tomatoes Archives

Books worth cooking from, part 2: My Thali

First We Eat: How a meal can centre around a starch, rather than a protein surrounded by sides

By dee Hobsbawn-Smith January 6, 2025

You’ll recall that in my previous column, I posed the question of how many cookbooks a home cook really needs, and which new ones are worth buying or borrowing. Part of my research for this month’s column was to peruse the shortlist of nominees for the 2024 Taste Canada book awards. Several books appealed, but […] Read more

Small paper envelopes stored in a closed glass jar in a cool dark space is an ideal containment method.

Columns, Farm Life, Fruit/Vegetables

Harvest, part 3: Saving seeds

First We Eat: Select the best from your fall harvest to bring forward in spring

By dee Hobsbawn-Smith October 28, 2024

Some years ago, I went on a road trip — a research tour for a book I envisioned writing about small-scale organic and sustainable farmers in Western Canada. I drove from my home in Calgary through the mountains into the verdant interior valleys of B.C., then west to the coast, to Vancouver Island and up […] Read more

Columns, Farm Life

Harvest, part 1: Garnishing summer greens

First We Eat: In the dog days of summer, salads with protein can help dial down the heat needed for food prep

By dee Hobsbawn-Smith September 18, 2024

We’ve been in deep summer heat for weeks now after a rainy spring, and every plant in my yard — including the quack grass and chickweed — is consumed with the green fuse of growth. The result is a cornucopia of everything. The scarlet runner beans and snow peas twining around their bamboo stakes tower […] Read more

A tomato harvest from planter boxes in Winnipeg.

Columns, Crops, Practical Tips

Tomatoes and onions in gardens everywhere

Part 7 of a series: On all farms, tomatoes should go into ground not previously used for tomatoes

By Ieuan Evans April 8, 2024

Tomatoes Tomatoes originated in South America from wild plants with grape-sized fruit. They were developed by the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. They were first brought to Europe in the 1540s, to Italy in particular by the 1550s. North Americans were slow to pick up on tomatoes, regarding them as poisonous until almost the year […] Read more

Columns, Farm Life

Tomatoes rise stronger from ashes

Also, bank on beans to boost beneficial bacteria in your bowel

By Ted Meseyton February 2, 2024

Got a stove or fireplace where you burn wood only? Save those ashes and use them in this summer’s garden to grow some of the finest tomatoes ever. Already I can hear myself singing: “Oh it must be the tomatoes, maybe strawberries and homegrown potatoes, but I still think it must be tomatoes.” Those are […] Read more

Mortgage Lifter is a classic organic heirloom beefsteak tomato originating in the 1930s. Its seeds are still in demand.

Farm Life

Want to grow a huge tomato? Mortgage Lifters can do the trick

Singing Gardener: Plus more from Ted’s treasury of tomato tips

By Ted Meseyton February 28, 2023

Hey there gardeners! Let’s meet in the tomato patch where, with a bit of imagination, a whole bunch of us can gather together to sing “O I’m lovin’ my tomatoes in the good old summertime, my tomatoes, in the garden, in the row, my tomatoes where they grow.” Now back to reality. Today’s page is […] Read more

The Earliana heritage tomato was introduced in 1900. Large, red, blemish-free fruits ripen mid-season, weigh
eight to 12 ounces each and are perfect for slicing or canning.

Farm Life, Fruit/Vegetables

Hippocratic medicine — much still applies today

Plus, a recipe for fried green tomatoes

By Ted Meseyton October 14, 2022

The green medicine movement continues to advance. Have you ever given consideration to starting your own home green pharmacy medicine chest? “Your food shall be your medicine and your medicine shall be your food” is a time-honoured statement from the Greek founder of Western medicine, Hippocrates, which is as valid today as it was way […] Read more

Farm Life

Tomato tomahto

No matter how you pronounce it, tomatoes fresh from the garden are a delectable taste treat

By dee Hobsbawn-Smith October 6, 2022

During hot days, my cooking tolerance plummets. Last thing I want is anything warm — food, air, oven, stovetop flame. My appetite plummets too. A handful of small ripe tomatoes from my garden and a slice of buttered sourdough toast make the ideal hot weather walkabout lunch. My gardening situation is a little out of […] Read more

Farm Life, FarmLife

Making the best of a tough tomato harvest

First We Eat: This summer was disastrous for growing tomatoes as well as many other crops

By dee Hobsbawn-Smith October 15, 2021

War contributes to the transportation and appropriation of goods around the globe. For instance, tomatoes were among the plants and animals that ended up in Europe in the unequal exchange of goods, disease, slavery, land theft, and genocide between New World and Old, beginning in 1492 and culminating in1650, called the Columbian Exchange. This event […] Read more

There’s good soil at Grandview, Man. Rose Swidzinski says her biggest Kelsey onion weighed 2-1/4 pounds. She had 25 of them that grew naturally in heavy clay soil without any additives and no special care. Only water was given as 2018 was a dry year in her area. A portion of Rose’s letter will be shared next column.

Farm Life, FarmLife

Singing Gardener: Names of tomato seed winners are announced

Plus, Ted has an additional surprise

By Ted Meseyton April 29, 2019

Have your ever felt like a town crier? Well I certainly have personally experienced something similar myself while projecting my voice from the top of my lungs on numerous occasions without any amplification or PA system. More on history of what a town crier is comes further along, but right now yours truly has a […] Read more

Alberta crop conditions improve: report

U.S. grains: Corn sets contract lows on expectations for big US crop

U.S. livestock: Cattle strength continues

GFM Network News