Jefferson's Purple Calabash’ Tomatoes on the 1776 Farm, Grover, NC

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Oh yes indeedy, we've been having a blast on the 1776 Farm as Chef's cooking up a storm with Chef Stormy daily!  That's my wife, Chef Stormy (also a farmer).  In fact now that I think of it, although I have not mentioned it (don't interrupt me while I am ignoring you - oops!), all of our Chef's here are also Farmers.  Just kidding about inerterurutptiting, but ya'll, we are having so much fun!  Some are better than others but all have a love of the soil.  But back to the main point of having fun planting on the 1776 Farm behind The Inn of the Patriots - and then bringing in the goodies to cook with!

 

We continue to work our tomatoes, basil, Greek oregano, rosemary, mint (a full second flowering) and second planting of potatoes (in mid-summer).  Thanks to cousin Ken Unaasch - he told us to "keep 'em taters in the basement all spring until summer."  So we did and now have planted potatoes again and BOY are they growing!  Four varieties of pumpkins including Luminare, thyme, onions, parsley and plenty of watermelons too!  

 

Our chickens are laying fresh eggs like KrAXy and the guests are loving it, facebooking, photographing, texting and foursquaring away while gobbling up fresh, homemade vittles that DO NOT have needles and growth hormones injected, pumped and squirted all over them.

 

We have also planted ‘Purple Calabash’ Tomato from Monticello. The seeds are from Thomas Jefferson’s garden.  He documented planting this relatively unfamiliar vegetable in his kitchen garden from 1809, the first summer of his retirement, until his death in 1826.  In his Notes on the State of Virginia, 1782, Jefferson noted that tomatoes were grown in Virginia gardens.

 

The culture of the ribbed and scalloped-shaped Purple Calabash tomato dates to pre-Columbian Mexico.  Here the Aztecs combined the “xitomatl” with hot peppers and ground squash seed to make a salsa that would accompany fish and meat.  The flavor of Purple Calabash is uniquely “acidic” but with a rich and concentrated flavor. Delicious fresh, this tomato really shines in sauces and pastes.  The purple-skinned fruit is especially productive.

 

Seeds of this indeterminate variety should be started indoors six to eight weeks before the last spring frost.  Sow ¾” deep in flats or pots, keeping the soil mix moist but not soggy.  When several leaves have developed, harden off the seedlings outdoors, then transplant to the garden 18”-36” apart.

 

The 1776 Farm at The American Revolutionary War Living History Center, The Inn of the Patriots and Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants are educational programs dedicated to preserving historic plant varieties and promoting Jefferson's interest in gardening. 

 

"Jefferson's Monticello garden was a Revolutionary American garden. One wonders if anyone else had ever before assembled such a collection of vegetable novelties, culled from virtually every western culture known at the time, then disseminated by Jefferson with the persistence of a religious reformer, a seedy evangelist. Here grew the earth's melting pot of immigrant vegetables: an Ellis Island of introductions, the whole world of hardy economic plants: 330 varieties of eighty-nine species of vegetables and herbs, 170 varieties of the finest fruit varieties known at the time. The Jefferson legacy supporting small farmers, vegetable cuisine, and sustainable agriculture is poignantly topical today" (Monticello website, 2011)

 

With help and financial assistance from The Inn of the Patriots we are able to continue our expansion.  Photo by Alpha AVLXYZ.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS IN THE AREA OF SPECIAL NOTE:

 

General Thomas Sumter visits Cleveland County as portrayed by the famed Howard Burnham - GAMECOCK TO THE LAST, September 10, Dinner Theater, Low-country boil at 6 pm $19.95 per person, show tickets only at 7 pm $8.00 per person - both by RSVP only.  The Hatcher Hughes Pulitzer Prize Winning Theater at The Inn of the Patriots, Grover, NC.

 

The Grover Pumpkin Festival - headless horsemen carriage rides, bands, music, stages, events, 1780 skirmishes, colonial cookery, candle making, soap making, Nashville music acts of Travis Powell and more, October 29 - all day. Grover, NC.  Mostly free but with some paid classes and events a la carte.

 

Champagne Tastes of Thomas Jefferson: Are you interested in the many types of Champagne?  Do you love it or are just in love with someone else besides your favorite bubbly?  Then bring them along for a tasting and educational class as we discover one of Thomas Jefferson's favorite champagnes, Saint-Hilaire Blanc de Blancs Blanquette de Limoux, and taste others including Ultra Brut, Extra Brut, Brut Zero, Brut Nature, Brut Sauvage, Brut, Extra Dry, Extra Sec, Dry, Sec, Demi-Sec and Doux.  November 25, 2011 - 6 pm with canapes and hors d'oeuvres followed by dinner at Battleground Steakhouse.  $20.00 PER PERSON