her reputation, and her business Marianna’s Heirloom seeds, Pepper Joe & Penny and their good names, reputations, and businesses.}
These people make their living off of their businesses. They feed their families, pay their bills, and support their communities. Somebody trashing their good names, reputations, and businesses is a BIG DEAL!
It could all have been avoided if Craig had picked up the phone and contacted myself, Dean, Pepper Joe or Penny. Instead he chose to assume, inflame and defame. He has chosen his path. Now the consequences will ensue. It is in the hands of the lawyers.
Thanks for taking the time to comment!
Penny and Joe certainly have a large, loyal fan base. I’ve had more comments for this article than any other article!
Let me start first by saying hello to all the readers here who might see this. My name is Dale Baker Jr and I am the owner of Baker’s Peppers LLC and http://www.BakersPeppers.com … I am somewhat “new” to the NUCLEAR HOT pepper scene, but I am a 3rd generation grower! I have had nothing shy of GREAT business with Pepper Joe. He sells a TOP quality product and he also stands behind it 100%! Hard to beat that IMO
Keep up the good work Joe and us here at Baker’s Peppers cant wait to see the new NUKES you have planned for the future!!
Sizzling Salutations!,
Dale Baker Jr
Baker’s Peppers LLC
http://www.BakersPeppers.com
Let me start by saying hello and introduce myself to the readers and followers here. I am Dale Baker Jr and I am the owner of Baker’s Peppers LLC and http://www.BakersPeppers.com … I self admitingly am relatively “new” to the NUCLEAR HOT pepper scene, but still have been growing them for many years and I am a 3rd generation grower! Growing has been my family business 1956!! My grandfather and father made a name for themselves in the “Tropical Foliage” industry here in Florida, and now I’m here to keep it “growing” with the growing of Edibles
I came across this article/thread and felt the need to just give my 2 cents on my business relationship with Pepper Joe! The man sells a TOP quality product, and he stands behind it 100%! Hard to beat that in my opinion! 
Anymore in America it is hard to find businesses that still believe in “Hand Shakes” and “My Word” type deals, but thats EXACTLY the kind of guy Pepper Joe is!! I have in the past, present, and will in the future be doing business with Pepper Joe….And I can also say that my experiences with Pepper Joe have been nothing shy of GREAT! Great Guy….Great Products…GREAT innovations to the industry! I myself say Thanks Pepper Joe!
On a side note, I previously commented on this topic and its very similar to this comment, but it said it did not post. So i had to re-post it from memory, so some words will vary if it somehow posts later on (gotta love the internet!)…..LOL
Sizzling Salutations!,
Dale Baker Jr
Baker’s Peppers LLC
http://www.BakersPeppers.com
I found your comment! Thanks for posting! I guess our spam-catchers thought it was spam… but I told it otherwise.
~~Anni
I have been a customer of Pepper Joe’s for ten years and I have always had good service and products. His tips are always spot on. I value his products and tips on gardening.
Hi
I haven’t had the chance to buy anything yet as I have only recently discovered pepper joes etc.
I do however watch their videos and find the very informative and interesting.
Pepper Joes recipes are definatly worth a try. I’ve only done one so far as I’m new to the hot peppers but the result were well worth the time and effort.
Having read some of the comments here and other placed and I am saddened by the trolls. One thing they don’t seem to realise us ANYTHING they post on the interweb, here, Facebook, twitter, forums is evidence should someone like Pepper Joe decide to litigate and you can be tracked.
I have only recently begun dealing wih Pepper Joe but found him honest and reliable.
Cheers
Drwevil
Aka Richard
Thanks so much to all of our loyal supporters. Penny and I are humbled by your support and promise to totally live up to your reviews. Business has been fantastic so all of your positive vibes are helping us.
Check out what all of this season’s excitement is about at http://pepperjoe.com/ and at http://www.pennystomatoes.com/
Thanks again,
Joe and Penny
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/16/worlds-hottest-pepper_n_1281449.html The reaper is not the worlds hottest pepper as claimed by PJ.Same results on the Guinness site.
http://www.inquisitr.com/195355/worlds-hottest-pepper-the-trinidad-moruga-scorpion/ No mention of reaper here either.
Both of those articles were written in February of 2012. I think they said the reaper was new this year, so it wouldn’t be mentioned in either of those articles.
I see a update note 11/27/12 in the one article by huff post.Maybe PJ can chime in and show the documentation promised in his “press release”claim on the site.
Folks, Kurt Magcic is simply and idiot Troll that we’ve served legal Papers from our Lawyer, Angie Knight. I tossed him and his wife, Joyce Magdic off of our Facebook page. He has harrassed us at Daves Garden, BBB, AOL, etc. and all of these businesses have taken our side and banned his comments. We have 100% documentation of all of this including ‘Return Reciepts Requested’ from AOL in New York and Virginia. There are many people very angry at Magdic the troll if you read the above comments.
LOL. Customers are generally reporting good germination rates, robust growth and a HOT and delicious pepper. Check out the comments about the Carolina Reaper (scroll down) on our Facebook page and read the several positive comments.
We’re looking forward to the day of seeing him face to face in court…on the phone he actually denies who he is. Real tough guy….has big opinions hiding behind a computer screen… but denies who he is when you want to have a one on one conversation with him. Just a useless troll. He must have too much time on his hands.
The facts are that the Carolina Reaper has been tested at the Wintrhop University over a 4 year period by it’s creator, Ed Currie and Professor Calloway.
The Reaper has come in at 1,474,000 Scoville Heat Units AVERAGE. The important thing about the average is that the testing range was a very tight 200,000 SHU. This means that when you grow the Reaper in your own back yard you will probably get the hottest pepper (and tastiest in my opinion) that you’ve ever grown. See more details on the Carolina Reaper at http://www.pepperjoe.com/shoppingcart/html/pepper.html#champion
Thw other Worls Champion SuperHots have had a much broader testing range.
BTW, we have total respect and admiration for the developers of those Peppers. They are hot and delicious as well. But all of the Champs have different pod shapes, tastes, plant growth patterns and heat levels. Also different nutritional profiles. We actually sell every one of them too.
Also, ther are litereally tens of thousands of customers growing out the Carolina Reaper as we speak. They are more qualified than Magdic, the Troller/Defamer that IS NOT a Pepper Joe Customer, nor has he actually grown the Reaper (he has a qualified opinion?
Anni, I believe in Freedom of Speach….but isn’t it time to ban this Magdic fool? The other websites have. We’ll chat soon, Anni. Thanks for your support.
Fiery Regards,
Pepper Joe
http://www.pepperjoe.com
I guess in reading the above rant there is no documentation produced as to the actual claim of Worlds Hottest Pepperas requested.Basically the two sites made the claim,then premarketed the seeds,got a whole bunch of people to buy at $10.00 for ten seeds.They made thier money.WHERES THE PROOF,WHERES THE BEEF?Show us the Winthrop University documentation.Show the rest of the documentation as promised almost one year ago.As said the New Mexico Chile Institute testing labs have no mention,Guinness has no mention,none of the pepper forums(maybe pepperseed.com but still can’t find it) and sites have mentioned the reaper(sleeper)at all in the last months.Even the Puckerbutt site is smart enough not to claim the reaper as World record holder,but it does defer the claim to another link.SO SHUT UP OR PUT UP,Go back to selling dresses(OOpps can’t do that the business went bankrupt).TRUTHFULLY YOURS Mr.Con Man.
Okay here’s the deal… we’d like a comment from Pepper Joe as a reply comment, and then we are going to close comments on this page. It’s not fun. :/ And it’s just not uplifting. Obviously Joe deserves to be able to respond to it if he wants to… but he already has. I can see where you’re coming from, Truk. But it’s just not done the right way. It feels all angry-like.
“Don’t feed the Trolls”
Just wanted the documentation.Did not know JP has exclusive rights to name calling,false inuendos,threatening lawsuits,bullying tactics.That is not a response to the question that was asked.The Carolina Reaper is not recognized as the “Hottest Pepper in the World”in the circles of people who know.Just wanting to let the poor unfortunate souls who are duped into that belief to be aware of the fact.
You’re right. PJ shouldn’t be calling names either. I think both sides could use a little more courtesy.
As for documentation, Pepper Joe could provide that and put this whole thing to rest very quickly. Maybe his frustration with the constant borage made him forget or something. So I looked it up myself. It took about 10 seconds to find the following links.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/08/25/3478893/is-locally-grown-carolina-reaper.html: The Carolina Reaper is consistently the hottest pepper he’s tested over a 5 year period
http://puckerbuttpeppercompany.com/news/the-worlds-hottest-pepper-smokin-eds-carolina-reaper/: This is Puckerbutt’s announcement about “The World’s HOttest Pepper” – they make the claim too, even though you said they didn’t.
http://www.fortmilltimes.com/2012/08/27/2175434/is-locally-grown-carolina-reaper.html
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-puckerbutt-pepper-company-announces-the-worlds-hottest-pepper-167544745.html: This is PuckerButt’s PRESS RELEASE about their announcement of the hottest pepper, the Carolina Reaper
http://www.growingproduce.com/article/30808/south-carolina-grower-stakes-claim-to-world-s-hottest-pepper: Another Puckerbutt Press Release
Truk, look… it took me about 2 minutes total. Pepper Joe isn’t lying. There’s plenty of news of it out there. Just google it. Pepper Joe isn’t the only one saying it. Why are you reacting like this when you haven’t even done a little research to confirm it yourself? And why are you attacking Pepper Joe and defending Puckerbutts when Puckerbutts actually had press releases about it (and got more traffic, surely, because of their claims about the hottest pepper being the Carolina reaper) and they’re selling them for $9.99/pack just like Pepper Joe?
No more, okay?
For everyone who comments on this page (if I allow further commenting), keep it courteous.
Thanks Anni for doing that 2 minute research to document our testing and validation on the Carolina Reaper.
As I’ve said all along Truk (Kurt and Joyce Magdic) is just an internet troll and we ALL know “Don’t feed the Trolls”.
Anni, in addtiion to vigorous Winthrop University and a submission pending with Guinness, there have now been Dozens of reputable Hot Pepper reveiwers that have tasted the Reaper Pods. The top ones in the business are Scott Roberts, Mike McDermott and Ted Barrus.
Here’s a few of those Video’s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KEq7p92b54
Scott does a fantastic review and also cooks our Carolina Reaper.
Scott is a quality guy and owns his own Hot Pepper Website and another succesful business. He has no vested interest in teh Reaper.
Here’s another:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pilvIM4g9E&playnext=1&list=PLlVykj_PKNf9XgMO_LXONBqC7j-A41YoC&feature=results_video
Mike McDermott is a quality guy and good family man. He owns a competitive seed company so would have no vested interest to give such a good review. He also owns a high level Chilehead website.
These are top, qualified opinions….NOT Magdics.
They ALL agree it is the hottest pepper they have ever eaten. And these guys have all concurred…HOTTEST PEPPER IN THE WORLD”…..and very tasty too.
Go check out YouTube and you’ll find DOZENS of additional reviews to back up the Carolina Reapers 1,474,000 Scoville Heat units tested at an accredited Un iversity.
In addition to your research Anni, Guinness Submission and Big Reviewers opinions there is more. There are literally Tens of Thousands fo Gardeners growing the Carolina Reaper out this summer. Just yesterday I have many great reports on germination %’s on my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pennys-Tomatoes-and-Pepper-Joes/204328085055 Just scroll down to Reaper Seedlings. This summer there will be thousand of reviews on Garden sites and Chilehead sites about the heat level of the Carolina Reaper. Some Chileheads have already produced Reaper Pods as we speak. We rolled out the Press Releases and offered the seeds for sale on 8/27/12.
All of this accumulated data and documentation is much more important than Magdic, and the silly Trolls lies. Just ban him Anni. With his type you can’t win. When I interrogated people like him at my Fashion Bug career, their attitude was “Don’t confuse me with the facts”. LOL. I had a fantastic 39 year career ther…and this guy jokes that they recently went out of business. You just can’t win with a Troll. Ban him.
Anni, thanks for remaining abjective and doing that research.
Currie said he has asked Guinness to expedite his world-record request. He said he has paid the firm about $4,000 to seek the record
Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/08/25/3478893/is-locally-grown-carolina-reaper.html#storylink=cpy.OOps I guess I should have asked for this particular documentation.All of the above links have been read by me and others way before you did your two minute search.Keywords are “claims” and “is”Look at the credits of most of the source links Puckerbutt.com.No articles by the Guiness World Record authrities.I guess PJ has The Best Gardening fooled also.When I see a article other than the vendors claims,then I will concede.But as it stands now all of the pepper community uses Guinness and New Mexico Chili Institute as a official denominator for the records.So as you say no more for now,if and when the news breaks then the “CLAIM” will become a accepted “World Hottest Pepper”.
http://www.bhut-jolokia.net/trinidad-scorpion-pods/ Fyi
Pepper Joe’s is a great company. Well loved and enduring. Joe and Penny are easy to do business with, very personable and fun.
Excellent quality seed, great communication and intensely dedicated to their companies.
This dedication is why they have so many loyal and returning customers including me.
Oh, and try the sauces at Pepper Joe’s! The wing sauce is awesome, the hot pepper sauces are fragrant, delicious and hot! and Penny’s Barbecue sauce is the best I’ve ever had.
Laurel
Thanks, Laurel!
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