IT’S ALMOST TIME TO PLANT THIS YEAR’S TOMATOES
Once considered dangerous and evil, the world now embraces the juicy fruit
The present-day popularity of tomatoes is quite a success story because, according to the U.S. National Garden Bureau, tomatoes suffered from bad PR for 300 years.
Native to the Andean Mountains of South America, an area that, today, overlaps Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Chile, tomatoes may have been eaten by the local Indigenous peoples, but no archeological evidence indicates they were cultivated. It seems, however, that animals enjoyed these native fruits because historians speculate that they helped spread the seed some 3,000 kilometres northward to Central America.
The Aztecs were the first to eat, cultivate and name the tomato “tomatl” or “xtomatl.” The correct botanical name for the tomato is Lycopersicon esculentum, which translates literally as “edible wolf peach.”
In 1520, Hernan Cortes, the Spanish explorer and conquistador, saw some tomatoes in an early rudimentary market and brought the seeds home to Spain. From Spain, they travelled to Naples, which was under Spanish rule at the time.
Apparently, this is where the tomato got its bad reputation. Early herbologists thought the plant was related to the solanacaea family and was, therefore, as dangerous as deadly nightshade. A caption from an early description of the tomato states that “this new plant is more pleasant to the sight than either to the taste or
smell, because the fruit being eaten provoketh loathing and vomiting.”
The tomato crossed back over the ocean, carried by early colonists. Puritans believed that tomatoes were too sensuous looking and must be evil.
It wasn’t until 1820 that the much-maligned tomato finally got a break. World traveller Col. Robert Gibbon Johnson, collected tomato seeds from around the world and encouraged American farmers to grow them.
To dispel the rumours about tomatoes being poisonous, Johnson announced that he would eat a whole basketful of tomatoes on the courthouse steps in Salem, N.J.
Johnson’s personal physician claimed he would, “foam and froth at the mouth ... double over with appendicitis ... and expose himself to brain fever.”
Johnson survived, to the amazement of all bystanders, and the tomato was given a fresh start. By 1835 they had become part of the American diet. Tomatoes were used primarily in preserves and pickles and in ketchups. Cookbooks still warned that they should be cooked for at least three hours to lose their raw taste.
My, how things have changed! We now grow hundreds of varieties of all types. A vine-ripened tomato is a real taste treat, and a medium-sized one has just 22 calories. Only lettuce, celery and radishes have fewer calories than tomatoes. The vitamin C content of tomatoes is low, compared with citrus fruits, but they are a rich source of potassium and vitamin A and have a high concentration of lycopene.
Many folks are confused by the terms “determinate” and “indeterminate” when applied to tomatoes.
“Determinate” means the blooms and fruit develop within a relatively short time of one to two weeks, then there’s a comparatively short harvest period, after which the plants simply stop producing. The bonus, however, is you’ll get lots of fruit on shorter, more compact plants. “Indeterminate” varieties produce blooms and fruit over a far longer period, and if you have a heated greenhouse, you can keep them going for months.
Verticillium wilt, fusarium wilt and tobacco mosaic virus are the three most common disease problems. It’s important to look for varieties that have “V.F.” or “T.M.V.” behind their name because these letters indicate resistance to these diseases.
“Heirlooms” do not have the same disease resistance as the newer traditionally bred varieties. They need an early start indoors, and they need protection from both early and late blight.
Soon, it will be time to plant this year’s tomatoes. I try to select varieties with great flavour, disease resistance and early to mid-season maturity.