Friend Going to Mexico

Cole_Robbie · September 25, 2016

A friend of mine will soon be visiting her family in Puerta del Monte, Guanajuato, Mexico. She has agreed to look for tomato seeds for me.

Does anyone have any guidance or suggestions? She is a native Spanish speaker. All I can think is to visit the local produce market and ask the vendors selling tomatoes if they save their own seed.

I can also have her look for peppers, too, if there is a chance of finding anything unusual.

Mr_Henri · September 25, 2016

I'm not sure she will find anything new or different in Mexico. Mexicans tend to like Roma tomatoes and the hot house type ball tomatoes. You must remember that US tomatoes are often grown in Mexico. But Guanojuato, being further down where tomatoes are usually grown, could have different varieties. It's better to tell your friend to explore ( safely) in the parts of Mexico where indigenous people sell their produce. And to take pictures of he fruit before extracting the seeds. In that way you could have a preview of how it loked

**carolyn137** · September 25, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cole_Robbie

A friend of mine will soon be visiting her family in Puerta del Monte, Guanajuato, Mexico. She has agreed to look for tomato seeds for me.

Does anyone have any guidance or suggestions? She is a native Spanish speaker. All I can think is to visit the local produce market and ask the vendors selling tomatoes if they save their own seed.

I can also have her look for peppers, too, if there is a chance of finding anything unusual.

My suggestion,without question,is to contact Gerardo here at Tville who grows tomatoes in Tijuana, find him in the photo Forum with his long thread there.

Last I knew they didn't have any seeds for sale there at ALL, but Gerardo can set you straight on that as well.

Remember that most of our shipped in tomatoes are from both FL and Mexico,but whether homegrowers grow something different/unknown,again Gerardo can tell you that.

Carolyn

Cole_Robbie · September 25, 2016

That was the first thing I did, lol. Even if he is a long way from where my friend is traveling, it will help to be able to tell her the correct wording for expressions like heirloom tomato, non-hybrid, do you save seeds?, etc. She is a native speaker, but does not know very much about tomatoes.

Cole_Robbie · September 25, 2016

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/clearing-...-united-states

In reading these long, confusing rules for what is permitted to cross into the US, it looks like they require seeds to be declared, and possibly a phytosanitary certificate presented, which isn't going to happen with seeds saved from someone's home. Ironically, fresh tomatoes are allowed (forbidden from Canada only, for some reason)...unless one has the intent of using them for propagation...in which case they are probably forbidden.

So it looks like I will have her mail the seeds to me if she collects anything.

MarianneW · September 26, 2016

You can send her with some mason jars, she can put the tomatoes in the mason jars, label them "abuela pepinillos" and pack them in her suitcase. You should have no problems, and to be scrupulously honest, you can then make salsa from them after you get your seeds. This will be less hard than mailing anything and will comply with customs.

Worth1 · September 26, 2016

Grand mothers pickles.

Worth

Gerardo · September 29, 2016

Most cities have a "central de abastos" a catch-all phrase that means more or less food depot, all legumes, meats, veggies and fruits, etc. are usually trucked into this central place, and they are 1) sold on the spot, 2) distributed to smaller retailers.

I would start at this place, and then work your way back to the producers.

Most of the people I've talked to mention how tomato growers have two crops, one for export and sale, and another segregated one for their own tomato projects and/or heirlooms. They are well aware that the tomatoes they are exporting are awful, but that's what the specs indicate, so that's what they grow. They don't eat their own product, rather, they grow another batch just for home consumption. These private stash tomatoes are probably the ones you want to go after.

While I was in the Yucatan this summer I gave it the 'ol college try, and came up empty.

Send her down with plenty of seeds to trade, preferably with a little book of pics for each variety. Our seed collections are gold down here, so make sure she has plenty of goodies to trade, especially the dwarfs, Soviet ones, and non-reds striped antho, etc.

The phrasebook will be:
"Disculpe, sabe usted de algun huerto con tomateras que no sean de tomate comercial?"
"Estoy buscando semillas de tomate que no sea del comercial."
"Tengo tomates enanos y de colores, rayados, morados, verdes dulces, cual le interesa para el trueque?"

The slow food movement is in its infancy, if she can hook up with the "sobreruedas organico" in the cities she's visiting it'll also be a good starting point. "Sobreruedas" is a phrase that means "on wheels" which describes the itinerant nature of these markets. She'll find great food, a hippie vibe, and people that are willing to help in the search for heirlooms.

Other than that, it's gonna be tough. In my city of 2+ million people, I've found less than a dozen tomatophiles, and that's in a city that's heavily influenced by California trends, so further south may be even more difficult. There are tons and tons of tomatoes grown down here, and overwhelming majority of them are buffalo chips.

There is a strong expat community in Guanajuato and the surrounding area, from what I gather they have a weekly organic market that could also provide clues.

And finally, there are a couple of dedicated "organic" stores in GTO so those could also help.

Gerardo · September 29, 2016

This:
http://viaorganica.org/agricultores/

Cole_Robbie · September 29, 2016

Thanks, man.

September 25, 2016	#1
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	Friend Going to Mexico A friend of mine will soon be visiting her family in Puerta del Monte, Guanajuato, Mexico. She has agreed to look for tomato seeds for me. Does anyone have any guidance or suggestions? She is a native Spanish speaker. All I can think is to visit the local produce market and ask the vendors selling tomatoes if they save their own seed. I can also have her look for peppers, too, if there is a chance of finding anything unusual. Last edited by Cole_Robbie; September 25, 2016 at 05:50 PM.

September 25, 2016	#2
Mr_Henri Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Sunnyvale, CA Posts: 7	I'm not sure she will find anything new or different in Mexico. Mexicans tend to like Roma tomatoes and the hot house type ball tomatoes. You must remember that US tomatoes are often grown in Mexico. But Guanojuato, being further down where tomatoes are usually grown, could have different varieties. It's better to tell your friend to explore ( safely) in the parts of Mexico where indigenous people sell their produce. And to take pictures of he fruit before extracting the seeds. In that way you could have a preview of how it loked

September 26, 2016	#6
MarianneW Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2016 Location: Arizona Posts: 153	You can send her with some mason jars, she can put the tomatoes in the mason jars, label them "abuela pepinillos" and pack them in her suitcase. You should have no problems, and to be scrupulously honest, you can then make salsa from them after you get your seeds. This will be less hard than mailing anything and will comply with customs.

September 26, 2016	#7
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Grand mothers pickles. Worth

September 29, 2016	#8
Gerardo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: San Diego-Tijuana Posts: 2,598	Most cities have a "central de abastos" a catch-all phrase that means more or less food depot, all legumes, meats, veggies and fruits, etc. are usually trucked into this central place, and they are 1) sold on the spot, 2) distributed to smaller retailers. I would start at this place, and then work your way back to the producers. Most of the people I've talked to mention how tomato growers have two crops, one for export and sale, and another segregated one for their own tomato projects and/or heirlooms. They are well aware that the tomatoes they are exporting are awful, but that's what the specs indicate, so that's what they grow. They don't eat their own product, rather, they grow another batch just for home consumption. These private stash tomatoes are probably the ones you want to go after. While I was in the Yucatan this summer I gave it the 'ol college try, and came up empty. Send her down with plenty of seeds to trade, preferably with a little book of pics for each variety. Our seed collections are gold down here, so make sure she has plenty of goodies to trade, especially the dwarfs, Soviet ones, and non-reds striped antho, etc. The phrasebook will be: "Disculpe, sabe usted de algun huerto con tomateras que no sean de tomate comercial?" "Estoy buscando semillas de tomate que no sea del comercial." "Tengo tomates enanos y de colores, rayados, morados, verdes dulces, cual le interesa para el trueque?" The slow food movement is in its infancy, if she can hook up with the "sobreruedas organico" in the cities she's visiting it'll also be a good starting point. "Sobreruedas" is a phrase that means "on wheels" which describes the itinerant nature of these markets. She'll find great food, a hippie vibe, and people that are willing to help in the search for heirlooms. Other than that, it's gonna be tough. In my city of 2+ million people, I've found less than a dozen tomatophiles, and that's in a city that's heavily influenced by California trends, so further south may be even more difficult. There are tons and tons of tomatoes grown down here, and overwhelming majority of them are buffalo chips. There is a strong expat community in Guanajuato and the surrounding area, from what I gather they have a weekly organic market that could also provide clues. And finally, there are a couple of dedicated "organic" stores in GTO so those could also help.