Just for fun - Page 2

dice · November 8, 2011

One good tomato. I do not even know what cultivar it was, only how
much better it tasted than what I expected a tomato to taste like.

lakelady · November 8, 2011

Ever since I could remember, I was always fascinated by watching a seed produce a plant. I saved seeds from apples and oranges at home and tried to grow trees on cottonballs. My dad always grew tomatoes but I wasn't allowed in the garden, it was "man space" lol. In fact, on dad's side, NONE of the women got their hands dirty in the garden. My paternal grandmother once told me to never let a man know I could do those things (show's you what a difference a few generations makes)...then my maternal grandmother came from Italy and lived with us. She had plants all over the place. We'd go someplace and she would make me go for a walk with her to look for cardoons, dandelions and wild mushrooms. I was afraid to eat the mushrooms

. She had always grown up and lived on farms, and living in suburbia wasn't so much fun for her. I didn't have my own vegetable garden until I got married, even though I grew flowers from seeds, and even sold seeds door to door once to raise money for a puppy I wanted

.

Our tomatoes were always red. It wasn't until 2 years ago when I saw and tasted what I was told were heirlooms, that I became interested in those. Now I'm on a quest to try as many as I can until I find the ones that grow well for me, in my area. Since I've never paid attention to what was a hybrid or heirloom, I have always saved seeds. I've grown San Marzano and Pineapple for years and years and had no idea they were heirlooms. They just grew well for me, so I repeated them. Other seeds, didn't always get good crops, but I saved them anyway.

This year I went on a mission so I've become obsessed with finding the right ones for me and probably need to stop collecting seeds because it will take me 2 years at this rate to get these all planted

. I'd like to be able to share more than just the two heirlooms I've always grown, so next year I can pass more around to others and help keep older varieties going.

ginger2778 · November 8, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by ddsack

I
Can't remember when I received my first Tomato Grower's Supply catalog, but that was what had me hooked, and I was in tomato heaven just paging though it!

That's exactly what hooked me too!

sirtanon · November 8, 2011

I was 12, give or take. My parents and I lived in a two-story house in Naperville, IL, surrounded by trees and green grass. It was very much the typical midwestern backyard living space - but without the veggie garden. I don't remember what the store name was, but my mom and I were out shopping and I saw a seed rack with a few tomato varieties on it. Since we had been learning about seeds in school, I was naturally interested and asked my mom to get me a few.

They were simple enough: Beefsteak and cherry. I don't think you could get more basic or simple when it comes to tomato varieties. I remember planting seeds out in the backyard garden in a couple spots that she said I could use. There was no peat and perlite mix, no potting-up, just direct-sown seeds in the Illinois dirt.

I got such a great thrill from picking my own tomatoes for the first time. Never mind that I wasn't really all that much in to actually EATING them. I loved the cherries and my mom and I would share the beefsteaks, but it was more about the fact that I was getting these miracles of nature from my own backyard as a result of my own work.

Flash forward about 15 years. Sure, I had grown a few tomatoes here and there, but never really got back into it until I was living in Phoenix, in an apartment. I tried growing a few plants on the balcony without much luck. Then, I ended up moving in with my parents for about a year and transplanted my one remaining plant in their backyard. This plant ended up growing into a giant monstrosity of a hedge. I have to say I have been hooked ever since.

Was it the fact that I'd grown these in my parents' backyards and so growing more reminds me of 'home'? Maybe.. Could it be that by growing my own tomatoes, I can save lots of money as well as enjoy maters that are better tasting than anything at any store? Maybe it's just the connection I feel with nature when I plant the seed, and brush the leaves, and pick the fruit.. I don't know. But I do know that I'm hooked. I'd have to say I've collected more varieties of tomato seed than I ever expected I would.. and yet I KEEP collecting more.

Sun City Linda · November 8, 2011

What??? Doesnt everybody have several hundred types of tomato seed?

LInda

OtterJon · November 8, 2011

I'd have to say that some of my fondest childhood memories was in my grandfather's garden in general. I remember him using re-bar poles for the beans and tomatoes, and following him around asking questions and being a pest...he didn't seem to mind so much.

But what has hooked me on heirlooms themselves...the passed on history that lies within each seed. I get a kick out of growing something that the big seed companies rather wished you not grow. (Let those pesky old type of tomatoes die out) Varieties that were passed down through families and friends, even from the folds in immigrants socks to keep them tied to their homelands, and guess what? They are still here today for us to respect, care for, and pass on.. Though loved ones might be gone... My grandfather might not have given me any heirloom seed, or any such poetic gesture such as that, but in his way, he planted a seed that still grows.

Oh yeah...and I'm also a varietyaholic. Not so much seedaholic,

as I use very few seeds really. Only need a couple each year of each kind, but love me a bunch of different kinds, so it winds up being quite a few seeds. I suppose the first step is accepting, but I'm still in denial...

Alpinejs · November 9, 2011

My childhood memories of gardening were not "fond". My dad's hobby was
raising and breeding gladiolas and he had them by the hundreds all with stake
labels and every fall, they all had to be bagged up and stored with those
labels and, of course weeding, cultivating, watering, etc. The ball field was
two lots away and all the neighbor kids would be playing baseball but I
was stuck doing my dad's hobby. Finally, a 4 yr. old neighbor boy ran through
his garden and pulled up every stake (just for something to do and not to
be mean). That ended the hobby and I loved that little kid. I was 40 yrs. old
before the tropical gardening fever got me followed by a lethal dose of
tomatitis.

PS Love your stories.

November 8, 2011	#16
dice Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: PNW Posts: 4,743	One good tomato. I do not even know what cultivar it was, only how much better it tasted than what I expected a tomato to taste like. __________________ -- alias

November 8, 2011	#17
lakelady Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: northern NJ zone 6b Posts: 1,862	Ever since I could remember, I was always fascinated by watching a seed produce a plant. I saved seeds from apples and oranges at home and tried to grow trees on cottonballs. My dad always grew tomatoes but I wasn't allowed in the garden, it was "man space" lol. In fact, on dad's side, NONE of the women got their hands dirty in the garden. My paternal grandmother once told me to never let a man know I could do those things (show's you what a difference a few generations makes)...then my maternal grandmother came from Italy and lived with us. She had plants all over the place. We'd go someplace and she would make me go for a walk with her to look for cardoons, dandelions and wild mushrooms. I was afraid to eat the mushrooms . She had always grown up and lived on farms, and living in suburbia wasn't so much fun for her. I didn't have my own vegetable garden until I got married, even though I grew flowers from seeds, and even sold seeds door to door once to raise money for a puppy I wanted . Our tomatoes were always red. It wasn't until 2 years ago when I saw and tasted what I was told were heirlooms, that I became interested in those. Now I'm on a quest to try as many as I can until I find the ones that grow well for me, in my area. Since I've never paid attention to what was a hybrid or heirloom, I have always saved seeds. I've grown San Marzano and Pineapple for years and years and had no idea they were heirlooms. They just grew well for me, so I repeated them. Other seeds, didn't always get good crops, but I saved them anyway. This year I went on a mission so I've become obsessed with finding the right ones for me and probably need to stop collecting seeds because it will take me 2 years at this rate to get these all planted . I'd like to be able to share more than just the two heirlooms I've always grown, so next year I can pass more around to others and help keep older varieties going. __________________ Antoniette

November 8, 2011	#19
sirtanon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Phoenix, AZ (zone 9b) Posts: 796	I was 12, give or take. My parents and I lived in a two-story house in Naperville, IL, surrounded by trees and green grass. It was very much the typical midwestern backyard living space - but without the veggie garden. I don't remember what the store name was, but my mom and I were out shopping and I saw a seed rack with a few tomato varieties on it. Since we had been learning about seeds in school, I was naturally interested and asked my mom to get me a few. They were simple enough: Beefsteak and cherry. I don't think you could get more basic or simple when it comes to tomato varieties. I remember planting seeds out in the backyard garden in a couple spots that she said I could use. There was no peat and perlite mix, no potting-up, just direct-sown seeds in the Illinois dirt. I got such a great thrill from picking my own tomatoes for the first time. Never mind that I wasn't really all that much in to actually EATING them. I loved the cherries and my mom and I would share the beefsteaks, but it was more about the fact that I was getting these miracles of nature from my own backyard as a result of my own work. Flash forward about 15 years. Sure, I had grown a few tomatoes here and there, but never really got back into it until I was living in Phoenix, in an apartment. I tried growing a few plants on the balcony without much luck. Then, I ended up moving in with my parents for about a year and transplanted my one remaining plant in their backyard. This plant ended up growing into a giant monstrosity of a hedge. I have to say I have been hooked ever since. Was it the fact that I'd grown these in my parents' backyards and so growing more reminds me of 'home'? Maybe.. Could it be that by growing my own tomatoes, I can save lots of money as well as enjoy maters that are better tasting than anything at any store? Maybe it's just the connection I feel with nature when I plant the seed, and brush the leaves, and pick the fruit.. I don't know. But I do know that I'm hooked. I'd have to say I've collected more varieties of tomato seed than I ever expected I would.. and yet I KEEP collecting more. __________________ I could sail by on the winds of silence, and maybe they won't notice... but this time I think it would be better if I swim..

November 8, 2011	#20
Sun City Linda Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: SoCal Inland Posts: 2,705	What??? Doesnt everybody have several hundred types of tomato seed? LInda

November 8, 2011	#21
OtterJon Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Michigan Posts: 218	I'd have to say that some of my fondest childhood memories was in my grandfather's garden in general. I remember him using re-bar poles for the beans and tomatoes, and following him around asking questions and being a pest...he didn't seem to mind so much. But what has hooked me on heirlooms themselves...the passed on history that lies within each seed. I get a kick out of growing something that the big seed companies rather wished you not grow. (Let those pesky old type of tomatoes die out) Varieties that were passed down through families and friends, even from the folds in immigrants socks to keep them tied to their homelands, and guess what? They are still here today for us to respect, care for, and pass on.. Though loved ones might be gone... My grandfather might not have given me any heirloom seed, or any such poetic gesture such as that, but in his way, he planted a seed that still grows. Oh yeah...and I'm also a varietyaholic. Not so much seedaholic, as I use very few seeds really. Only need a couple each year of each kind, but love me a bunch of different kinds, so it winds up being quite a few seeds. I suppose the first step is accepting, but I'm still in denial...

November 9, 2011	#22
Alpinejs Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Alpine, Calif. in winter. Sandpoint Lake, Ont. Canada summers Posts: 850	My childhood memories of gardening were not "fond". My dad's hobby was raising and breeding gladiolas and he had them by the hundreds all with stake labels and every fall, they all had to be bagged up and stored with those labels and, of course weeding, cultivating, watering, etc. The ball field was two lots away and all the neighbor kids would be playing baseball but I was stuck doing my dad's hobby. Finally, a 4 yr. old neighbor boy ran through his garden and pulled up every stake (just for something to do and not to be mean). That ended the hobby and I loved that little kid. I was 40 yrs. old before the tropical gardening fever got me followed by a lethal dose of tomatitis. PS Love your stories.