Tomatoes.
How we love them.
How we need them.
Need them?
Sure. I’ll prove it.
Imagine a plate of spaghetti and meatballs without a squashy delicious spaghetti sauce. Envision always ordering white pizzas with an Alfredo or cheese sauce base.
Red sauce = tomatoes.
Salsa = tomatoes.
Ketchup = tomatoes.
Must I go on?
Yes. Because nothing but tomatoes can make our salads both juicy AND pretty!
Okay.
Since we admit we need them, what about the tire-tread taste of the tomatoes we buy at the store?
First of all, don’t blame the tomatoes. They’re innocent. Tomatoes grown for commercial purposes can’t luxuriate at the Riviera in the sunshine until they are red and ready. They are harvested from the vine while still green, gassed with ethylene – which turns them pukey pink inside – and shipped off to stores to wind up in your sauces, soups and salads. That’s why they look sick and have no taste.
Did Thomas Jefferson (TJ) have to tolerate crap tasteless tomatoes?
What does Thomas Jefferson have to do with tomatoes? Well, he indisputably was the most enthusiastic gardener-president we’ve ever had in office. He kept a garden calendar from 1767 to 1824, and he never failed to plant tomatoes. They appeared often in the Jefferson family recipes.
Naturally, Jefferson loved tomatoes. And he should have. They were delicious, different “creatures” in those days. Even most home-garden grown tomatoes and organic crops aren’t as good as the ones Thomas Jefferson produced. Why? Because TJ grew them before genetic modification. Genetic modification makes generic seeds and store-bought vegetables:
1) more resistant to pesticides and weed killers,
2) easier to ship,
3) slower to rot,
4) tasteless…and of dubious nutritional value.
Well, shoot! Are we stuck with these cardboard versions of formerly delicious vegetables?
No!
Recently, I found out about heirloom gardening from my mother, who found out about heirloom seeds from her sister. They had a farmer dad, you know, and it’s in their blood to care about things growing out of dirt.
What are Heirloom Vegetables?
Heirloom seeds are carefully harvested from strains going back thousands of years. Some descend from seeds sewn into clothes by immigrants coming to America, or from Thomas
Monticello Vegetable Garden
Jefferson’s own garden!
According to Jack Penman in Getting Back to America’s Roots, since these seeds evolved before the age of industrial agriculture, they often grow better under eco-friendly practices.
Did you get that? They’re naturally hardy and disease resistant without chemicals! Wahoo!
Jere Gettle, owner of Baker Creed Heirloom Seeds, sends out two million heirloom seed packets a year and says that number is rising at about thirty percent annually. Who knew? Added bonus: You can buy enough seeds to grow a crop for three years for less than ten dollars. Plus, you won’t have to reorder if you save your seeds. (P.S. You have to click on the Baker Creed link…it’s so cool. And you’ll see vegetables that look surreal!)
So now you know. Choosing pasty, yucky tomatoes or full-bodied delicious ones right out of Thomas Jefferson’s garden is now a matter of choice…and a little sweat o’ the brow!
Want to know more?
What about you? Did you already know about heirloom seeds/gardening? Am I just a late bloomer in this arena? Do you ever worry about the gases they use to “ripen” our fruits and vegetables? What about hybrids and genetic modification…scary or not scary? I’ll say this, I’ve learned that none of us are getting out of this world alive. Therefore, our quality of life while we’re here should be pretty important. Upping the quality of the food we eat may be part of seeking that higher ground.
I truly hope you’ll pick up a copy of my novel Silki, the Girl of Many Scarves: SUMMER OF THE ANCIENT. It’s available at your nearest bookstore, on my website, B&N.com and Amazon. For your convenience, it’s also available for Kindle, the Nook and most other eBook readers.
If you love the Southwest and kooky little characters that make you laugh aloud as authentic danger and mystery swirl at every turn, you’ll love this novel! The second book in the series, CANYON OF DOOM, debuts in 2013.
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