TLF Admin
Administrator
It’s harvest season for daffodils in Izmir’s Karaburun
The 43-year old daffodil producer says he has been working with the flowers ever since he was a boy, as his father, Halil Zeybek, has been a daffodil producer for 60 years. “He’s 80 now, and knows much more than I do about daffodils, but we are keeping him safe from harm at home,” Zeybek says of his father, referring to the coronavirus pandemic.
He reminds TRT World of the myth of Narcissus, the other name that daffodils are known as. In Greek mythology, Narcissus was a hunter who fell in love with his own reflection in a pond (or a well, according to Zeybek), and died there pining for himself, having rejected the advances of the nymph Echo. “After he died a flower sprouted in his spot, and that is the narcissus (daffodil) flower,” he says.
Daffodils, according to Zeybek, are harvested from November 15 until mid-February if the weather is suitably cold. “Daffodils love cold weather,” Zeybek says. “They take their time blossoming and remain budding and fragrant for a couple of weeks after picking.”
“But if it’s like this year, with the southwestern winds (lodos), then we get a smaller crop, and worse quality, too,” Zeybek tells TRT World. “The buds open quicker, the flowers don’t last – that’s when I get complaints from my vendors, and rightly so, too!”
He says that lately there has also been a disease ailing crops. “We change our boots when we come to the fields, in order not to infect the daffodils,” he explains, noting they are very cautious about protecting the daffodil crops.
Read more here
www.trtworld.com
Despite the unusually warm weather in December and the pandemic, daffodil growers are scraping a living off the beautiful flowers.
“The vendors ask me when the daffodil season will be over,” says Ali Zeybek, daffodil producer. “Because when daffodils are in season, all other flowers are eclipsed by their beauty and lovely fragrance, and the vendors cannot sell anything else,” he laughs.The 43-year old daffodil producer says he has been working with the flowers ever since he was a boy, as his father, Halil Zeybek, has been a daffodil producer for 60 years. “He’s 80 now, and knows much more than I do about daffodils, but we are keeping him safe from harm at home,” Zeybek says of his father, referring to the coronavirus pandemic.
He reminds TRT World of the myth of Narcissus, the other name that daffodils are known as. In Greek mythology, Narcissus was a hunter who fell in love with his own reflection in a pond (or a well, according to Zeybek), and died there pining for himself, having rejected the advances of the nymph Echo. “After he died a flower sprouted in his spot, and that is the narcissus (daffodil) flower,” he says.
Daffodils, according to Zeybek, are harvested from November 15 until mid-February if the weather is suitably cold. “Daffodils love cold weather,” Zeybek says. “They take their time blossoming and remain budding and fragrant for a couple of weeks after picking.”
“But if it’s like this year, with the southwestern winds (lodos), then we get a smaller crop, and worse quality, too,” Zeybek tells TRT World. “The buds open quicker, the flowers don’t last – that’s when I get complaints from my vendors, and rightly so, too!”
He says that lately there has also been a disease ailing crops. “We change our boots when we come to the fields, in order not to infect the daffodils,” he explains, noting they are very cautious about protecting the daffodil crops.
Read more here
A fragrant bloom: It’s harvest season for daffodils in Izmir’s Karaburun
Despite the unusually warm weather in December and the pandemic, daffodil growers are scraping a living off the beautiful flowers.
www.trtworld.com
