Comments on: Saving The Great American Tomato Crisis, One Bite At A Time

By: cynthia hoskins

cynthia hoskins — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 18:19:47 +0000

So new to this whole thing -picked prematurely and ethylene gas to make them red?! Yikes. No wonder they have never tasted like the ones from my childhood garden. I had already decided to grow tomatoes this year, but now I have such momentum!Thx for the illuminating facts.

By: Steve McNew

Steve McNew — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 19:58:54 +0000

Haven’t bought a tomato since long before the start of the present century – Gobble, dry, can, freeze, and wait, like we would all do better to do. Instant gratification is something we ought not be so grateful, I think… The plants started from suckers in the fall have presented fruits in March, so the wait isn’t all that long!

By: George

George — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 17:00:01 +0000

Thanks for your thoughts. I agree!

By: suzanne

suzanne — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 16:38:10 +0000

I don’t bother buying tomatoes at the grocery. Who wants Florida tomatoes when you can get them from the farmer’s market or grow your own? When they aren’t in season here, I simply do not buy them. I wait until I can get “real” tomatoes… the ones with flavor that haven’t been gassed to get the red color.

By: George

George — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 20:00:28 +0000

I thought you would never ask! Sweet Seedless in plant form as well. It was last year’s cover tomato. Thanks a lot for posting.

By: Michele Draper

Michele Draper — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 19:27:44 +0000

Can you please advise me on the type of tomato to plant that does not have so many seeds ?
Last year, all my tomatoes were full of seeds. However, I canned all of them. They looked awful in the jar because of the “millions” of seeds. I try to pick them out whenever I get ready to cook with them.

By: George

George — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 16:00:49 +0000

Wet springs are due to warm ocean temperatures from the Pacific, riding on the jet stream (air currents). Sunspots are the main cause of large scale changes in ocean temperatures, so many scientists say. By and large, however, spring hits about the same time each year with the vernal equinox. Not as much variation as people often say, in my experience. Thanks very much for posting.

By: Cindy

Cindy — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 15:42:04 +0000

I have been watching the planes crisscross the sky over our area, leaving jet trails which do not go away, and which turn into clouds. I think it is Evergreen Corp. A woman came to talk to us about it. They fly all over the world, and have been asked to leave a couple of countries. Has this caused these late springs. They flew over us last spring also, and the squashes didn’t grow right. So, I wonder. Know anything about this? Where did these wet springs come from? Our county agencies told us this was coming 4 years ago. Do they know something we don’t? I am still seeding speedling trays, and it is April, becoming late, for growing seeds here.

By: George

George — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 15:00:57 +0000

I failed to mention those extra costs only because of my enthusiasm for the hobby. I believe that tomato growing is great fun for most, if not all, gardeners. I know it is for me. So I don’t count the associated costs so much. Plus, store boughts never taste nearly as good. But thanks for the input and please keep posting.

By: Mary

Mary — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 14:28:07 +0000

In your accounting of costs to grow tomatoes, you forgot to include growing supplies such as manure, straw or mulch (not everyone has stables nearby), stakes and string (or maybe tomato ties and cages which are really expensive), maybe dipel if someone doesn’t want to pick off all the tomato worms. . . . Also, water is expensive for some folks. Don’t get me wrong, I would always rather grow my own tomatoes, but it’s not as cheap as one might think.