'Odesa Market' Calendula

Calendula officinalis Origin: Ukraine Improvement status: Landrace Seeds per packet: ~25 Germination tested 1/2024: 90% Life cycle: Annual or short-lived perennial (in mild climates) This diverse landrace calendula was collected in June 1986 at the Odesa farmer's market in Ukraine (then USSR) by Kate Rogers Gessert of Eugene, Oregon, who recorded it at the time as a "local type." She donated the variety to the USDA the following year, and they've maintained it ever since at the North Central Plant Introduction Station in Ames, Iowa. Due to my family history in Ukraine, and Odesa specifically — my great-grandparents fled anti-Jewish violence there in 1905 — I requested a small sample of the seeds in mid-February 2022, along with a number of other Ukrainian seeds. As it turns out, Russia would launch its ignominious invasion of Ukraine just eight days later on February 24th.I had expected to feel nothing but enjoyment and a renewed connection to my ancestors through growing these seeds