Anatolian Heirloom Seeds Recovery Project (ANATOHUM)

chancethegardener · August 3, 2012

I am working on a project to increase the circulation of Anatolian heirlooms. Unfortunately, certain Anatolian varieties are currently in danger. It is significantly difficult to find the seeds unless one knows someone who grows those varieties locally in their backyard. For example, legendary Diyarbakir watermelon, known for its huge size (40 kg on average~80 lbs) and incredible taste, is hard to find these days. Luckily, seeds are kept in circulation through an annual watermelon competition but it is quite unusual to find this variety in farmer's market or grocery store. I think this is very sad especially because Diyarbakir is located in the Tigris-Euphrates basin, Mesopotamia, world's one of most fertile regions, and I would expect a wide circulation of the variety. There are a lot of other examples.

While heirloom awareness is growing and commercial seed companies have started to introduce heirlooms in their catalogs, efforts are not enough. I believe that growers in Tomatoville (specifically the members in North America) would be a very meaningful addition to the cause of these efforts. For my project, I will need volunteers to grow various seeds of Anatolian heirlooms. I will request one thing from growers: When I send seeds for a variety, you must grow it (yes, I will follow up

). Additionally, providing feedback on the variety would be very helpful.

If anyone interested, please let me know. I will make a list and when the seeds are available I will send them out for trials. Varieties primarily include tomatoes, melons/watermelons, and peppers.

cornbreadlouie · August 3, 2012

I'd love to try my hand at growing some and would definitely be willing to produce some seeds as well.

chancethegardener · August 3, 2012

Thanks cornbreadlouie. I would appreciate if you can also PM me your name and email address.

lakelady · August 3, 2012

I don't have a ton of space, but I could certainly fit in a few pepper plants for you and save seeds

jennifer28 · August 3, 2012

I will help you with this.

Now I find that I have two more children of different Turkish families in my classroom next year.

I have a teaching license to teach English for English Language Learners so I usually get children in my class from many different countries who are just learning English, since I am licensed to teach that.

I am hoping to speak to these families about the heirloom project. I don't know what region they are from yet.

I will help grow something. I will put it in isolation. I am wondering if I can involve some of the Turkish families in this effort. Let me know.

Now that I am getting to know you I know the level of detail you like with pictures and weights.

I do plan on asking them if they have brought any seeds or if they can get us some seeds.

Jennifer

ljp · August 3, 2012

Are any of the seeds you want to grow out suitable for zone 3a? Last frost May 24, first frost October. I'm getting early to mid season tomatoes to ripen. July and August temps usually 24C highs to 15C lows.

chancethegardener · August 4, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by ljp

Are any of the seeds you want to grow out suitable for zone 3a? Last frost May 24, first frost October. I'm getting early to mid season tomatoes to ripen. July and August temps usually 24C highs to 15C lows.

There is little documentation I can access regarding the harvest times so that I need to see which varieties would be good for your conditions. I am currently growing out some tomatoes and hopefully I will be able to send you some seeds. You can PM me with your information, if you want.

**carolyn137** · August 4, 2012

Speaking for Craig ( nctomatoman), who has said he will always be able to raise my plants for me and Shoe in NC who has said he will always be able to do some seed production for me, I'd be glad to work with one or two tomato accessions you might have.

And speaking as one who has made specific requirements for participation in my annual seed offers here and not having those requirements followed, I wish you much luck with followups.

And also noting that I haven't yet contacted Mike Dunton at Victory Seeds about his listing for the Turkish tomato he lists but will do so as soon as the tennis part of the Olympics is done, which means next week I'll try to remember to do that.

chancethegardener · August 4, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Speaking for Craig ( nctomatoman), who has said he will always be able to raise my plants for me and Shoe in NC who has said he will always be able to do some seed production for me, I'd be glad to work with one or two tomato accessions you might have.

And speaking as one who has made specific requirements for participation in my annual seed offers here and not having those requirements followed, I wish you much luck with followups.

And also noting that I haven't yet contacted Mike Dunton at Victory Seeds about his listing for the Turkish tomato he lists but will do so as soon as the tennis part of the Olympics is done, which means next week I'll try to remember to do that.

Carolyn, I will make sure to send you as many varieties as you want. I have had a terrible tomato season and I keep my fingers crossed so that my grow outs will make it to seed saving stage. Thanks much for your contribution and have fun watching the Olympics.

chancethegardener · August 7, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by jennifer28

I will help you with this.

Now I find that I have two more children of different Turkish families in my classroom next year.

I have a teaching license to teach English for English Language Learners so I usually get children in my class from many different countries who are just learning English, since I am licensed to teach that.

I am hoping to speak to these families about the heirloom project. I don't know what region they are from yet.

I will help grow something. I will put it in isolation. I am wondering if I can involve some of the Turkish families in this effort. Let me know.

Now that I am getting to know you I know the level of detail you like with pictures and weights.

I do plan on asking them if they have brought any seeds or if they can get us some seeds.

Jennifer

Sounds good, Jennifer. My goal is to find seeds of which origin and local traditional names are known to their growers (e.g. when I search through Turkish forums, I see that there are a lot of American varieties that are grown-people name a tomato "large pink" whereas the seeds belong to Brandywine-Sudduth strain). So if I have certain varieties which they might offer, then I would prefer the local varieties which I don't have.

By the way I planted Turkish Ayla the other day and they sprouted today. Hopefully, I can transplant them early September. Thanks for the seeds again.

cornbreadlouie · August 7, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by chancethegardener

Thanks cornbreadlouie. I would appreciate if you can also PM me your name and email address.

I didn't see this post until now. PM on the way!

**carolyn137** · August 7, 2012

Just noting that I did e-mail Mike at Victory Seeds a couple of days ago and asked if he could find out where that Turkish one he lists came from, more specifically.

I also told him about your project Chance, and asked him if he could spare some seeds of his Turkish one so I could send them to you for distriibution. I kinda said it was maybe payback for all the varieties I've sent to him and didn't mention any specifc number of seeds, b'c as most of you know I'm a shy, passive, reclusive person who doesn't often speak up.

chancethegardener · August 7, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by carolyn137

Just noting that I did e-mail Mike at Victory Seeds a couple of days ago and asked if he could find out where that Turkish one he lists came from, more specifically.

I also told him about your project Chance, and asked him if he could spare some seeds of his Turkish one so I could send them to you for distriibution. I kinda said it was maybe payback for all the varieties I've sent to him and didn't mention any specifc number of seeds, b'c as most of you know I'm a shy, passive, reclusive person who doesn't often speak up.

Carolyn, does your post have an implicit message for me, too? How many varieties are you asking for in return?

**carolyn137** · August 7, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by chancethegardener

Carolyn, does your post have an implicit message for me, too? How many varieties are you asking for in return?

No implicit message at all, just a message to let you know that I finally did contact Mike. As for varieties from you, well, above I think I said a couple would be fine, depending on how many seeds you have to distribute.

And I finally remembered to PM you my home address.

MrsJustice · August 10, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by carolyn137

No implicit message at all, just a message to let you know that I finally did contact Mike. As for varieties from you, well, above I think I said a couple would be fine, depending on how many seeds you have to distribute.

And I finally remembered to PM you my home address.

Miss Carolyn

If you get the seeds, I would love to help you grow them and keep data for you.

August 3, 2012	#1
chancethegardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: WV Posts: 604	Anatolian Heirloom Seeds Recovery Project (ANATOHUM) I am working on a project to increase the circulation of Anatolian heirlooms. Unfortunately, certain Anatolian varieties are currently in danger. It is significantly difficult to find the seeds unless one knows someone who grows those varieties locally in their backyard. For example, legendary Diyarbakir watermelon, known for its huge size (40 kg on average~80 lbs) and incredible taste, is hard to find these days. Luckily, seeds are kept in circulation through an annual watermelon competition but it is quite unusual to find this variety in farmer's market or grocery store. I think this is very sad especially because Diyarbakir is located in the Tigris-Euphrates basin, Mesopotamia, world's one of most fertile regions, and I would expect a wide circulation of the variety. There are a lot of other examples. While heirloom awareness is growing and commercial seed companies have started to introduce heirlooms in their catalogs, efforts are not enough. I believe that growers in Tomatoville (specifically the members in North America) would be a very meaningful addition to the cause of these efforts. For my project, I will need volunteers to grow various seeds of Anatolian heirlooms. I will request one thing from growers: When I send seeds for a variety, you must grow it (yes, I will follow up ). Additionally, providing feedback on the variety would be very helpful. If anyone interested, please let me know. I will make a list and when the seeds are available I will send them out for trials. Varieties primarily include tomatoes, melons/watermelons, and peppers.

August 3, 2012	#2
cornbreadlouie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: SF bay area... north bay Posts: 242	I'd love to try my hand at growing some and would definitely be willing to produce some seeds as well. __________________ Do You Like Worms?

August 3, 2012	#4
lakelady Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: northern NJ zone 6b Posts: 1,862	I don't have a ton of space, but I could certainly fit in a few pepper plants for you and save seeds __________________ Antoniette

August 4, 2012	#8
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	Speaking for Craig ( nctomatoman), who has said he will always be able to raise my plants for me and Shoe in NC who has said he will always be able to do some seed production for me, I'd be glad to work with one or two tomato accessions you might have. And speaking as one who has made specific requirements for participation in my annual seed offers here and not having those requirements followed, I wish you much luck with followups. And also noting that I haven't yet contacted Mike Dunton at Victory Seeds about his listing for the Turkish tomato he lists but will do so as soon as the tennis part of the Olympics is done, which means next week I'll try to remember to do that. __________________ Carolyn

August 7, 2012	#12
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	Just noting that I did e-mail Mike at Victory Seeds a couple of days ago and asked if he could find out where that Turkish one he lists came from, more specifically. I also told him about your project Chance, and asked him if he could spare some seeds of his Turkish one so I could send them to you for distriibution. I kinda said it was maybe payback for all the varieties I've sent to him and didn't mention any specifc number of seeds, b'c as most of you know I'm a shy, passive, reclusive person who doesn't often speak up. __________________ Carolyn

August 3, 2012	#5
jennifer28 Two-faced Drama Queen Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital Posts: 955	I will help you with this. Now I find that I have two more children of different Turkish families in my classroom next year. I have a teaching license to teach English for English Language Learners so I usually get children in my class from many different countries who are just learning English, since I am licensed to teach that. I am hoping to speak to these families about the heirloom project. I don't know what region they are from yet. I will help grow something. I will put it in isolation. I am wondering if I can involve some of the Turkish families in this effort. Let me know. Now that I am getting to know you I know the level of detail you like with pictures and weights. I do plan on asking them if they have brought any seeds or if they can get us some seeds. Jennifer

August 3, 2012	#6
ljp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Edmonton Alberta Posts: 189	Are any of the seeds you want to grow out suitable for zone 3a? Last frost May 24, first frost October. I'm getting early to mid season tomatoes to ripen. July and August temps usually 24C highs to 15C lows.