Palencia-based farmer Emilio Medina has germinated tomato seeds stored since 1916, reviving a historic Soria variety that had all but vanished from Spain’s fields and markets. He nurtured six healthy plants from the century-old seeds, reconnecting with the country’s agricultural past.
Medina’s motivation was both personal and national. He wanted to grow the same tomatoes his great-grandparents might have harvested, while also restoring a piece of what he calls Spain’s “genetic identity,” which he believes is being eroded by the dominance of commercial seed varieties. As he explained to Informativos Telecinco, the project began with the discovery of the seeds, carefully stored in glass jars since the early 20th century.
Rescuing a Lost Variety
Finding viable seeds from 1916 was no small feat. Medina notes that such old varieties are rarely available in nurseries or even in seed banks, where stocks of pre-commercial strains are extremely limited. After gaining access to the jars, he began a painstaking process of selection and planting, aware that many of the seeds might not survive more than a hundred years in storage.
Several seeds did germinate, and Medina managed to nurture six healthy tomato plants. The result is striking in light of seed-longevity research: a 1985 study by D. A. Priestley, V. I. Cullinan and J. Wolfe estimated tomato-seed germination half-life at about 24.5 years under the open-storage conditions it examined. Research by C. Walters, L. M. Wheeler and J. M. Grotenhuis reported longevity of roughly 73 years for tomato seeds in controlled cold storage, while conventional guidance often puts useful storage life at around four to six years, depending on conditions. These figures describe different storage environments and datasets; Medina’s reported germination is an exceptional example of the value that can persist in a carefully preserved seed lot.
Seed conservation depends on more than the container: temperature and moisture matter, as does protection from air and light. A sealed glass jar can help limit exposure to moisture and air exchange, while controlled genebank storage adds managed temperature and humidity. Germinating seeds and raising plants also puts a variety back into cultivation, where it can be observed, selected and reproduced.
Adapting to Today’s Climate
One basic question was whether a tomato variety from 1916 could thrive in today’s climate. Medina believes even seeds from another era can adapt and flourish with careful cultivation, provided they get fertile soil and adequate moisture. Although weather patterns have shifted since the early 20th century, he argues that the impressive requirements for healthy tomato growth remain unchanged.
Medina’s work extends beyond this Soria tomato. The 27-year-old horticulturist has spent about a decade tending a family garden in Tierra de Campos and collecting traditional varieties of tomatoes and vegetables such as legumes and garlic. Exchanges with farmers and older residents help him recover both seeds and the knowledge associated with growing them. He cultivates and selects varieties in local conditions rather than simply storing seed samples, and has assembled hundreds of tomato varieties.
For Medina, the project is also a way to preserve cultural memory and keep alive flavors that once defined local diets. Alongside tomatoes, he is working to conserve other traditional crops, including the mule’s-ear lettuce, a Palencia specialty. He aims to keep these varieties as close to their original form as possible, without crossbreeding them with modern strains. In an interview with Infobae, he described a good tomato as one grown outdoors with “almost no skin.”
What Makes Old Tomatoes Different?
The tomatoes Medina has revived differ sharply from most varieties found in supermarkets today. Historically, tomatoes were bred for immediate consumption, not for long-distance transport or extended shelf life. The old Soria variety has thinner skin and softer flesh; its tomatoes are larger than modern ones, with a more pronounced flavor.
Modern commercial tomatoes, by comparison, are selected for durability and uniformity, often at the expense of taste and texture. Medina’s work suggests that reviving forgotten seeds can bring back flavors that have nearly disappeared from Spanish tables while safeguarding part of the country’s agricultural heritage.
Local conservation efforts form part of a wider network. RTVE reports that Spain’s Centro de Recursos Fitogenéticos, operated by INIA-CSIC in Alcalá de Henares, holds about 44,000 samples originating from 14 Spanish seed banks. Worldwide, RTVE reports, seed banks preserve more than 1.4 million samples across roughly 17,000 institutions. These collections complement the work of growers such as Medina by conserving agricultural diversity beyond commercial production and making it available for future cultivation and research.
Medina’s broader conservation work received national recognition in 2026, when the Real Academia de Gastronomía awarded him its Premio Nacional de Gastronomía al Talento Joven for recovering agricultural varieties and associated knowledge. His project illustrates how growing and selecting traditional crops can keep both seeds and the practices surrounding them in use as agriculture faces changing climates and cultivation methods.
