Heirloom tomatoes in Puerto Rico!

[spyfferoni]

I carefully wrapped some of my tomatoes and sent them in a box in my Dh's suitcase. They made it to P.R. in great condition. My mother-in-law is pretty impressed and my husband was apparently bragging about those being only a few of the varieties I have planted. My in-laws had never seen tomatoes like many of the ones I sent. I included:
Rio Grande
Aker's Pink Plum
Pink Ping Pong
Galinas
Rose Quartz Mulitflora
Kimberly
Cambell's 1327
Azoychka
Kellogg's Breakfast

It feels good to share my passion with family that is sooo far away. I also included some striped and golden Zucchini. I don't know if they'll even know what to do with it.

Kellogg's Breakfast was the biggest hit I'm told. It was a pretty huge fruit that I sent.

Tyffanie

[OmahaJB]

Tyffanie,

That would be a treat for them for sure. I lived on the island for 17 months back in '99 & '00, and didn't know anyone who grew heirloom tomatoes. I'm not saying there isn't or couldn't be, but there definitely was not an heirloom craze going around down there.

Now mango, banana, orchid, cactus and other such stuff, certainly! I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. Just recalling all the old plants I wasn't use to seeing, being from Ohio. My friends in-laws had over $20,000 worth of orchids growing on their property. Not purchased, just what his mother-in-law had grown from "babies" from her other orchids. What a sight I saw when I first went there on vacation. Unfortunately, Hurricane Georges wiped out about 80-90% of all her plants a month after my vacation in '98.

Since getting interested in heirlooms I've wondered if tomatoes would grow ok on the island. I imagine they'd either need to be planted in containers or up in the mountains in places like Lares where coffee is grown.

Ahhhh, Puerto Rico....you've brought up some wonderful memories Tyffanie. I love that island.

Jeff

[spyfferoni]

We visited the Christmas after George, and they had to import bananas from other places because George destroyed so much. We couldn't find Guaynabana helado(ice cream) anywhere either---which was one of my favorites. My mother-in-law had a lemon tree that had parcha (passion fruit) growing through it and would make passion fruit lemonade that was soooo good. The lemons were round like key limes and were sooo tasty---but the tree was totally destroyed too. I did meet one man over at gardenweb who grows some heirlooms in Puerto Rico, I think tomatobob was his name. He says he can't get them to grow in the summer because the nights don't cool off and its too hot, but they do pretty good during the winter. Tomatoes that I've seen in the stores there are orange round hard balls with very little flavor, and occasionally you can get grape tomatoes now. I bet insects are more of a challenge there---since it never gets cold.

Tyffanie

[mdvpc]

Tyf-My good friends here in El Paso are from PR. They had eggplant the first time at our house-Rosita, which is a PR heirloom. They had never heard of it.

[OmahaJB]

Besides the heat of summer I'd think they probably have to avoid late December through early January because the nights can be extremely bone-chilling. I worked as a security guard outside at night and let me tell you what - I FROZE MY BUTT OFF! I'd wear a T-shirt, my security shirt, 2 sweatshirts, and a fall jacket, and it was not enough. The wind blew the cold ocean air right over the island. I'd think tomatoes would at least have to be protected at that time of the year. And I'd think pests would be a problem as well.

Jeff

[spyfferoni]

Michael,
My husband says there is a really good Puerto Rican restaurant in El Paso. He was there with work a few years ago. Do your friends ever cook for you? It is funny that most Puerto Ricans aren't familiar with many vegetables. I remember some friends gasping when I was eating bell pepper raw. They aren't fond of celery either. It is such a pain to get my husband to eat many vegetables. He likes just a simple lettuce and tomato salad, or coleslaw and that is about it.

Jeff,
I have to say that the nights don't bother me at all. The only time I was ever cold was up in the mountains at Lake Guacataca (I'm probably spelling it wrong). I only took a sheet to cover myself and it wasn't enough. Peppers grow well there. My mother-in-law had some aji dulce plants that grew to be around 4-5 feet tall. They lasted 2-3 years before succumbing to disease. Most places on the island never drop below 60 degrees, it may feel a little cooler though because of the humidity. I lived there for 2 years. I'll have to call my husband tonight and see if anyone has eaten the tomatoes yet.

Tyffanie

[Rena]

I am so happy the arrived safely!!! It is wonderful you could share your babies with them.

[OmahaJB]

Tyffanie,

Oh, indoors the cool temps aren't a problem, but down by the ocean on the north coast where I lived and worked (Hatillo/Arecibo), it was quite cold outside at night. Brrrr.

You mentioned peppers. Now that I know how much some of the Caribbean islands use hot peppers, it is surprising Puerto Ricans don't use more than they do.
There is a small building off the old highway that runs along the north coast, close to San Juan, that sells almost exclusively hot pepper products. I was there once with my friend but didn't buy any peppers. Sometimes I wonder what kind of unique hot pepper seeds I could have obtained from them. An opportunity lost.

Jeff

[spyfferoni]

Yeah, somehow most Puerto Ricans don't like the heat. It is interesting that Cuba and The Dominican Republic also use very little heat in their food as well. There is a kind of vinegar based hot sauce that some like to add to soups, but it is mostly just to add a little bit of heat. My mother-in-law doesn't even use black pepper. I've been outdoors at night in Puerto Rico and would use a long sleeve shirt if it was windy, but I never felt the kind of cold that you mention. Of course last January when we left Utah it was 6 degrees, so when we went out one night to see the bio luminescent bay and the locals were complaining about how cold it was I just had to smile. My mother-in-law had her sweater on and was freezing, I was just enjoying the "warm" weather. Arecibo I guess would be a bit cooler since the ocean is cooler there.

Tyff