Sourcing seeds is a major challenge over here. Even F1's. Info such as how long does it take from sowing to harvest, disease resistance etc- is not available. There are many
local seed sharing groups that claim to save heirloom varieties from commercial companies, but they also suffer from the same problem. I feel lucky if I receive any package from them that has something written on it. Sometimes you receive seeds of a tomato that is claimed to be ancestral, then it turns out to be an Italian heirloom that has nothing to do with the guys grandma.
There is also two other issues that I deal with. Lately I am busy and usually I don't have more than 1 hour per week in the veggie garden. It takes ton of babysitting some heirloom varieties. The other issue has to do with Istanbul's climate. It is humid and hot. Some years it is mostly Mediterranean and doesn't rain for months, but some years it rains throughout whole summer. Powdery mildew -and other mildews- is a major issue. Istanbul has a huge metropolitan area, creating a massive heat island and also air pollution. Regular spraying by municipality does not help either.
So decided to grow my own
landrace varieties. And I had some promising results with squash. I was able to get some seeds -
landrace varieties, mostly Lofthouses and from some friends. Greg sent squash seeds - resistant to powdery mildew, a variety he has been selecting for the last 5-6 years.
Since I don't have free access to seeds, there is no seed share group focusing on the subject, my first year goal is to grow as many as possible. Turning each seed to 10-20-100 or more.
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