1880's Boston area variety - do you know any?

[cleo88]

Hi,
I read the post below about the "Boston Market" tomato, but I'm wondering what might be the names of some other tomatoes that wouldn't be grown for market, per se.

I'm doing a piece of creative writing partly set on a Boston area farm in 1889, and I'd love to know the names of some likely varieties that would have been used. This farm, which really existed, was producing for the school associated with it, so produce would not have to be transported or packed - would probably have been eaten very soon after it was picked.

Of course, being a tomatophile, I have to make the groundskeeper there a tomatophile too.


I could make up names of the varieties, but I'm trying to "keep it real", historical fiction style.

[nctomatoman]

cleo88, any commercial variety listed in catalogs from that time are very likely - there were quite a few tomato varieties available in that time frame.

Check out some of my catalog scans -

http://nctomatoman.topcities.com/SeedCatalogScans.htm

[carolyn137]

In 1863, Fearing Burr wrote The Field and Garden Vegetables of America. I'd been hoping to find a cheap copy somewhere, and just found out that the text is available, free, online, at:


http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21682

I copped the above from a post elsewhere.


Cleo, either read the above or get thee to a library and take out the book or buy it if you wish.

He was a large scale grower in the Boston area and his book is terrific and right now I can't find my copy b'c it's somewhere. Everything has to be somewhere.

The tomato section is large and anything extant in 1863 would still be around in 1890.

At that time period there were lots and lots of varieties grown in the East and midwest and with Burr's book and looking at Craig's old catalog scans you shouldn't have any problem at all in coming up with the names of tomato varieties grown in the Boston area around 1890. You could even go back to Trophy from 1860 and then there were all the Livingston varieties as well, and many many more.

All you really need to know is that a variety was around before 1890.

I've done two historic Shaker gardens for the Shaker Historical Society near the Albany airport where Mother Ann Lee founded her first large community. And it was great fun doing the research.

If you know where this farm was , and you seem to know a bit about it, why not contact the Town or Village Historian for help in knowing more about it.

[cleo88]

Thanks for your help!

Carolyn, the farm was actually on an island in Boston Harbor, so there was no town, the only thing on the island was this school. The main building burned down in 1973, unfortunately, so most records were lost. But I like the idea of just choosing some variety where the name appeals to me, as long as it would be historically accurate.

Originally Posted by carolyn137

In 1863, Fearing Burr wrote The Field and Garden Vegetables of America. I'd been hoping to find a cheap copy somewhere, and just found out that the text is available, free, online, at:


http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/21682

I copped the above from a post elsewhere.


Cleo, either read the above or get thee to a library and take out the book or buy it if you wish.

He was a large scale grower in the Boston area and his book is terrific and right now I can't find my copy b'c it's somewhere. Everything has to be somewhere.

The tomato section is large and anything extant in 1863 would still be around in 1890.

At that time period there were lots and lots of varieties grown in the East and midwest and with Burr's book and looking at Craig's old catalog scans you shouldn't have any problem at all in coming up with the names of tomato varieties grown in the Boston area around 1890. You could even go back to Trophy from 1860 and then there were all the Livingston varieties as well, and many many more.

All you really need to know is that a variety was around before 1890.

I've done two historic Shaker gardens for the Shaker Historical Society near the Albany airport where Mother Ann Lee founded her first large community. And it was great fun doing the research.

If you know where this farm was , and you seem to know a bit about it, why not contact the Town or Village Historian for help in knowing more about it.