"True love and Homegrown Tomatoes"

Homegrown Tomatoes
by Guy Clark (click here to hear him sing the entire song)



Ain't nothin' in the world that I like better
Than bacon & lettuce & homegrown tomatoes
Up in the mornin' out in the garden

Get you a ripe one don't get a hard one
Plant `em in the spring eat `em in the summer
All winter with out `em's a culinary bummer
I forget all about the sweatin' & diggin'
Everytime I go out & pick me a big one

Homegrown tomatoes homegrown tomatoes
What'd life be without homegrown tomatoes
Only two things that money can't buy
That's true love & homegrown tomatoes

You can go out to eat & that's for sure
But it's nothin' a homegrown tomato won't cure
Put `em in a salad, put `em in a stew
You can make your very own tomato juice
Eat `em with egss, eat `em with gravy
Eat `em with beans, pinto or navy
Put `em on the site put `em in the middle
Put a homegrown tomato on a hotcake griddle

If I's to change this life I lead
I'd be Johnny Tomato Seed
`Cause I know what this country needs
Homegrown tomatoes in every yard you see
When I die don't bury me
In a box in a cemetary
Out in the garden would be much better
I could be pushin' up homegrown tomatoes


To hear John Denver sing this song, check out the last two minutes of this YouTube video.

Search: Tomato Varieties for Houston

Someone dropped by while Googling (I can't believe that's actually a verb now) for "Tomato varieties Houston Texas"

Your county Extension service or local Master Gardener should have some good information on tomato varieties. Also check with your nurseryman.

In her Lazy Gardener's Guide, Brenda Beust Smith recommends the following:

• Champion
• Celebrity
• Dona
• Early Goliath
• German Johnson
• Hawaiian
• Sweet Chelsea
• Texas Wild

In Year Round Fruits and Vegetables, Bob Randall recommends these (In order from large to small, with some repeats from Smith's list):

• Super Marmande (early)
• Dona (early)
• Carmello
• Big Beef
• Arkansas Traveler (late)
• Sweet Chelsea
• Sweet 100
• Texas wild (Produces in summer)
• Viva Italia (cooking)
• Sunmaster (Produces in summer)

For those of you growing your tomatoes iin pots, the Houston Garden Book recommends these for containerized tomato growing:

• Patio
• Pixie
• Tiny tim
• Saladette
• Stakeless
• Atom
  

For better information on growing tomatoes here in the Houston Metro Area, I strongly recommend getting copies of the books by Smith and Randall. These are most easily obtained by going to Urban Harvest.

January is for tomato seeds!

This is the month to start your tomato seeds indoors or in a greenhouse to get the earliest possible jump on the tomato season!

Tomato Forum!

There is a discussion forum at Chron.com on tomato varieties for the Houston area.

Check it out.

Catnip as Mosquito Repellent?

I found an article from 2001 on ScienceDaily.com describing a study that suggested that Catnip oil works as a mosquito repellent--allegedly even better than DEET-based repellents.

My question... if you smell like catnip, what is your cat going to do? (Assuming your cat is one of the 50% of cats that react to the stuff).

Another article from 2002 on the same site discusses tomato-based repellents, which again appear to be more effective than DEET

I myself have tried using a lemon-Eucalyptus repellent when in the garden. It seems to work. At least, I haven't been bitten yet while using it. I can say it definitely smells better than DEET or Picaridin. (By the way, there is some kind of little biting gnat or something around here that responds better to DEET than to Picaridin, in my experience.) However, since the label does not say anything about its effectiveness on chiggers or ticks, I probably won't use it if I am going someplace where I should be concerned about either of those.

But, don't get too excited. Another 2002 study suggests that DEET is better than plant-based repellents.

Whatever.

I guess I'll just have to stick to what seems to work for me.