Seeds for Thought
Posted by Nona Nita's Blog at 4/24/2009 9:16 PM 
Categories: Conscious Living
Tags: Grandchildren granddaughters Ecology gardening soul food Going Green Environment children's activities seniors Grandparents
Categories: Conscious Living
Tags: Grandchildren granddaughters Ecology gardening soul food Going Green Environment children's activities seniors Grandparents
For a long time I had resigned myself to the fact that tomatoes just don't taste the same as they did when I was a child. It's more than the fact that some of the supermarket tomatoes are grown out of season in a hot house. It is more than the fact that they have to be picked before completely ripe to last until they get to market. I know it is more than this because even the local produce in the middle of the summer just doesn't taste the same as those fleshy, succulent fruits that my grandmother used to grow. Just when I had given up the hope of ever tasting a "real" tomato, I splurged to buy a rather odd looking, misshapen thing called an "Heirloom Tomato" in the supermarket in August of last year. I have to admit that I bought it because it looked like the tomatoes of yesteryear. It was not perfectly round, and although there were about five of them in the basket, none of them were the same size or shape. One was wide and slightly flattened, one was a darker color than the other, one was almost black and another had deep creases in it between sections where it appeared as if sudden bursts of growth had occurred. They were scandalously expensive, but my pleasures, of late, have been few, so I allowed m self the indulgence. It was absolutely delicious... meaty, juicy and tasty beyond imagination. This year I have decided to grow them myself so that I can eat them all summer without taking out a bank loan (which I probably couldn't get anyway, credit being so tight).
An "Heirloom" tomato is grown from a seed that has not
been genetically engineered. These tomatoes have not been hybridized but rather collected from last year's crop, and many of the seeds have been handed down from generation to generation. They bear names like "Tiny Tim", "Abe Lincoln", "Cherokee Purple", "Bonnie Best", and "Giant Beefsteak". They are not crossbred to make them disease resistant, higher yielding, or less likely to bruise in the truck. As a result, they taste like a tomato used to.
Besides their wonderful flavor, I like the idea of these "Heirloom" seeds. Of those who garden, most pour over seed catalogs and choose hybrid seeds which do not breed true and should not or cannot have their seeds harvested and saved from season to season. This makes us dependent on seed companies who essentially control the food supply. If something should happen tomorrow that caused us all to have to grow our food, we would not be able to use the supermarket produce to glean seeds. We would be at the mercy of the seed companies every year. I don't like the idea of being at the mercy of any company for anything, especially something as important as our food supply. I do like the idea of recycling plants by harvesting some of their seeds for the coming year. It just seems like that is the way it should be.
My tomato plants are about 4 inches high now, and are sitting on the windowsill of my classroom. Hopefully, the weather will start getting warmer soon so that I can invite my grand daughter over to help me set them out. They are a little part of yesteryear that I look forward to sharing with my family and consuming with relish every chance I get. At the end of the summer my grand daughter and I will dry some of the seeds and put them away to be used next year. What a great lesson in the circle of life, No? Wish me luck!
For more on Enlightened Grand parenting visit Nona Nita's Nook
and click My Path Productions for ideas that support conscious living
An "Heirloom" tomato is grown from a seed that has not
been genetically engineered. These tomatoes have not been hybridized but rather collected from last year's crop, and many of the seeds have been handed down from generation to generation. They bear names like "Tiny Tim", "Abe Lincoln", "Cherokee Purple", "Bonnie Best", and "Giant Beefsteak". They are not crossbred to make them disease resistant, higher yielding, or less likely to bruise in the truck. As a result, they taste like a tomato used to.
Besides their wonderful flavor, I like the idea of these "Heirloom" seeds. Of those who garden, most pour over seed catalogs and choose hybrid seeds which do not breed true and should not or cannot have their seeds harvested and saved from season to season. This makes us dependent on seed companies who essentially control the food supply. If something should happen tomorrow that caused us all to have to grow our food, we would not be able to use the supermarket produce to glean seeds. We would be at the mercy of the seed companies every year. I don't like the idea of being at the mercy of any company for anything, especially something as important as our food supply. I do like the idea of recycling plants by harvesting some of their seeds for the coming year. It just seems like that is the way it should be.
My tomato plants are about 4 inches high now, and are sitting on the windowsill of my classroom. Hopefully, the weather will start getting warmer soon so that I can invite my grand daughter over to help me set them out. They are a little part of yesteryear that I look forward to sharing with my family and consuming with relish every chance I get. At the end of the summer my grand daughter and I will dry some of the seeds and put them away to be used next year. What a great lesson in the circle of life, No? Wish me luck!
For more on Enlightened Grand parenting visit Nona Nita's Nook
and click My Path Productions for ideas that support conscious living
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