Wow, what a story! I ended up with some of this collection in my orchard in Watsonville, CA, but I never knew the back story. I studied orchard management at UC Davis, and a friend of mine there went on to get a masters. Her final project involved pomegranate propagation, and she gave a lot of her extra baby trees to me. So, I also grow Parfianka as well as Gissarski Rosovyi, Myagkosemyannyi Rosovyi, and Ovedan. Now I will treasure them all the more.
Oh wow! I’m jealous. That’s awesome. Which of them do you like the best? I have only seen Parfianka for sale around here. Also, tell me more about this orchard!
Well, the Rosovyis have the best flavor, but I think they need more chill hours and only fruit occasionally here. Ovedan fruits regularly but has a blander flavor. (why is always the case with heirloom fruit varieties, why?)
Thank you so much for this extraordinary retelling of the history of one man & all the worlds he & his plants encompass. And yes, I agree with you about the unimaginable vastness of the suffering of non-Americans during & after WW 2 - it is part of our American hubris that we neither really learn this history or scale or it to current catastrophes & wars, but also thank you for the reminders of survival & kindness. I will now look for both the book & the dispersed plants! And thank you for also putting up tools & fools - I love the idea of dispersal!
Dispersion. What a tool.
Wow, what a story! I ended up with some of this collection in my orchard in Watsonville, CA, but I never knew the back story. I studied orchard management at UC Davis, and a friend of mine there went on to get a masters. Her final project involved pomegranate propagation, and she gave a lot of her extra baby trees to me. So, I also grow Parfianka as well as Gissarski Rosovyi, Myagkosemyannyi Rosovyi, and Ovedan. Now I will treasure them all the more.
Oh wow! I’m jealous. That’s awesome. Which of them do you like the best? I have only seen Parfianka for sale around here. Also, tell me more about this orchard!
Well, the Rosovyis have the best flavor, but I think they need more chill hours and only fruit occasionally here. Ovedan fruits regularly but has a blander flavor. (why is always the case with heirloom fruit varieties, why?)
This is my little farm: https://birdsongorchards.com/
If you are ever in the area, I would be delighted to give you a tour and fruit tasting.
Your farm looks amazing - love this practice. Thanks for fruit-tasting insight!
This is an extraordinary story and beyond relevant on so many levels. Thank you!
Thank you so much for this extraordinary retelling of the history of one man & all the worlds he & his plants encompass. And yes, I agree with you about the unimaginable vastness of the suffering of non-Americans during & after WW 2 - it is part of our American hubris that we neither really learn this history or scale or it to current catastrophes & wars, but also thank you for the reminders of survival & kindness. I will now look for both the book & the dispersed plants! And thank you for also putting up tools & fools - I love the idea of dispersal!