Commercially introduced by us.
Phonetically pronounced: check-ear-day-ee o-ya-luh
Çekirdeği Oyalı is hands down the most unique watermelon we have ever grown. As the seeds of this variety dry, their seed coats crack which gives the seeds a unique pattern on the surface as if they are hand carved. Fruits of this watermelon have sweet, red flesh and weigh in the range of 3-4 lbs.
This variety is regionally known as Çizgili, Dualı, Yazılı. To address the fruits’ very unique, seed-specific genetic trait and to make the seeds common across communities, I promoted it as Çekirdeği Oyalı, a culturally appropriate name that roughly translates to hand-carved seeds in English.
Our seeds came from a seed preservation center in İzmir. While there is strong evidence that the seeds are traditionally stewarded in Western Turkey, we also came across the same seed trait to be stewarded in Ovalı Village (possibly of Tokat Province), Northern Turkey.
Other synonyms: Çizgili, Dualı, Yazılı
Packet has 20 seeds
Sierra Casselman (verified owner) –
Little difficult to get started, but once it had a few leaves it went well.
Beverly Green (verified owner) –
The plant grew really well and had several watermelons on it. They never matured to a red flesh inside though
Kathy B. (verified owner) –
I am giving a rating of 4 ONLY because I haven’t planted the seeds yet- shortly after receiving them we moved and are still working on the new garden beds. They arrived on time, and look to be great quality. I would love to update this review in the spring or early summer when I can give a proper review. Thank you!!
Nikki (verified owner) –
Did better than any any other melon I planted in my TN garden. The seeds are stunning.
Jo (verified owner) –