Monday, May 20, 2019

Garden to Table: America's Favorite, The Tomato



There’s no fruit more popular in the homeowner’s garden than the tomato. That’s right, folks, it’s a fruit! By botanical standards, it’s a seed-bearing ripened ovary of a flower. It took the Supreme Court in 1887 to classify the tomato as a “vegetable,” so it could capitalize on imposing a 10% vegetable import tariff into New York, which did not apply to fruits.

Besides our love for the tomato, Italy adores this brightly colored fruit for their culinary creations that excite our taste buds. For history buffs, it didn’t start out that way. American colonists feared that eating a tomato was poisonous and would turn their blood to acid. The origin of the tomato is traced back to the Aztecs in South America around 700 AD; they considered the native plant to be an aphrodisiac. Europeans brought tomato seeds to their continent in the 16th century. While tomatoes were well-established in Mexico, the tomato didn’t come to the United States from the southern border. It was transported by European settlers back across the Atlantic. Now that’s taking the long way home!

Humble Beginnings

What made the tomato so popular? The Campbell’s Soup Company was the first to process a condensed tomato soup in 1897. By the turn of the century, they were able to can the soup and bring its tomato taste to homes across the country. However, many historians point to America’s Victory Garden initiatives in World Wars I & II that quickly established the tomato as the gardener’s choice in home grown freshness. It helped America in hard times from world war and depression. It brought our country together in a patriotic wave of solidarity and sacrifice to harvest foods for our troops and our hungry nation.
Many of us, including myself, didn’t know that the Federal Bureau of Education recruited children to be “soldiers of the soil” through its U.S. School Garden Army (USSGA). More than 5 million gardens were cultivated by 1918. By the end of World War II, there were more than 20 million gardens that produced almost half of our nation’s vegetable production for consumption. If our industry looks back over time to see where our love for the garden began, look no further than our grandparents and parents who lived with less and gave back so much more.

No Garden Plot, No Problem

Whether you have a garden in your yard or not, many techniques and products allow you to grow tomatoes from the comfort of your patio, deck or apartment loft. Novelty purchased EarthBox from its creators a few years back and continues to sell huge amounts of this patented container system to the public. These boxes were designed by farmers and lab tested to maximize deep rooting of plants, while providing a fool proof way to grow vegetables, herbs, and tomatoes, even indoors! A few years back, the Topsy Turvy tomato planter saw a wonderful uptick in selling a new concept for small-space gardening with varied results in growing a tomato plant upside-down. It proved to be just what the public wanted, another new product for tomatoes that claims great results. Here today, gone tomorrow, we now have Smart Pots in many sizes that can be used to grow tomatoes inverted.

The Secret Sauce for Success

Everyone looks to grow the best tasting, highest yielding, most disease-resistant tomato they possibly can. I’m convinced that’s why the public keeps coming back for more. From organics to fertilizers, tomatoes can benefit both from pampering and in some cases neglect (with good soil and conditions). While the soil holds much of the impending success for organic nutrients, the newer soil amendments like Coast of Maine Lobster Compost offers lots of calcium uptake to prevent blossom end rot, a common malady of the tomato plant. Neptune’s Harvest recently added a unique Tomato & Vegetable Formula (2-4-2) to their popular liquid organic fertilizers to add more explosive ingredients like seaweed, molassas, humic acid and yucca extract to its core ingredients of ocean fish and seaweed. No doubt, the most widely sold fertilizer comes from Espoma with their popular Tomato-tone (3-4-6) which is enhanced with 8% calcium and Bio-Tone to deter blossom end rot.

No matter what your variety preferences may be, be sure to stage NEW for 2019 tomato varieties with signs to bring maximum awareness to customers and point out your best tomato recommendations for your region. Bring your complimentary products close by: garden lime, fertilizers, organics, chemical controls, cages, stakes, support ties, etc., to raise sales interest in your store or greenhouse. Here’s to our current-day Victory Garden participants! May their “rain” create a fruitful and prosperous bounty!



This Month's Featured Products


SMART POTS BLACK BULK 25 GAL
No 81110059

Buy Now

SMART POTS BLACK BULK 1 GAL
No 81110042

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SMART POTS BLACK BULK 3 GAL
No 81110046

Buy Now

SMART POTS BLACK BULK 5 GAL
No 81110049

Buy Now

SMART POTS BLACK BULK 7 GAL
No 81110051

Buy Now

SMART POTS BLACK BULK 15 GAL
No 81110055

Buy Now

Castine Raised Bed Mix 2 CF
No 81600061

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Weep & Soak Black Soaker Hose .5"x25'
No 80560051

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Weep & Soak Black Soaker Hose .5"x50'
No 80560052

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Lightening Lime 30lb
No 80030137

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Tomato Tone 3-4-6 4lb
No 80030022

Buy Now

Tomato Tone 3-4-6 8lb
No 80030052

Buy Now

Tomato & Vegetable 3-in-1
No 80100132

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Revitalize Bio
No 80100912

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42" Red Tomato Cage
No 80160513

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42" Green Tomato Cage
No 80160514

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42" Yellow Tomato Cage
No 80160515

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42" Blue Tomato Cage
No 80160516

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