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QISHU'IM
The Jewish Seed Project began our kickoff season back in 2021 with a crop most Jews have never even heard of: qishu’im. A kind of melon that is eaten immature like a cucumber, the qishut (singular) is mentioned by name in the Torah during the story of our Exodus from Egypt:
זָכַרְנוּ אֶת־הַדָּגָה אֲשֶׁר־נֹאכַל בְּמִצְרַיִם חִנָּם אֵת הַקִּשֻּׁאִים וְאֵת הָאֲבַטִּחִים וְאֶת־הֶחָצִיר וְאֶת־הַבְּצָלִים וְאֶת־הַשּׁוּמִים׃
וְעַתָּה נַפְשֵׁנוּ יְבֵשָׁה אֵין כֹּל בִּלְתִּי אֶל־הַמָּן עֵינֵינוּ׃
במדבר י״א: ד׳-ו׳ —
We remember the fish we used to eat in Egypt for free, the [qishu’im] and the melons and the leeks and the onions and the garlic. And now our throats are dry. There is nothing save the manna before our eyes.”
—Numbers 11:4-6 (trans. Robert Alter)
More About Qishu'im
After sourcing seeds from Egyptian, Palestinian, and Italian farmers (places where close genetic cousins of this crop are still locally cultivated), JSP research growers have spent the past five years cultivating both individual varieties as well as "diaspora gardens," in which seeds from diverse populations are grown together and encouraged to cross pollinate.
Along the way, we have been observing and selecting seeds in order to more closely approximate the distinctive characteristics beloved by our ancestors.
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These gardens are a place where far-flung genetics can reunite and constellate an appropriately diverse mix, deepening our relationships with these seeds. And who knows? Perhaps this is the start of a new diasporic cultivar—a new Jewish seed.
Want to learn more? Purchase our Qishu'im Booklet here! And if you want to grow Qishu’im yourself, get a Diaspora Garden mix here and start planting!