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BEHIND THE SCENES AT LEHMAN'S, GARDENING

From My Desk: Heirloom Tomatoes

Lehman's
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One thing that my wife and her family have passed down from generation to generation is their wonderful Heirloom Organic Tomatoes. If you’re not familiar with heirloom vegetables, there is a lot of controversy out there with different perspectives of what is considered heirloom but in this case, we consider them heirloom because well -- they’ve been around for a while. These heirloom tomatoes are 100% natural, and my father-in-law saves the best seeds year after year and generation after generation. These specific seeds are said to come from the central part of Italy where my wife’s family is from. Another thing I love about these heirloom tomatoes, and what my father-in-law does with them, is he loves to share them with anyone. A couple of weeks each spring when his seedlings have started to grow, he gives the small plants out to anyone that is interested, and he likes to tell of how the seeds have been passed down. [caption id="attachment_38578" align="aligncenter" width="332"] My father-in-law with his heirloom tomatoes in the garden

My father-in-law with his heirloom tomatoes in the garden

My father-in-law in all his glory[/caption] There is something really special about knowing that the same tomatoes that we are now growing in our backyard raised beds were once grown in Italy many years ago by some of my wife’s ancestors. You don’t get many things that are as grass roots as heirloom vegetables. Besides the history of these seeds some of the other benefits are so important as well. Any heirloom vegetables would be non-GMO; we simply don’t have to worry about the tomatoes being genetically altered. You save the seeds and use them year after year, so you don’t have to worry about relying on anything outside of your own homestead. These seeds are also time tested and you know what you’re getting. [caption id="attachment_38577" align="aligncenter" width="289"]

My father-in-law's heirloom tomatoes in a basket

Some of my father-in-law's heirloom tomatoes. One garden hack is the marigolds planted among the tomatoes keep the insects away from the garden.[/caption] With my wife’s family coming from Italy, we get to benefit from some amazing spaghetti sauce. Our family’s favorite dinner is Sarah’s spaghetti, and it all starts with the best ingredients like our canned spaghetti sauce made with some of the heirloom tomatoes. [caption id="attachment_38580" align="aligncenter" width="292"]

The finished product[/caption] Although the rest of my family will coat their spaghetti with parmesan cheese, I prefer something with a little more kick like Weaver’s Farm Dust. It provides just the right flavor for my liking. I can say on this venture I reap the benefits and not much of the labor. My in-laws grow and can the tomatoes and my wife makes the dinner, I just get to eat them. Some of the other benefits I receive are the fresh salsa and canned tomato juice which we use in soups or to cover stuffed peppers. In order to make your life easier, I would highly recommend using this Weston Roma Tomato Press. I’m all in for anything to make my life easier. There are so many advantages with using heirloom vegetables and there’s just something special about the history passed down from generation to generation from heirloom vegetables. Zach Coblentz 330-620-9589 zcoblentz@hrm-enterprises.com “I love to hear from customers – “Give me a call, send me a text or shoot me an email about your experiences with one of our family of businesses.”

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