Hello, Bioleft community! As the tomato plants yield the last fruits of the season, at Bioleft we are taking the opportunity to get together over mate and start taking stock of what this cycle has brought us. An official closing meeting with the entire network is coming up, but first we want to share what we’ve been up to these days.
Between furrows and fairs: Visiting Julia Ríos
A few days ago, we visited Julia Ríos' farm. It was a very valuable encounter to discuss what we learned this season and plan ahead. Julia shared with us that she already has the seeds ready for tomato varieties 113 and 56 ("No me olvides").
She also enthusiastically showed us her "Cherry amarillo" (Yellow Cherry), a variety that has been making strong strides: it received an excellent response in tastings at UNSAM and is among the most sought-after at local fairs due to its flavor and original shape (some are pear-shaped and truly beautiful!). We are already brainstorming together on how to incorporate more of these local varieties into our participatory evaluation trials for the 26–27 campaign.
Virtual mate gathering: Connecting nodes
On April 16, we met for a virtual mateada (mate gathering) to share how crops are doing across different regions. It was a wonderful space to:
- Listen to the network: Evaluators from the south of the country to Mendoza told us how their plants are finishing up and shared photos of their latest harvests.
- Share knowledge: Elba shared the biofumigation experience in the UNSAM plot, a key biocontrol technique for naturally caring for soil health.
- Collective logistics: We discussed how to organize seed shipments so that distribution becomes increasingly self-managed and participatory across nodes.
Coming soon: The official closing
This is just a prelude. Very soon we will announce our official closing meeting, where we will pool all the evaluation data and celebrate another year of seed sovereignty.
Bonus: Tasting with Al Rescate del Tomate Criollo
On April 11, we were at FAUBA joining the Al Rescate team for a tasting of heirloom tomatoes. A great day!
