Super-tomatoes are purple

[n_K]

I swear, everyone who can should try to grow a Heritage variety of tomato plant (or five) sometime. Use nothing on it but BT (a natural bacteria spore that kills worms & grubs but is totally harmless) then taste the fruit. HEAVEN!!

Only then do you realize how much is lost with modern commercial varieties, not all of which are GM. You can muck up a line with or without GM.

I agree the taste of supermarket tomatoes is vile in comparison to the sweet taste of homegrown, but why would you want to kill worms? Worms make the soil decent, kill them off and you might as well plant seeds in clay.

[Tuishimi]

Aren't large, purple tomatoes called eggplant?

[FloatingFatMan]

Aren't large, purple tomatoes called eggplant?

No. That would be an actual eggplant.

[DocM]

I agree the taste of supermarket tomatoes is vile in comparison to the sweet taste of homegrown, but why would you want to kill worms? Worms make the soil decent, kill them off and you might as well plant seeds in clay.

NOT earthworms - cutworms (they snip off the small plants stem, killing it) and the tomato worm, which infest the whole plant, eating it's leaves and the fruit in rapid-fire fashion.

This is a giant tomato hornworm, which can run about 4-6+ inches long -

[Tuishimi]

No. That would be an actual eggplant.

I know I am often obscure with my humor (ie. not very funny) but tomatoes and eggplants are both in the nightshade family... it was my very lame attempt at being "funny".

It's tough trying to be funny but not really being funny at all.

NOT earthworms - cutworms (they snip off the small plants stem, killing it) and the tomato worm, which infest the whole plant, eating it's leaves and the fruit in rapid-fire fashion.

This is a giant tomato hornworm, which can run about 4-6+ inches long -

Ahhhh! Now we get it. :)

[n_K]

Wow, never seen anything like that before! Good to know, thanks :)

[DocM]

FYI, the "tomato" worms will feed off about any membef of the Nightshade family - tomatoes, potatoes, eggplants, peppers, tomatillo, groundcherry, tobacco etc.

[Torolol]

worm, nightshade, tomato ... tobacco

that worm need to be examined in order to creates nicotine 'vaccines',

the worm don't get high when they chew that toxic leafs right?

[DocM]

Right. Most all the Nightshades have toxins (and/or medicinal compounds) in their leaves, which is why sun teas made from chopped tomato & tobacco leaves can be used as insecticides. My parents used tomato tea in the garden all the time, and Ivory soap & water washes it right off. The tomato worm and its cousin the tobacco worm infest most Nightshades and don't give a rip about the toxins, but BT kills 'em dead as Caesar. You can tell if you have them with a UV light at night - the worms fluoresce brightly.

[Krome]

Carrots were ALL once purple, until man happened to them. :p

Wow I never knew that before. Only know they are orange by nature.

[DocM]

Carrots started out in Afghanistan and there were 3 colors; purple, white and yellow. The Dutch brought (mostly) the purple ones to the west and hybridized the larger, sweeter orange carrot we know today.

FYI: the weed Queen Anne's Lace (N. America) / wild carrot (UK) (D. carota) is indeed a carrot, but the smallish root has to be harvested early before it turns woody. When camping or in survival situations they can be a useful food source.

[Osiris]

Purple tomatoes? Im not eating purple tomatoes you damn dirty ape!

[DocM]

Might want to reconsider. If the purple carrots & cauliflower grown in these parts are any indication the flavor will be MUCH richer and very tasty. They really are quite good.

[Osiris]

Osiris' Busts a Move: The big book of no purple tomato, no.

Selected excerpts and musing from the author

I do not like purple tomatoes in the file

I do not like them in any style

I will not eat them on a boat

Certainly not in a moat,

I will not take them sliced or died

I will not take them with or without rice...

Tomatoes are red, that much is true

But purple tomatos?, no f'n thank you

[DocM]

I don't agree at all, but that was an EXCELLENT channeling of Dr. Seuss!!

Well done (Y) (Y)