Botanical purists have been insisting for centuries that the tomato is a fruit.
By definition, they insist, any ripened flower ovary containing seeds is a fruit; therefore the tomato fits the category, as do zucchini, eggplant and sweet peppers, and anybody who disagrees is an uneducated rustic. Those rustics argue that the rule-obsessed specialists are a pain in the posterior who would consider ketchup a dessert and should never be allowed near a kitchen.
As a prudent columnist strives for accuracy, I consulted Britannica online. After an extensive examination of the facts they helpfully concluded that both opinions are correct! Forced to choose between science and tradition I have opted to side with my revered Scots granny, who never baked me any eggplant/zucchini cookies with jalapeno icing.
Tomatoes are the most popular vegetable grown in our gardens because they’re easy to grow, versatile to use and taste delicious. There are many varieties of these “love apples” to choose from, from tiny cherry tomatoes to big beefsteak, and I must admit that I love them all, though I prefer Romas for making sauces because they contain less water so I grow some every year.
My garden has not been infected with the late blight afflicting our neighbours on the south of the Malahat. The blight occurs when a fungus sticks to wet leaves and kills tomato plants, but I don’t have to nag David to erect a shelter to keep off late rains. My soaker hose watering system helps as well because only the roots get watered, leaving the leaves and stems dry all summer.
Compost tea, with its enzymes and beneficial bacteria, also keeps diseases like the blight at bay, and the rich fertilizer with trace minerals we add to the soil helps produce robust plants.
I start most of mine from seed but must admit that I often try a few seedlings for sale just to try something different. I re-pot seedlings as needed and once they’re about eight inches tall (that’s 20 centimetres) I transplant them into the garden. I sometimes warm the bed up first by laying plastic over it for a few days for the sun to heat it up.
I prepare the bed itself by spreading a quarter inch (1/2 cm) of compost and organic fertilizer at the rate of four litres per hundred square feet. Then I lay a soaker hose down the bed and fill up as many Walls O’ Waters as I have tomatoes, giving them a day or so to warm up in the sun before covering the tomatoes. I carefully dig holes beside the hose and along the trellis we installed down the middle of the bed, dig in about a half cup (118 ml.) of fertilizer and pour in water from the hose to fill up each hole. I plant each seedling into each hole, usually laying them sideways, and place a Wall O’ Waters over each seedling. Once night temperatures are over 10 C I remove the Wall O’ Waters and use them for my pepper plants.
However one defines it the fresh tomato is one of the most delicious ways to convince a grandchild that growing their own fresh food is worth the effort.
Please contact mary_lowther@yahoo.ca with questions and suggestions since I need all the help I can get.
