Andrew:
Yup, long-distance gardening can be difficult.
I just finished an article for World Tomato Society about the history of the Beautifully Promiscuous and Tasty Tomato Project. Wow! What a sweeping complicated project!!!!!
I feel really good about the state of the project.
I distributed small-ish amounts of seed to about 50 growers, who are largely unvetted, though some have collaborated well with me in the past.
I distributed large amounts of seed to 5 growers, that I have collaborated closely with in the past. I know and trust them to follow through. They are growing about 100 to 200 plants each.
I still have some seed for sharing. The best of the best has already been distributed. There are some scientifically or artistically interesting lines that could still use collaborators. For example: I'd love to have more growers in areas that can't grow tomatoes organically because of blight.
The project is entering a stabilization phase. I'm not introducing any new domestic or wild ancestors into the general population, and am growing the promiscuous tomatoes in isolation. I expect this year that we will focus heavily on selection for taste, earliness, and productivity. (And as always: Self-incompatibility).
With so many collaborators, we're able to explore sub-projects that wouldn't otherwise be possible: For example creating a population where the self-incompatibility system is fully functional, and creating a population of only 3 species hybrids, and separating the population into sub-populations based on traits like fruit color, taste, and fruit size.
My role has changed from grower to project manager.