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Kathy’s Garden Writing |
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TOMATOES FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD Congress should do something useful for a change, and declare August “National Homegrown Tomato Month.” Imagine the monumental changes that could result. California’s governor would have to terminate all interstate tomato transport, because no one in their right mind would tolerate those insipid grocery-store rocks. Local economies would benefit, as citizens flocked to farm markets and road side stands in search of their favorite tomato variety. Best of all, every sunny square foot of uncultivated soil could be teeming with diversity -- flavor-filled orbs in a rainbow of colors, grown from seed stock from around the world. Seriously, tomatoes are amazingly varied, easy to grow, and an embodiment of summer. Let’s get reacquainted with the real thing. The tomato plant probably originated in Peru, where wild berry-laden relatives are still found. By the time Europeans arrived in the Americas, tomatoes were being grown as far north as Mexico. The Conquistadors introduced them to Southern Europe, with Italians using them as a traditional part of their cuisine by the sixteenth century. Northern Europeans were a bit slower to catch on to their culinary use, associating them with their toxic relative, deadly nightshade. Gradually, the British started growing them, first as ornamentals, then to flavor soups. Eventually tomatoes were sent to the North American colonies along with other suspect characters. It took an enlightened politician, Thomas Jefferson, to give them a real PR boost by serving them at Monticello. By the nineteenth century, they had become quite popular, with several hundred cultivars listed in an 1880’s catalogue. The 20th century saw increased work on hybridization for improved growth habits, yield, disease resistance, and portability. Somewhere, however, the wonderful and varied tastes, shapes, and color palette of the heirloom varieties got lost. By the time I started gardening, local nurseries offered only a few varieties: ‘Big Boy’, ‘Early Girl’, maybe ‘Sweet 100’ cherries. Then one year I rebelled. Since the French knew so much about good food, I decided to plant one of their tomatoes. It helped that I had started raising my plants from seed; a world of opportunity opened. So I ordered French ‘Dona.’ I also added Japanese ‘Oridoko,’ to recapture the tomatoes I remembered from my years in Japan. Wow! I was hooked, and there was no turning back. My experiments have grown year by year, with eighteen varieties now planted in my garden. There are two very old heirlooms, ‘Red Pear’ and ‘Golden Queen’. There’s ugly ‘Brandywine’, rated the all-time favorite tomato for taste, although my favorite is ‘Prudens Purple’. A rainbow coalition of cherry tomatoes makes a beautiful salad: ‘Green Grape’, ‘Sun Sugar’, and the red ‘Sweet Chelsea’. And for international relations, Italian ‘Principe Borghese’ sits at the table with ‘German Strawberry’ and ‘Russian Black.’ Finally, some tomatoes with interesting names simply strong-arm their way in, like ‘Big Mama’ and ‘Bloody Butcher.’ Although 35 million Americans grow tomatoes, I wonder how many of these home-spun gardeners are venturing into the multicultural world of tomato diversity. A pleasant surprise awaits anyone willing to pop a seed into some potting soil in mid-March, plop it onto a sunny windowsill or under a fluorescent light, water as needed, plant out in mid-May, and join a ground swell of tomato aficionados come August. If only other types of social change were so easy! Kathleen Arcuri Published August 5, 2007 – The Danville Daily Item |