How Ohtli Works

A collective growing journal and plant breeding project

Ohtli is a shared journal where growers record what they learn from their gardens and farms. We organize those observations around individual plant genetics and locations so that over time, the knowledge we collect together can help everyone find the best plants for their local environment and tastes — and create new varieties that improve what's already out there.

A Journal That Adds Up

Every grower makes valuable observations about the plants they grow — which tomato has the best flavor, which tree died in the cold snap, which seedling surprised them. Most of that knowledge is lost or isn't tracked in a way that's accessible to others. Our goal is to build a better collective record of what works and doesn't.

When you journal on Ohtli, your observations are tied to specific genetics — Ohtli Entities are tracked via our OHT-# ID system, these IDs represent unique genetic individuals and we use this to connect grower observations to unique genetic lines. Observations about disease, hardiness, flavor, yield, and more that you make in the journal help paint a rich picture of individual varieties and genetics that can be used to breed better plants.

Journal entries are connected to location — Every location is different, what thrives in one area is not always best for another, what works in an urban environment might not in a nearby rural one, one valley over may face different disease and pest threats, plants growing on a north-facing slope might behave differently on a south-facing one in the same region. By being location-aware, your journal entries will help build a better understanding of what grows best where, down to very specific locations. This is especially important as we face a changing climate and an evolving ecosystem, your observations, even the simplest ones, can help other growers in your region learn and adapt.

The goal is that the collective knowledge we build in our journals will surface new and interesting genetics, help growers find the right plant for their situation, help us adapt to climate change, and breed better plants, in ways that no single grower or even organization could develop alone.

How Knowledge Builds

Every observation on Ohtli feeds into a bigger picture. Here's how individual journal entries become shared knowledge.

You register your genetics

Any plant you're growing can be registered as an entity — a unique genetic individual with its own ID, page, and QR code. This is the anchor for everything you observe. If the genetics already exist on Ohtli (a named variety, a clone from another grower), you join as a contributor to the same entity rather than creating a new one.

You journal what you see

Flowering dates, fruit quality, disease, harvest weight, flavor — anything worth noting. Your observations build a timeline for this plant. Over seasons, you start to see what it does reliably and what varies year to year.

Other growers add their experience

When the same genetics are grown by multiple people, each grower contributes their own observations. The entity's page becomes a collective portrait — how these genetics perform across different climates, soils, and growing styles.

Patterns emerge across the community

As observations accumulate across plants and growers, the platform surfaces what works where. Species pages, flavor maps, and trait comparisons help growers find genetics suited to their conditions and interests.

Growers breed with intention

Armed with shared observations, growers can cross plants with purpose — combining traits they've seen documented across the community. The offspring are registered with their parents, and the cycle starts again with a new generation of observations.

The Language of Ohtli

Ohtli uses a few specific terms. Here's what they mean.

Plants & Identity

Entity

A single genetic individual registered on Ohtli. An entity represents one unique set of genetics, not one physical plant. Every Honeycrisp apple tree in the world is a clone of the same genetics — on Ohtli, that's one entity. If you take a cutting or save seeds from a self-pollinating plant, the result is still the same entity. Only sexual reproduction from different parents creates a new one. Every entity gets its own OHT-ID, its own page, and its own journal history built from every grower who contributes observations.

OHT-ID

The unique identifier for every entity, like OHT-A1B2C. It appears on the entity's page, labels, and QR codes. Think of it as a permanent name that connects any physical plant of those genetics to everything the community knows about them.

Founding Stock

Genetics that enter Ohtli with no tracked parents in the system. It's the starting point — the root of a lineage tree. Any plant you already own can be registered as founding stock. This is how genetics enter the platform for the first time.

Bred Organism

A plant grown from seed where at least one parent is registered on Ohtli. When you register a bred organism, you record who its parents are — that's what builds the lineage tree and connects new genetics back to existing observations.

Species

The biological species — tomato, apple, blueberry, fig. Species pages on Ohtli aggregate observations and genetics across all registered entities of that type, making it easy to explore what the community is learning about a particular crop.

Lineage

The family tree of an entity — its parents, grandparents, and descendants. Lineage is what ties journal observations together across generations. When you see that a great-tasting tomato's grandparent was also rated highly by growers in three states, that's lineage at work.

Contributor

A grower who is actively growing a particular entity. Since an entity is genetics, not a single plant, many growers can each have their own physical plant of the same entity. Each contributor keeps their own journal entries, tasting notes, growing notes, and location — this is how the same genetics get observed across different conditions.

The Journal

Journal Entry

A single observation tied to a specific entity. Each entry has a type (what you're recording), a date, optional notes, and optional photos or video. Journal entries are the core of Ohtli — they're how the community builds knowledge.

Entry Types

Entries are categorized by what you're observing. Phenology entries track seasonal milestones — bloom, fruit set, harvest. Stress entries record disease, pests, or weather damage. Observation entries log weight, measurements, or photos. Terminal entries mark the end of your relationship with a plant — death, culled, lost. The type helps structure observations so they're comparable across growers.

Tasting Notes & Growing Notes

Each contributor writes their own tasting notes (flavor, texture, culinary qualities) and growing notes (how the plant performs in their conditions). Multiple growers' notes appear side by side on the entity page — this is where you see the same genetics described from different perspectives.

Trait Scores

Structured ratings for specific characteristics — flavor, vigor, disease resistance, yield. Trait scores make it possible to compare plants on the same dimensions across growers, climates, and seasons.

Community

Club

A group of growers organized around a shared species, region, or interest. Clubs have discussion posts, events (plant swaps, tastings, garden tours), and a member directory. Ohtli suggests clubs based on what you grow and where you are.

Cooperative (Co-op)

A trusted partnership between two growers. On Ohtli, only you can grow entities you've bred — unless you sell or exchange material through the marketplace. Co-op partners are the exception: adding someone to your co-op gives them access to your entities, and it's assumed you're freely exchanging seeds, cuttings, and other material. Their entities show up in your parent picker when registering bred organisms, so you can record crosses between your plants and theirs. This keeps genetic lines intact for off-market exchanges while still protecting breeders who want to control ownership of the varieties they create.

Following

A lightweight way to keep track of plants and growers you're interested in. Follow an entity to watch its journal grow over time, or follow a grower to see what they're working on.

Inquiry

A direct message thread between two growers about a specific plant. Use inquiries to ask about growing conditions, seed availability, or breeding interest.

Marketplace

Listing

An offer to sell or give away seeds, cuttings, plants, fruit, or other products from one of your entities. Each listing is tied to a specific entity so buyers can see the full journal and lineage before they buy.

Listing Types

Each listing specifies the genetic relationship to the parent entity. New genetics: Child Plant, Cross Pollinated Seeds, Hand Crossed Seeds, Seed Mix, Pollen. Same genetics: Self Pollinated Seeds, Cloned Plant, Clone (cuttings, divisions). Products: Fruit/Produce, Other Goods.

Fulfillment

How items get from seller to buyer. Three methods: Porch Pickup (buyer collects from the seller's location — always free), Shipping (mailed via carrier), and Local Delivery (seller brings it to you within a set radius).

Labels & Traceability

QR Code

Every entity has a QR code that links to its page. Print it on a label and attach it to the plant, pot, or garden marker. Anyone can scan it to see the full journal, lineage, and community observations — standing right in front of the plant.

Labels

Printable tags generated from your dashboard. Each label shows the entity name, OHT-ID, species, and QR code. Labels are the physical bridge between a plant in the ground and everything the community knows about it.

Display Name

Your public-facing name on Ohtli — what other growers see on your profile, entity pages, and listings. Your real name is always private.

Start Your Journal

The best way to understand Ohtli is to use it. Register a plant you're already growing, write down what you know about it, and start contributing to what the community is learning together.