He established a world garden with the seeds he collected from 50 countries.

Hakkı Albayrak, who brings to Türkiye the seeds of fruits and vegetables he saw in the countries he served and visited abroad, produces under natural conditions without using greenhouses.

In his garden, he grows many products specific to different regions of the world, from Chinese beans to Indian bananas (pawpaws), from Indian citrons to Mexican avocados, from California hazelnuts to Japanese apples, goji berries and currants.

It also produces black, brown, orange and yellow tomatoes, as well as varieties that are not common in Türkiye, such as purple potatoes.

Stating that he started subtropical production with pepino of Peruvian origin, Hakkı Albayrak said, "I started working to contribute to my country and to grow some imported products here. I tried approximately 200 types of products. 120 of them adapted to the Black Sea climate. Among the products we were successful in, there are pepino, avocado, autumn berry and pawpaw." he said.

Albayrak stated that an academic study was conducted on pawpaw, known as the Indian banana, which he grew in his garden, and said, "An academician working at OMU noticed that this fruit creates a feeling of fullness for a long time during his observations on students. Later, interest in the subject increased and different producers started to grow pawpaw."

Stating that climatic conditions directly affect the yield in avocado production, Albayrak said that if he gets full yield, he can obtain approximately one ton of product per year.

Stating that he had experienced significant losses despite harvesting thousands of fruits in the past years, Albayrak said, "Two years ago, although there were approximately 2 thousand fruits, I was able to harvest 300. The fruits were falling while they were still small. After increasing the irrigation, the falling has largely stopped. I expect to harvest approximately 300 avocados this year."

Albayrak said that the avocados grown in his garden are larger than the products sold in markets. Stating that the smallest avocados start from 250 grams, Albayrak said, "Last year, we sold 400 gram avocados for 100 liras. This year, we will sell each one for 70 to 100 liras, depending on its size." he said.

Source: TRT Haber Yaşam RSS (Open Press / Translated Full Text)