Tomatoville® Gardening Forums - View Single Post

Ozark · June 22, 2008

In the old days, I think it wasn't so much a matter of "saving seeds" unless you were moving to another location or giving seeds to someone else.

My grandpa (born 1890) supplemented his retirement by planting about three acres in mixed vegetables and berries and selling them to grocery stores. I know how he planted his tomatoes, because I helped him do it in the early 1950's.

In October the old vines would be done but many poor-quality ripe tomatoes would still be hanging on. We'd pull out the plants, set the spoiled, cracked, tomatoes aside, and put the plants on the burn pile. Then grandpa would spread lime, chicken manure, and fertilizer on the tomato patch and plow it in.

Then he'd drive stakes and stretch strings, laying out his tomato rows for the next year. We'd lay the spoiled tomatoes on the ground in those rows pretty thick, then walk on them with work boots - mashing them into the ground.

Next spring, tomato plants would come up thick in those rows and he'd thin them out and tie them up on wires he strung between posts. He'd transplant some of the seedlings to fill any gaps in the rows.

There was a big drawback to this method as there'd nearly always be a late freeze or two in the spring after the tomato seedlings were up. Grandpa would be scrambling around on those cold nights covering the plants with buckets and gunny sacks - but it seemed he always ended up with a good supply of tomatoes for the stores. He said those were Abe Lincoln tomatoes - they'd lived in that house since the 1930's, and I assume he bought seeds the first year he grew a garden there.

My grandpa taught me a lot about his ways of growing veggies, and he said he learned much of it from his grandpa who was a Civil War veteran and who raised 13 kids on the food they grew on their farm. I BET this is the method that was often used to plant tomatoes in the 19th century.

And, just imagine how unlikely you'd be to switch tomato varieties if you were growing on a large scale to feed your family, had little money, and were planting by mashing the previous year's free, waste tomatoes into the ground.

June 22, 2008	#10
Ozark Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Ozark, Mo. Posts: 201	In the old days, I think it wasn't so much a matter of "saving seeds" unless you were moving to another location or giving seeds to someone else. My grandpa (born 1890) supplemented his retirement by planting about three acres in mixed vegetables and berries and selling them to grocery stores. I know how he planted his tomatoes, because I helped him do it in the early 1950's. In October the old vines would be done but many poor-quality ripe tomatoes would still be hanging on. We'd pull out the plants, set the spoiled, cracked, tomatoes aside, and put the plants on the burn pile. Then grandpa would spread lime, chicken manure, and fertilizer on the tomato patch and plow it in. Then he'd drive stakes and stretch strings, laying out his tomato rows for the next year. We'd lay the spoiled tomatoes on the ground in those rows pretty thick, then walk on them with work boots - mashing them into the ground. Next spring, tomato plants would come up thick in those rows and he'd thin them out and tie them up on wires he strung between posts. He'd transplant some of the seedlings to fill any gaps in the rows. There was a big drawback to this method as there'd nearly always be a late freeze or two in the spring after the tomato seedlings were up. Grandpa would be scrambling around on those cold nights covering the plants with buckets and gunny sacks - but it seemed he always ended up with a good supply of tomatoes for the stores. He said those were Abe Lincoln tomatoes - they'd lived in that house since the 1930's, and I assume he bought seeds the first year he grew a garden there. My grandpa taught me a lot about his ways of growing veggies, and he said he learned much of it from his grandpa who was a Civil War veteran and who raised 13 kids on the food they grew on their farm. I BET this is the method that was often used to plant tomatoes in the 19th century. And, just imagine how unlikely you'd be to switch tomato varieties if you were growing on a large scale to feed your family, had little money, and were planting by mashing the previous year's free, waste tomatoes into the ground.