Small Town News

Heirloom tomatoes passed down through the ages

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GARDEN JOURNAL

Gardening is full of surprising links to history. Take Nebraska, unusual as the only state in the union with a single house or unicameral legislature. Or that Nebraska has more miles of river than any other state. And while Nebraska evokes images of corn it also has given us indirectly two very great heirloom tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum.)

Good old Midwestern neigh-borliness ties in with heirloom tomatoes, whose seeds have been handed down through generations and often shared with their neighbors and communities.

Mrs. Beiswenger of Crook-ston, Minnesota received some tomato seeds from Mrs. Englert of Sandpoint, Idaho in 1980, who

said Nebraskan brides were given seeds of this tomato as a wedding gift and so were called Nebraska Wedding tomatoes. The original seeds probably came with the pioneers covered wagons in the late 1800s.

The Nebraska Wedding tomato has dazzling 4-inch round beefsteak tomatoes with apricot-orange skin and flesh that often weigh up to a pound. Best of all the tomatoes are free of cracks and blemishes. Slices of Nebraska Wedding tomato with its outstanding low acid sweet taste make colorful additions to sandwiches and salads.

Because Nebraska wedding; is open pollinated non-hybrid you can save the seeds and keep tradition alive by giving seeds to bride and groom on their wedding day.

Another tomato with a Nebraska connection is Box Car Willie tomato. Lecil Travis Martin was an American country music singer, who sang in the hobo music style, complete with dirty face, overalls, and a floppy hat. Once while at a rail crossing in Lincoln, Nebraska, Martin saw a man riding in an open box car who reminded him of his friend, Willie Wilson. Martin sat down and wrote a song entitled "Boxcar Willie," which became so linked to Martin that he was soon going by the nickname "Boxcar Willie."

The Box Car Willie tomato named in his honor bears huge 10-to 16-ounce red fruits with traces of deep orange undertones. Box Car Willie is known for its old-fashioned, well balanced taste that combines sweetness with just enough acidity to it a true tomato flavor. Box Car Willie is a vigorous, up to 8 foot tall tomato. The tall, disease resistant indeterminate tomato plants produce right up until hard frost.

Many heirloom tomatoes are available from Seed Savers Exchange (www.seedsavers.org Phone: (563) 382-5990) or Totally Tomatoes (www.totally toma-toes.com by mail at 334 W Stroud Street, Randolph, WI 53956.)

Heirloom tomatoes do best in full sun, with a soil pH 5.5 to 7.0. You can start tomato seeds indoors a few weeks before setting out in the garden, after your last frost. Before setting indoor grown plants into the garden, gradually harden them off. Do this by taking the plants outdoors for a few hours every day.

Tomatoes like a rich soil so work in lots of compost. Plant tomatoes deeply so more roots can grow from the buried stems. Though Nebraska Wedding plants are often short, whereas Box Car Willie plants can be as tall as sunflowers, both varieties benefit from staking or growing in tomato cages for support.

Once you've feasted on your Nebraska Wedding or Box Car Willie tomatoes you may want to save and share the seeds. Scoop out the seeds into a cup and add enough water to completely cover the seeds. Place the cup and seeds in a warm place such as the top of the refrigerator. Let the seed and water mix ferment for about three days. This fermentation destroys many seed-born diseases. Rinse the seeds completely in a fine sieve and dry mem in a single layer on waxed paper. Stir the seeds every day so that they dry completely. After about a week your tomato seeds will be dry and ready to store in a paper envelope. Share your Box Car Willie or Nebraska Wedding tomato seeds with family, friends or wrapped into a wedding gift that keeps on giving.





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