SC - Poisonous Tomatoes?y

Tue Nov 28 09:27:30 PST 2000

> > > --part1_26.da94c34.27548d6c_boundary > Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="US-ASCII" > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > > In a message
dated 11/27/00 12:37:41 PM Eastern Standard Time, > jenne at mail.browser.net
writes: > > > > My suspicion is that the belief that tomatoes were
poisonous may well have > > been a superstition common in Northern Europe,
but not reflected in > > scholarly treatises. > > > > > Something that has
not been said is the fact that in most Northern European > countries the
climate simply is not conducive to producing viable fruit on a > tomato
plant within the short and cool growing season that exists. Even today >
in Wales and, for that matter in most of England, tomatoes must be grown >
under glass to provide ripe fruit for table use. Although we have
varieties > now that are bred for short season production, these varieties
simply did not > exist during the period oaf time that is under
discussion.  > > Granted tomatoes can (and do produce nice foliage under
circumstances which > include large amounts of moisture and animal manures
(an agricultural > practice used in period) such conditions while
producing large SHOWY > ornamental plants would not have produced fruiting
bodies that would have > been very useful outside the ornamental garden. >
> I understand that this has little to do with whether they were
considered > poisonous or not but it has a great amount of bearing on why
their use as a > food product was delayed after their discovery and
introduction to Europe.  > Climatic conditions in Spain, Italy and
Portugal (where they were apparently > used by more people earlier on) was
more conducive to the maturation and > harvest of fruiting bodies in an
amount which would have made them > agriculturally appealing. > > I would
suggest without any evidence to prove it that the had nots may well > have
invented the poisonous theory to assuage their guilt over their >
inability to grow the fruit. > > Ras > The test of good manners is to be
patient with bad ones.- Solomon Ibn Gabirol > >
- --part1_26.da94c34.27548d6c_boundary > Content-Type: text/html;
charset="US-ASCII" > Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit > > <HTML><FONT
SIZE=2>In a message dated 11/27/00 12:37:41 PM Eastern Standard Time,
<BR>jenne at mail.browser.net writes: > <BR> > <BR> > <BR><BLOCKQUOTE
TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px;
MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">My suspicion is that the belief that
tomatoes were poisonous may well have > <BR>been a superstition common in
Northern Europe, but not reflected in > <BR>scholarly treatises. >
<BR></BLOCKQUOTE> > <BR> > <BR> > <BR>Something that has not been said is
the fact that in most Northern European <BR>countries the climate simply
is not conducive to producing viable fruit on a <BR>tomato plant within
the short and cool growing season that exists. Even today <BR>in Wales
and, for that matter in most of England, tomatoes must be grown <BR>under
glass to provide ripe fruit for table use. 

You know it's interesting that the British Tomato Growers site does not
mention that they can't grow tomatoes outside. It does say:
"In the UK, tomatoes are grown predominantly under glass. This allows the
season to be extended from February until December with all year round production
being evaluated. Under field conditions, tomatoes can only be cultivated
between July and October. "

And of course that still doesn't explain how long it took tomatoes to
catch on in Virginia!

- -- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, mka Jennifer Heise jenne at tulgey.browser.net
disclaimer: i speak for no-one and no-one speaks for me. "I do my job. I
refuse to be responsible for other people's managerial hallucinations." --
Lady Jemina Starker