Tomato nostalgia as I relive my Croatian island childhood

Post by onemoresoop » Mon, Aug 05, 2024, 4:25 PM UTC

guizzy wrote: post #199

brrt wrote: post #177

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm from the Netherlands and > The imported junk we get from Netherlands is abysmal compared to anything grown locally, and the reality is that we want the good stuff for ourselves, not the tourists. This hurts, and it's absolutely true. Makes me wonder why we spend so much in subsidies for the dutch tomato growers, if nobody actually likes eating them. For what it's worth, I get them in the supermarket, grown in spa…

Maybe the Netherlands are different, but I find it's usually not that specific countries make trash fruits and veggies, but export-bound fruits and vegetables have transport concerns that require them to be picked before they reach their peak. Here, american blueberries and strawberries are big, bland and watery, local ones are juicy, sweet, tart and delicious. Or corn, theirs is bland, ours is sweet. But I'm not con…

Post by resource_waste » Mon, Aug 05, 2024, 5:00 PM UTC

chasil wrote: post #112

GOONIMMUNE wrote: post #90

My understanding is that this has less to do with the specific location the tomatoes are grown, and more to do with the distance from the point of consumption they are grown. If the tomatoes have to travel a long distance, they will be picked before ripe so that they are more hardy during transit. Unfortunately this significantly alters the taste for the worse. I don't really live in the U.S. anymore, but I used to p…

A coworker regularly emptied his fish tank onto his backyard tomato patch. He would bring the results and leave them in the kitchenette, with instructions to wash them thoroughly. They are the best that I have ever tasted.

Post by vitaflo » Mon, Aug 05, 2024, 5:06 PM UTC

jihadjihad wrote: post #196

It's hard to describe how drastic the difference is between a store-bought tomato and one that is homegrown. It's something you immediately miss once the season is gone and the tomato plants are composted, and you're hoping you saved enough jars to make it until next summer. But one thing that surprised me after a little while gardening is that there is a similarly stark difference for homegrown carrots. Everybody kn…

Post by jihadjihad » Mon, Aug 05, 2024, 6:43 PM UTC

vitaflo wrote: post #205

jihadjihad wrote: post #196

It's hard to describe how drastic the difference is between a store-bought tomato and one that is homegrown. It's something you immediately miss once the season is gone and the tomato plants are composted, and you're hoping you saved enough jars to make it until next summer. But one thing that surprised me after a little while gardening is that there is a similarly stark difference for homegrown carrots. Everybody kn…

If you haven’t you should try growing celery. The flavor difference is simply incredible.

Post by positr0n » Mon, Aug 05, 2024, 10:27 PM UTC

swiftcoder wrote: post #171

MichaelRo wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> They are not demanding I have to disagree on this one. They are prone to a myriad of diseases, mainly fungus: Phytophthora infenstans, Fulvia fulva, Botrytis cinerea, Mosaic Virus, Stolbur disease, and if you don't spray them with the right substances you'll lose a substantial part if not the whole crop, oftentimes lose it even if you spray them. Other than that I agree that home grown tomatoes are better. Of cour…

I think maybe this is only a big problem in climates that are on the cold side for tomatoes. The only problem I've had the last few years is tomato blight during one particularly rainy spring, and growing the tomatoes up a trellis and cutting away the excess lower leaves has been sufficient to control it. Companion planting aromatics may help control pests as well - I usually plant as many of basil, rosemary, parsley…