Wk 29 | Summer 11 Sneak Peek Tu-Th | Sep 17 & 19
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The Summer Season runs through September--2 more deliveries.
If you haven't yet signed up for our Fall Season, you can do so
by updating your membership here.
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Heirloom tomatoes: been there, done that
This past week, we attempted to get an heirloom tomato or two in each box--with mixed success. Some were tiny, some were
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Hillbilly
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squishy,some were gnarly. We hope that some of you received big beauties in good condition. We recognize the cachet that heirlooms have had for the last decade or so, but to be honest, we're kinda over them. Chris is among the first farmers in the Midwest to grow heirlooms, having introduced them (along with fingerling potatoes and Sun Gold tomatoes) to the Dane
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Black Krim
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County Farmers Market in Madison in 1994.
While heirlooms can be amazing when the plants are healthy they are generally not as vigorous as many of the hybrids out there these days. Many of
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Prudens Purple
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the hybrids we choose to grow were developed for flavor as opposed to shelf life or durability for shipping, and so they can be quite good. Hybridization, from which all our food crops at one point or another arose, is simply the result of breeding two plants to get--one hopes--some of the better traits each has to offer. Lots of trial and error has yielded, over thousands of years, all the food crops and varieties we use to feed ourselves. We, at Tomato Mountain, have found many of the hybrids created in this traditional way to be among the healthiest, best-tasting varieties we grow. And with the range in temperature, rainfall, and other weather that comes our way in South Central Wisconsin, it's really nice to have the consistency and strength
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German Johnson
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of hybrid plants.
The heirlooms pictured here are the varieties we've grown this year, and these are particularly good specimens; when they're good, they're beautiful, nicely textured, and really tasty. We've taken some, not many, to farmers markets recently, but it's very difficult to find them without hard, green
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Italian Heirloom
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shoulders or deep cracks. Compared to some good hybrids, they offer poor disease resistance and inconsistent yields. They are better suited for a home or hobby garden that is not trying to sustain a family. For what we're trying to accomplish--a sustainable, profitable farm offering good food value for a wide variety of consumers--heirlooms don't fit very well. When you encounter a nice one--in your home garden, in your CSA box, or at a farmers market--savor it!
-- Robin
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Questions?
Call Robin (in Chicago), 708-370-8017 | Chris (farmer/owner), 608-712-1585
To join our Fall Season, update your membership by clicking here.
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Click links below for info |
Chinese (Napa) Cabbage
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WHAT'S COOKIN'
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Let's hope the Napa cabbage makes it into the box--both because it will be the first of the whole year and a bit of a diversion from the summer crops, and because it will give you an excuse to try this Napa Cabbage & Egg Stir-Fry! With the weather just starting to cool, a quick stint in front of the stove won't be as inconceivable as it would have been a short week ago.
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Extra Produce | Maple Syrup | Sunflower Oil Raw Honey | Pastured Chickens | Organic Eggs
Stone-Ground Flours, Corn Meal & Pancake Mix | Blue Corn Tortilla Chips | Our Salsas, Soups, Preserves & More | Chocolate Sauce Seasonal Cookbooks
Be sure to apply multi-jar discounts when you purchase our jars!
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