My Love Affair with Tomatoes

May 17th, 2013

My Love Affair With Tomatoes

There, it’s out in the open now…. I love tomatoes!  If I were only allowed one vegetable (okay, technically, it’s a fruit), it would be the glorious tomato.  What’s not to love?

If you are only familiar with the hard, barely ripe red things you buy at the grocery store  – which have often travelled several hundred miles – I don’t blame you for your scepticism.  Even the local greenhouse tomatoes that show up in stores in late winter still lack the substance to satisfy my flavour craving….which is why I refuse to buy tomatoes in the winter months.

But come late July, when my heirloom tomatoes start to ripen up, there is nothing more satisfying that picking a sun-warmed tomato and popping it in your mouth.  Having seeds or juice squirt out are a small consolation to pay for the explosion of flavour.

You’ll notice I said “heirloom” tomatoes.    These are plants whose seeds have been passed down from generation to generation.  The diversity is enormous, with colours ranging from yellow to rose, from pink to striped green, to mottled orange, to dark purple, in addition to all the shades of red.  Size-wise, there are the tiny Hahm’s Gelbe, reaching only 8″ tall, but with a bounty of yellow cherry-type tomatoes, up to the huge Sicilian Saucer, whose vine grows to a height of six to eight feet, and has fruit the size of a small breakfast plate!  I grew some two years ago,
and needed two hands to pick them off the vine!

And then there are all the varieties of flavour.  For those who want a low-acid tomato, one of my favourite varieties is Taxi.  Not only is it less acidic, it is one of the earlier-maturing varieties.  Do you like a nice zingy taste?  How about Brandywine, which comes in orange and red?  Juicy tomatoes that drip down your chin?  Hillbilly!  And for a meaty flesh suitable for canning and making tomato paste, my two favourites are Amish Paste and San Marzano.

Yet another difference between these heirloom types and standard hybrid tomatoes are that many of the heirlooms are indeterminate growers.  These will continue growing and setting fruit until they are killed off by frost.

The tomatoes on the outside rows reached a height of over 6 feet!

Because of this continual growth, they will need support, as sometimes they can grow to over 7 feet high!  There are also bush varieties , known as “determinate”.  These may or may not require a cage or staking, depending on their size.  As the name implies, their growth is determinate, with a finite amount of fruit set.  I grow both types in our gardens.

Because of a renewed interested in vegetable gardening and self-sufficiency (yay!) these heirloom tomatoes are making a comeback, too.  At this time of the year, you can find plants for sale at many of your local farmers’ market.  Some garden centres are now offering heirloom varieties, too. These gems have been seeded and transplanted (probably a couple of times), and are ready for planting when all danger of frost has passed.  Be sure to ask about whether the plants have been “hardened off”.  All plants which have been started indoors need to gradually get acclimatized to the harsher light from the sun, the winds and the cold.  They can be set out in a sheltered shady spot for a day or two to help with this process. Try a few plants this summer, and then next February or so, you can start your own plants from seed!  You may even want to save seed from some of the tomatoes you grow this summer.  Starting with this little step, you are well on your way to eating fresh and local.

This year, I am planting 19 varieties of tomatoes, ALL of them heirloom.  Some will be ready in as many as 65 days, while some, like the paste tomatoes, will take up to an extra three weeks. This helps spread out the harvest, too.

And what is my favourite heirloom tomato?  No question, it  is Old German. The colouring is gorgeous, a marbled effect of yellow and rosy-red. The flavour has barely a hint of acid, and there’s just enough juice to dribble down your chin if you eat them like an apple. They fill the palm of my hand, and one thick slice is perfect for a summer tomato sandwich.  Mmmm, I can hardly wait!

My beautiful Old German.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well written,

Food from a Farmers Point of view, Julie Baumlisberger

Thanks Julie for sharing and inspiring others to look for heirloom tomatoes.

Posted in food from a farmers point of view, Sourcing Local in Ontario, What's In-Season

Growing a Vegetable Garden 101

April 23rd, 2013

A friend asked me for some advice on starting a garden. She wanted to grow her own organic food, but had never grown a garden before and needed to know everything. I discovered how much I had taken for granted, knowing all about growing food,  because I had been doing it since my childhood. Wow, where to start?

The first advice I gave her was to make sure she was starting with good, healthy, fertile soil. Depending on where you live, you may have sandy soil, heavy clay or, if you’re lucky, some beautiful sandy loam.  Most garden centres will be able to help you identify your soil type and suggest what soil amendments you may need to make. Regardless of your soil, a good layer of compost should always be added every year.

Next is the selection of where you’re going to plant. Most vegetables need to have lots of sun to grow, but there are some that are fine with light shade. If you don’t have space in your yard, don’t give up!  The solution is container gardening – pots, large boxes, hanging baskets and bags – use your imagination and you’ll be surprised at how much food you can grown in a small amount of space!  Again, just be aware of how much sun/heat or shade your plants will be getting. Remember that small pots will need much more frequent watering than larger containers.

And then there is the matter of what to plant. As my friend remarked, going through a seed catalogue or the seed racks at the garden centre was almost overwhelming; there was such a huge selection!

For instant gratification, there is nothing like radishes or lettuce. They germinate easily and quickly, and will produce something you can eat in about a month. However, keep in mind that soil and air temperature are also factors on when you can plant your seeds or plants. The list of veggies that can be started now, as soon as the ground is dry enough, includes peas, radishes, spinach, lettuce, green onions, kale, chard, beets and carrots. I start all of these plants from seeds, rather than purchasing plants. Once all risk of frost has passed, you can plant the heat-loving veggies such as peppers, tomatoes and beans. (If you haven’t already started your tomato or pepper plants, I would suggest you purchase them this year, then consider starting your own next year, around the beginning of March.)


The chart on the left shows optimum soil temperatures and the number of days it takes for the seed to germinate. Most seed packets will tell you how to plant the seeds, when you can expect them to germinate (ie) sprout, and how many days it will be before you
can harvest your vegetables. You will also have to decide on how big to make your garden.
Some plants can be grown quite close together, such as lettuce, while others (tomatoes, potatoes),
will take quite a bit more room. The chart below helps to explain how densely you can plant your garden.

Finally, there is the decision about what varieties of plants/seeds you will be buying. For example, there are hybrid and heirloom types of tomatoes. Hybrid seeds have been bred to grow consistent produce  with specific traits, such as no seeds, or a thick skin. The downside is, when you use hybrid seeds, you cannot save seeds from this year’s crop and grow them next year.

Heirloom seeds, on the other hand, have a much wider diversity and their seeds can be saved and planted, year after year. There are many benefits to this. Obviously there is the cost-saving factor, but more importantly, as you grow your own saved seeds each year, the plants will adapt to your specific garden environment (climate and soil type), and produce more robust plants each year.

Whatever you decide to grow, and wherever or however you do it, my last suggestion is to get everyone involved! There is something so satisfying about pulling a carrot out of the ground and eating it, knowing that you grew it yourself! Picking peas and munching them in the garden is almost as wonderful as popping a warm cherry tomato into your mouth. The more help you have with planning and planting, the more involved your family members will be with the weeding and harvesting, too.

Eating local and organic starts at home! Happy planting and good luck!

Julie Baumlisberger,  Food from A Farmers Point of View

Posted in food from a farmers point of view, gardens
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it’s in the message

April 22nd, 2013

Posted in Do you know where you food comes from?, Food for Kids, kids and food, Think Fresh Think Local