Emilio Medina is 26 years old, lives in Villalcázar de Sirga, Palencia, and works as a farmer and forest firefighter.
One day, someone wrote to him on Instagram to tell him something unusual: they had a jar of tomato seeds saved since 1916 in Soria, Spain. The seeds were black, dried out, almost dead.
Medina planted them without much hope, using techniques taught to him by the older farmers in the village. And against all odds, they germinated.
They gave rise to plants that now produce tomatoes with thin skin and an intense flavor, something he describes as “very, very, very similar” to what generations from a century ago ate.
Behind this experiment is a larger project: a seed bank with more than 1,000 old varieties, rescued from attics, cellars, and family memories. Because for Medina, a seed only remains alive if someone plants it again. Would you like to experience the true flavor of tomatoes?
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