Bill Becker grows about 50 varieties of heirloom tomatoes on some of the 111 acres of land at Jubilee Farm, an ecology and spirituality center located west of Springfield and run by Dominican sisters.
“When you grow an heirloom, you have to learn what it likes,” said Becker, a crop consultant who has a Ph.D. in plant pathology.
Heirlooms can be a little cranky. They take longer to harvest than hybrid varieties, are prone to cracking, have vines that run wild without staking and need constant tending. But the payoff is the flavor, which is intense and unique to each variety. For those who think all tomatoes taste alike, a sampling of heirlooms might change their minds.
“We saw a growing demand for locally grown food,” said Becker. “We knew it was going to be big, so we put in the heirlooms.”
Jubilee Farm sells two kinds of heirloom cherry tomatoes at the Schnucks supermarket at Montvale Commons and supplies the Dominican motherhouse with tomatoes and other vegetables.
The farm also offers a community-supported agriculture program, which rewards members who pay farm costs upfront with a stream of fresh vegetables during harvest season. Besides tomatoes, Becker grows peppers, green beans, eggplant, sweet potatoes and other organic vegetables.
With heirloom tomatoes, it’s especially important to have healthy soil.
“When you get plants healthy by using compost, resistance to disease sets in,” said Becker. He makes compost by heating kitchen waste and droppings from the farm’s llamas and chickens.
When he started working at the farm four years ago, there were no earthworms in the soil. Now there are 25 per square foot, a sign of rich, vibrant earth.
To encourage production, he uses red plastic sheeting as a weed barrier. An experimental seeding resulted in 25 percent more tomato yield using the red barrier, a phenomenon Becker attributes to red wavelengths.
Heirloom tomatoes, sometimes called heritage tomatoes, are open-pollinated, or non-hybrid, cultivars. There’s some debate about which seeds qualify as heirlooms. Some people say the variety has to be more than 100 years old. Others use the date 1945, the end of World War II, as the beginning of widespread hybrid use by seed companies and industrial agriculture.
Others define heirlooms as cultivars that have been selected and handed down from one family member to another for many generations.
Becker’s personal favorite is the Cherokee Purple, a pre-1890 Tennessee heirloom with a sweet flavor and a rose-purple color so dark it’s often called a “black” tomato.
Among the others he grows is Rutgers, a bright red tomato that is a favorite for canning because of its juiciness; Sprite, a red oval grape tomato with thin skin; Amana Orange, an orange beefsteak with a flavor reminiscent of tropical fruit; Black Cherry, a deep mahogany brown cherry tomato with a complex, sweet flavor; and Dr. Bill’s Sweet Cherry, a large red cherry tomato known for its vigorous plant.
Besides composting, Becker puts a 50/50 mix of kelp meal and mycorrhizal fungi in the transplant hole to strengthen the plants’ root systems. And he uses companion planting to naturally discourage pests. In the fall, he plants something from the mustard family (such as broccoli or brussels sprouts) and then puts a tomato transplant in the same hole in the spring.
Other advice from Becker on heirloom tomato-growing:
--Remove the first bloom and all the suckers below it to encourage root growth.
--If leaves start to spot, remove them from the plant (and from the area) to get rid of spores.
--Buy heirloom seeds from a reputable dealer. One source is Seed Savers Exchange (www.seedsavers.org), a Decorah, Iowa-based, non-profit organization that saves and shares heirloom seeds.
“Buy them from someone you know, preferably a seed saver,” he said.
Recipes are from “The Great Tomato Book” by Gary Ibsen and Joan Nielsen (Ten Speed Press, 1999).
Old-Fashioned Tomato Cream Soup
2 1/2 pounds ripe red tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 medium onion, studded with 10 whole cloves
1 1/4 cups beef stock
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, heated almost to boiling
Fresh basil leaves, julienned, for garnish
In a large, deep saucepan over medium heat, cook the tomatoes, onion, beef stock, basil, salt and pepper, nutmeg and coriander for 30 minutes. Let cool a little, then remove and discard the cloves from the onions.
Puree the soup in a blender until smooth. (This may be done in batches.) Return the soup to the saucepan and stir in the baking soda and sugar. Blend the flour and butter to form a smooth paste. Stir this into the soup.
Watching carefully, cook the soup over a medium-low heat until thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and slowly stir in the warmed cream. Return the soup to the heat and continue to warm it, just until it is piping hot and about to come to a boil. (Don’t let it boil or it will curdle.) Serve soup garnished with basil leaves.
Makes 4 to 6 servings.
Classic Tomato Sauce With Fresh Tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
1 1/2 pounds ripe red tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped and hard cores removed (about 3 cups)
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
Warm the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook about 3 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes and any of their liquid. Cook 7 to 10 minutes. (The cooking time may vary according to the ripeness, variety of tomato used or quality of tomatoes, and will dictate how long you cook the sauce. Use your best judgment.)
Season with the salt and pepper. Leave chunky or blend in a food processor fitted with a metal blade.
Makes 4 servings as a sauce for pasta (3 cups).
Kathryn Rem can be reached at (217) 788-1520 or kathryn.rem@sj-r.com.
author: Kathryn Rem