Tomatoes-Guest Post

My Mother In Law asked me last night when I was planning to put up a new blog post as it has been almost a month since my last.  We have been a little busy with things that I haven't had time to blog about like: a trip to cattle camp, a trip to a national cattle show, wheat harvest, putting up hay and so much more.  Packing for a vacation or camp is hard, but when you are packing cattle and kids it takes on a whole new realm.  The kids and cattle have traveled almost 650 miles together this summer!  I have a few more days of wheat harvest and I promise to finish up a pile of posts that are partially done along with the ones bouncing around in my head.  In the meantime, how about another from my somewhat regular guest contributor Dale Helwig?  My tomatoes are getting close!  

Things you may not know about tomatoes

Tomatoes are a very popular garden crop. I hesitate to say vegetable because technically tomatoes are a fruit. The debate of whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable has been going on for a very long  time. That debate has even been brought before the United States Supreme Court. You would think the highest court in the land would have better things to do than argue over if tomatoes are a fruit or a vegetable. But when money is involved, people will argue about anything. That is exactly what happened in 1893. The U.S. had imposed a tariff tax on vegetables but not on fruits. In the case of Nix v. Hedden, the Supreme Court ruled that tomatoes were a vegetable based on their use. Tomatoes are not typically served as a dessert.

However, the courts did not change the botanical classification of the tomato. I saw on the internet what the difference is between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit and wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

The tomato originated in South America. European explorers discovered them in the 1500's and took them back to Europe where the French dubbed them the “love apple.” Nothing says I love you like a big juicy tomato. Who needs roses when you have tomatoes? By the way men, they are a lot cheaper, have no thorns, and are edible. This would not be a waste of money.

By the 1600's they got over that and the Spanish called them “tomate” where we get our modern
form of tomato.

Today ninety-three percent of American gardens have tomatoes in them. The U.S. Department of Agriculture claims Americans consume 22-24 pounds of tomatoes per person each year. Most of that is in the form of ketchup and tomato sauce. California is the largest producer of processed tomatoes in the United States, while Florida produces the greatest amount of fresh tomatoes. However, the largest tomato on record was grown by Gordon Graham in Edmond, Oklahoma. It weighed a whopping 7 pounds 12 ounces. Amazingly, the United States in not the greatest producer of tomatoes. China is number one followed by the United States, Turkey and India.

The importance of the tomato does not stop there. Besides being the best companion to a slice of bacon (in my opinion), the tomato is very important to other states in the union as well.  The tomato is the official fruit and vegetable of Arkansas. Apparently the debate was settled there. They just classify it as both a fruit and a vegetable. Maybe the tomato is bi-polar. In other news, the state of Ohio has made tomato juice the official beverage. That is one form of the tomato I can not tolerate. The Buckeye State may have just lost a supporter. I love tomatoes but they are made to be eaten not drunk. (again my opinion)

So what about those people that do not like tomatoes in any form? They refuse to grow them, eat or drink them. Well they are in luck. They can move to Bunol, Spain. The last Wednesday in August they hold the La Tomatina Festival. Tens of thousands of visitors will participate in the largest tomato fight known to man. Some 150,000 tomatoes will be thrown at each other in this celebration. Talk about your ultimate food fight!

Whatever your opinion is about tomatoes, it is the time of year to start putting them in your garden, well at least for 93% of you. Stay tuned for next time as we dive into the world of the tomato plant. Till then, as life continues, keep looking between the barb wire.

Dale Helwig
Cherokee County Ag Agent

You might enjoy these recipes for tomatoes:

Cherry Tomato Salad
California Fish Tacos
Italian Roast Beef Panini with Garlic Aioli

Plant Exchange Selections

Things have been a little busy with the end of the school year and Spring finally arriving since our annual plant exchange and my aunt from Texas gently reminded me that I had not posted pictures from the exchange.  So here is the plant exchange and what the boys and I picked out.  I wanted to let you see the tables before the swapping began.  If you have not read about our annual area plant exchange, check out the post on how it works here.

This year the tree and shrub selections were pretty limited.

The bulbs were small in number this year, too.  Last year it would have taken 5 tables for the iris alone!

The herbs were popular, but be careful with them as most are incredibly invasive!

A few house plants made their way to the exchange as well as some water grass for a water garden.  Yes, my boys brought home that lovely banana tree.  They were so proud of themselves!  It just cost me a new pot and a bag of potting soil on the way home.  LOL

Even though we tell everyone not to buy things to swap, we always have someone who does, but that was OK because my boys were thrilled with the selections from this table.

The ground covers and sedums had a really great selection this year.  Sedums are a favorite of mine because I can forget to water them and they don't die immediately.  :)

We had a wide variety of sun loving plants this year.

You can't see all the shade loving plants, but there really was a great selection!

Vickie always has a beautiful table set up.  It think she and I made less than half of the refreshments.  Others were brought by those that didn't want to come empty handed and didn't have plants to exchange.  We let them take plants home in exchange for some yummy treats.

The tables were totally cleaned off at the end.  Every plant found a happy new home.

The boys took a truck load of plants, which you can see here.  Here is what I ended up with to bring home with us:

Boltonia

Obedient Plant

Helebore, shade loving

Ground cover sedum, sun

Mystery plant, even the lady that brought it didn't know what it was.

Coreopsis, sun It is already blooming as I finish this post.

Money plant.  I remember my grandmother having a money plant when I was a kid and I loved it.

Pink Hyacinth

The boys thought they needed water grass, but the water garden did not get built...yet.

I loved my grandmother's hollyhocks as a kid.  She had a huge patch and I would use them as my secret fort.

Pampas grass, sun

Another sun loving ground cover sedum

Multiplier onions  The bulbs break apart much like a garlic clove.  You can pick them as green onions or pick them and dry them for your onion seed next year.

Mint, my boys love mint, but it can be incredibly invasive.

Iris Cristata

Dragon's blood sedum  Vickie took us on a tour of her gardens after the exchange.  I was lucky to talk her out of a start of this sedum (I love it!).  She also delivered a few asters and candy tuft to my front a gate a couple of weeks after the swap.

Most of the plants are doing really well, since it has been raining for the last month.  The boys help me water them when they need it and get excited when they start to bloom. 

-A Kansas Farm Mom

Plant Swap Goodies

Today is the annual plant exchange that I co-host with my good friend Vickie.  If you missed the details of how the exchange works, check out this post.  I thought you might like to see what my little man and I dug up this morning to take to the exchange.  Notice the great care that we took to pot the plants...not.  I am taking extras for a couple of friends that wanted to come, but don't have anything to trade.  We have a deal that they will help with refreshments, if I bring plants to cover for them.  This works great because, I have been busy with the boys and haven't had a lot of free time to spend in the kitchen.

The Truck is all loaded.

Ajuga is a great shade ground cover.

Apple Mint is great for someplace that nothing else will grow and will hold soil.  Very invasive!!!

A very old bulb species.  The flower was much prettier before my faithful assistant got it muddy.

Live Forever is a bushy sedum that takes very little care.

Lilly of the Valley works great in the shade and in the right conditions will spread out.

I wish the Grape Hyacinth were still blooming.  My kids love this little ground cover like bulb.

Garlic I got from a plant exchange a few years ago.  Invasive and spreads well.

Orange bearded iris my aunt gave me a few years back.

Surprise Lilly bulbs from my husband's grandmother's yard.

Variegated Solomon's Seal that Vickie gave me several years ago.  Grows great in shade and spreads easily.

Vilolets

Vinca Minor can be invasive

Variegated Vinca Major can be very invasive.

My mother in law brought hers over, so I could take them for her

Wild daisies that grow well in the area.

Sedum ground cover.

I will try to take pictures of what I bring home, but don't expect me to remember the names of everything.  :)

-A Kansas Farm Mom