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Measuring personal wealth through tomatoes
I'm not sure anyone else experiences this, but I'm finding myself looking at my tomatoes (four varieties: one Early Girl, one heirloom red Brandywine, one heirloom yellow Brandywine and one Sungold cherry) and feeling wealthy. I don't mean spiritually fulfilled, either. I mean cold hard cash. The nearest analogy I can come up with is from traditional Masai society in Africa, in which one's personal wealth and status is measured by the size of one's herd of cows.
I'm not an urban farmer. I just grow veggies for my family and donate excess to local food pantries. I love the sense of satisfaction and fulfillment I get when I invite folks over for dinner this time of year and feed them out of my garden, but this tomato thing is something else entirely. And I only feel it about my tomatoes. I've produced a bumper crop of patty pan squash this year as well, and I've got lots of beautiful basil ready to harvest (another cash crop, I suppose), plus onions and more potatoes than I can even contemplate right now. So I've had a good year, harvest-wise, but it's only the tomatoes that make me rub my hands together like Scrooge in his counting house. I have no idea why this is. Maybe it's because they're so colorful they simply look more expensive. They taste fabulous too, not incidentally. Thoughts?
I'm not an urban farmer. I just grow veggies for my family and donate excess to local food pantries. I love the sense of satisfaction and fulfillment I get when I invite folks over for dinner this time of year and feed them out of my garden, but this tomato thing is something else entirely. And I only feel it about my tomatoes. I've produced a bumper crop of patty pan squash this year as well, and I've got lots of beautiful basil ready to harvest (another cash crop, I suppose), plus onions and more potatoes than I can even contemplate right now. So I've had a good year, harvest-wise, but it's only the tomatoes that make me rub my hands together like Scrooge in his counting house. I have no idea why this is. Maybe it's because they're so colorful they simply look more expensive. They taste fabulous too, not incidentally. Thoughts?
Tags: food, gardening, home, tomatoes, value
Views: 1
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Cornelia on -
I totally get it. Especially this year with late blight knocking out so many organic farmers in my area. The few tomatoes that I reaped from my modest plants made me feel privileged, grateful, and connected to something spiritually greater, but also like I was holding something of real value. I find myself thinking "Folks are paying $6 a pound for these things and I've grown these myself" Thanks for putting it into words.
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Permalink Reply by Magpie Ima on -
I was going to have a bumper crop of tomatoes this year. I was feeling pretty excited as my plants were covered in fruit in early July. But then that evil heat wave came along and my plants pretty much stopped growing and stopped making new fruit. I harvested some tomatoes this year but nothing like what I'd been expecting. So, so sad. Which is why I've resorted to buying them for my sauces and roasting and preserving. I just paid $1/pound for unsprayed, local Romas and now that they are all bubbling and roasting away, I feel pretty wealthy. But what really give me that feeling is the bags and bags of blueberries tucked away in my freezer for winter. I only wish I'd grown them all myself.
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Permalink Reply by Liz on -
Sorry your tomatoes bit the dust this year, but it sure sounds like you are making up for it with the slow-roasted romas and bags of blueberries.
BTW, Tuv Ha'Aretz hosted our first canning workshop last Wednesday. It was a bit chaotic, but fun, and I think everyone learned the basics and had a good time.
Magpie Ima said:I was going to have a bumper crop of tomatoes this year. I was feeling pretty excited as my plants were covered in fruit in early July. But then that evil heat wave came along and my plants pretty much stopped growing and stopped making new fruit. I harvested some tomatoes this year but nothing like what I'd been expecting. So, so sad. Which is why I've resorted to buying them for my sauces and roasting and preserving. I just paid $1/pound for unsprayed, local Romas and now that they are all bubbling and roasting away, I feel pretty wealthy. But what really give me that feeling is the bags and bags of blueberries tucked away in my freezer for winter. I only wish I'd grown them all myself. -
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