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Table of Contents
1) Editor's Comments:I know for many of you it isn't real warm outside, but now is the perfect time to start thinking about tomatoes. I've included some information I hope you will find useful. Also, with February fast approaching, I wanted to be sure we took another look at our gardening calendar. As always, if you do have questions, suggestions or ideas, do not hesitate to drop me a note. Rex Gregor 2) Tomatoes - Tomatoes - and More Tomatoes:The UNITED STATES is the largest producer of TOMATOES in the world. Americans consume over 12 million tons of tomatoes annually. It is estimated that each person eats 20 lbs. of fresh tomatoes and 75 lbs of processed tomatoes each year. Today increased understanding of genetics allows us to develop new varieties, and literally hundreds of new varieties are being developed. Some of the more recent novelty types are a WHITE fruit that has a pure WHITE flesh. "PINK GRAPEFRUIT" which is a yellow tomato with a pink flesh. "Liberty Bell" is a bright red tomato which has a hollow fruit and used for stuffing. Tomatoes are a warm temperature vegetable and they require a long growing season. Generally, in our part of the country (Minnesota) there is no advantage to transplanting very early in the season before the ground warms to 50 degrees. There, however, are varieties that do very well in hot humid climates as well as a Russian variety from Siberia that is capable of setting fruit at 38 degrees. One of the most irritating problems with tomatoes is BLOSSOM END ROT. Blossom end rot is a black leathery lesion that forms on the blossom end of the fruit. It causes the fruit to shrink and develop misshaped forms. Most often the fruit will rot on the stem. Blossom End Rot is caused by a calcium deficiency aggravated by a widely fluctuating moisture condition along with an excess of nitrogen in the soil. My Grandmother used to crush her used egg shells and place them in the hole when she planted her tomatoes. She claimed never to have a problem with blossom end rot. If you have a small garden try to rotate your crop every year. The use of tomato cages or staking is a good idea. A relatively new variety has been proven to be an excellent choice for a small garden. You can expect enormous yields on vigorous vines that can grow up to 15 ft. They will need to be trellised. Each plant can produce up to 2 to 3 bushels of tomatoes. The fruits are a rich red meaty texture and are medium large. They are perfect for eating or canning. VS750 Italian Tree Tomato - 20 seeds $1.95. We have over 30 tomato varieties. http://rexseedco.com/tomato.htm ( For more detailed tomato information visit http://www.rexseedco.com/Information.html ) 3) Riddle Me This:There was once a man who had a very selfish and unkind son, and one day the father sent his son to the market with one coin and said, "I am sick and tired of your selfish ways. Take this coin and buy with it something to feed the cows, something to plant in the garden, something for us to eat, and something for us to drink. Don't come back until you do this!" The son was only allowed to buy one item. What did he buy that fulfilled his father's demands? 4) Religious Healing:There is considerable research that supports the beneficial effects of Prayer on health. Some research shows prayer to be effective even when sick people are unaware that they are objects of prayer suggesting that a unknown mechanism might also be at work. Regardless of your religious denomination it is true that healing responses can clearly activated by prayer. There is absolutely no reason not to use prayer as a treatment. I urge that you read Dr. Larry Dossey's book "Prayer is Good Medicine." 5) Humor for Today:A man realized he needed to purchase a hearing aid, but he felt unwilling to spend much money. "How much do they run?" he asked the clerk."That depends," said the salesman. "They run from $2.00 to $2,000." "Let's see the $2.00 model," he said. The clerk put the device around the man's neck. "You just stick this button in your ear and run this little string down to your pocket," he instructed. "How does it work?" the customer asked. "For $2.00 it doesn't work," the salesman replied. "But when people see it on you, they'll talk louder!" 6) Garlic Follow-up:In Issue 3 we talked about garlic. If you do choose to take garlic on a daily basis, you can take it in pill form or the real thing. I've been told you should take 4,000 micrograms in the pill form, or eat one large clove. (Remember, one clove is the smaller part of a garlic rosette.) Fresh garlic can be eaten uncooked, chopped and sprinkled on other food, or even juiced with other vegetables. For women, whether you are taking capsules or fresh, garlic will boost the immune system, lower high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. This tasty bulb will also help to prevent and to treat yeast infections. Follow label directions if you are using capsules. 7) Gardening Calendar:(For our friends in the Southern Hemisphere, these tips would be followed in August.) Here we are quickly coming up on February. It is now time to again revisit where we should be regarding our annuals. Of course, different things need to be considered based on where you live.
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