Posted on 03 May 2009 by tomatocasual.com
By Vanessa Richins
I was puzzled by an article I came across from Scientific American called, “How to Grow a Better Tomato: The Case against Heirloom Tomatoes”.
The article asserts that because of breeding over time, “Heirlooms are the tomato equivalent of the pug—that “purebred” dog with the convoluted nose that snorts and hacks when it tries to catch a breath,” and calls them “feeble and inbred.”
It claims that over time, humans have bred out disease resistance in the quest for bigger and better tasting heirloom tomatoes. They also assert that the flavor comes because heirlooms sometimes only produce 2 tomatoes, which naturally means that those two will have more flavor and size than a hybrid producing many fruits.
While there may be Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on 19 April 2009 by tomatocasual.com
By Michael Nolan
I thought about titling this post “Where in the heck is Michael Nolan” until I realized that some of you probably forgot who I was it’s been so long!
Okay, I know it has been a long time since I dared show my face around here but I had good reason, and that good reason is what partially led me to my return to Tomato Casual as well.
Last week I finally relocated to the outskirts of Atlanta, Georgia into a fantastic neighborhood called Riverside.
This is very much a neighborhood on the mend (and you know how I like a hands on project), so I am happy to be here and to be surrounded by people who have even showed an interest in possibly starting our own community garden!
But I digress (and I’ll talk more about that stuff over on Urban Garden Casual in the coming weeks anyway). What I really wanted to talk about is my new tomato plants for 2009.
As I mentioned before I just moved which means that I didn’t have time to start seedlings for the heirloom tomato varieties I really wanted to grow this year, so Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on 01 April 2009 by tomatocasual.com
By Vanessa Richins
When you see tomatoes in the store, they are usually red and round.
When you really start to explore the world of all things tomato, however, you will come to realize it’s a complex subject.
For example, did you know that tomatoes can be:
-White
-Yellow
-Gold
-Pink
-Red Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on 06 March 2009 by tomatocasual.com
By Michelle Fabio
According to Gary Ibsen of TomatoFest, black tomatoes are again some of the most popular heirloom tomatoes for 2009.
Of the Top 10 most popular heirloom tomatoes, four are black–which aren’t actually black but various dark colors from deep purple to mahogany.
Black heirloom tomatoes have been gaining in popularity for the last six years and saw their best year in 2008.
Originally from the southern Ukraine, they can now be found all over the world and are especially desired among tomato growers in the United States.
Sweeter bi-colored tomatoes and various colored cherry Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on 24 February 2009 by tomatocasual.com
By Vanessa Richins
Keith Amelung, a landscaper by profession, started a heirloom tomato business after a hobby turned out to be profitable.
As the Boerne Star reports, “I wanted to go on a trip to Hawaii,” he said, “and I needed $1,000.
So I thought I’d do something organic, eclectic, at the Cibolo Nature Center (Mostly Native Plant) sale.
I planted 1,000 heirloom tomato seeds and sold the plants for Read the rest of this entry »
Posted on 21 January 2009 by tomatocasual.com
By Vanessa Richins
As anyone who visits Tomato Casual on a regular basis knows, we are very fond of the heirloom tomatoes.
These old-time beauties bring amazing colors and tastes that you simply won’t find in hybrid tomatoes.
Planting them also helps preserve tomato variety diversity and heritage.
However, one of the problems inherent in heirloom tomatoes is that they can be very susceptible to tomato diseases such as Verticillium wilt and tobacco mosaic virus. This is one of the main reasons that people choose to grow hybrid tomatoes.
However, did you know you can have the best of both worlds? All you have to do is graft your tomatoes. Use a hybrid rootstock to give heirloom tomatoes disease resistance.
A recent study confirmed that Read the rest of this entry »
