Search engine woes

Why can't I type a cultivar or common name in the general seach and come up with the plant? Example: Cosmonaut Volkov (tomato), scallion, coriander or part of a name - just the Olena part of Olena Ukranian? This is so frustrating! I went to the detailed search with no results, finally I tried the "View Detailed Reports on Popular Cultivars" link and found the Cosmonaut tomato that way.

Lately I just give up and use google which sometimes brings me back to DG. Why does this happen even with something as simple as scallion???

-Kim

You might try using the specific search instead--I've found it's much more forgiving when you only have part of a name. If you type scallion in the common name field you'll get a bunch of hits, same thing if you type Cosmonaut in the cultivar field. You don't need to know all the stuff like family/genus/species to search.

I guess I will have to try that ecrane but the general search is on my home page so I usually start with that one.

I still think scallion should come up when doing a general search!

Not really; Scallion is a general term used for green onions or young bunching type onions. Technically it should be reserved for non bulbing onions but that is not always the case. Shallot or bunching onion would get you more hits.

Bunching onion turns up nothing as well. That is how this whole thing started for me a couple of weeks ago. I was trying to look up Lisbon bunching onion. I have since discover the search engine wanted me to use Onion, bunching. Shallot is not a problem. If I have the time I keep trying. All different ways to skin a cat - as they say in the south.

I also have TERRIBLE luck with the general search and usually have to resort to google to find ANYTHING in Plant Files. If, for example, you type in 'Elephant Foot Yam' in general search you get no results, however, if you type that into google, you get this entry in PF (below), which CLEARLY has the name 'elephant foot yam'. The general search is a waste of time and definately needs to be fixed.

http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/59152/index.html

Onalee

I agree that the general search could use some improvement...but in the meantime I encourage you to try the specific search instead, if you go there and type 'Elephant foot yam' in the common name field, your entry comes right up.

The general search has had a glitch with picking up common names for a while. I know Dave has it somewhere in his stack of to-dos.

In the meantime, the specific search works great, even if all you know is he common name:

http://davesgarden.com/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=elephant+foot+yam&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search

Oh, so even if you don't know the other fields the specific search will work? I didn't try that. I thought if I didn't know all the info you couldn't use the specific search! I will try it! Thank You.

-Kim

Thanks, Terry. I was having the same problem.

bluekat, exactly - enter only the fields you know and ignore those you don't. (And usually the less you add, the more likely you are to find what you're looking for ;o)

Partial names are good if you're not sure about punctuation (example: is the cultivar 'Farmer Browns Best' or 'Farmer Brown's Best'?

To find it, search for "Farmer Brown" as the cultivar, and avoid the apostrophe altogether ;o)

Here's a tutorial to help you use the search/browse features to their full potential: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/608659/

Thank you Terry! Leave it to me to read the directions after all else fails - LOL!
-Kim