#syrianpeas

[seedkeeping]

Syrian Peas as tall as me block the view of Roughwood and tower over Landis Winter Lettuce, which is bolting and about to go to flower. To the left, cascading seed pods of the Black Schifferstadt Radish ripen in front of newly-planted Tomatoes on Bamboo poles from our grove out back. Our Apple trees are developing olive-sized green fruits in front of our slowly emptying greenhouse. Here at our home base we mainly preserve and increase our supply of thousands of rare heirloom plant varieties (at a rate of about 250-300 varieties per year). We grow our favorites for seed sales elsewhere (maybe another 100-150 varieties) the proceeds of which helps us to protect seed biodiversity. #roughwoodseedcollection #seedsaving #seedkeeping #syrianpeas #landiswinterlettuce #blackschifferstadtradish #bamboopoles

[seedkeeping]

The peas from Homs, Syria are 5 feet tall already, and covered in beautiful white blossoms. We started last year with a small handful of seeds from our friends at the @experimentalfarmnetwork, and hopefully this year we will have plenty to share. These have been kept by the USDA since they were collected in 1949 in Homs, now known as "the capital of the revolution". During the Siege of Homs (mid-'12 to mid-'14) it was a center of resistance to the Bashar al-Assad regime, and thousands of people were killed. Historically, this has been a place where many cultures and faiths have lived side by side: Sunni Muslims, Alawite Muslims, Greek Orthodox Christians, and Syriac Orthodox Christians. There's a camp with 14,000 Palestinian refugees. There's descendants from 20,000 Armenians who immigrated 100 years ago during the Armenian Genocide. Now - this: shelled homes, snipers, ISIS, chemical weapons, protesters murdered. While protecting culturally important seeds is essential, as I plant the seeds of people who have experienced genocide, terror, trauma, I pray for an end to the horrors that those who grow, harvest, and eat these seeds face every day. Peas were first domesticated in Syria and the surrounding areas - thank you to Syrians for your many gifts to the world. May you have peace! #syrianpeas #pisumsativum #gardenpea #peaflower #homs #homssyria