Berries are the obvious example, as they're fragile & fiddly, typically need to be picked when ripe (plenty of other fruit will ripen after being picked), and have a short shelf life -- but there's other surprising items that home gardeners discover.
Sweet corn, for example, starts converting sugars to starch soon after it's picked. Many people don't really understand why it's called sweet corn, as they've only ever eaten corn that was picked a few days ago. Asparagus I believe is very similar, with significant flavour changes happening rapidly after harvest.
We've enjoyed dozens of varieties of cherries straight off the trees all with wonderfully distinct flavours, but a day or two after picking, they're all merely 'cherry-flavoured'.
William Alexander wrote, somewhat humorously, about the dollar & effort costs of growing produce at home [1] but in addition to unique / superior flavours, advocates will often assert the intangible benefits (a new problem domain to engage the brain, a tighter connection with your food, the near-meditative aspects of some repetitive gardening activities).
Oh, and for seed acquisition, in AU we've got a few really good options - Green Harvest, Diggers, Edens etc - that maintain many of the
heirloom varieties that found there way here, but I thought stateside you'd have way more options? Check the Seed Savers Network[2] if you haven't found them already.
I have noticed that this preference for superior produce is lacking in America. That’s mostly because there is no food culture or habit of dining together.
In Asia and even in parts of Europe, people will wait for seasonal produce and appreciate certain varieties. (White asparagus dipped in melted butter..yum. Don’t get me started about mango season in India)
The National dish of USA is the cheeseburger. And we import most of our produce. So there is no appreciation for seasonality and food is always from elsewhere. And often picked unripe and have travelled a lot of food miles. There is no anticipation or excitement for food. Everything is available in massive quantities and on demand. At some point, the law of diminishing returns kicks in.
We export commodities like nuts and fodder. We have billions of sales in worthless tasteless leafy greens like kale and lettuce. Nobody ever enjoyed a bowl of ‘yummy’ lettuce. Nobody.
As a farmer, this is very depressing to me. As a chef, I feel almost suicidal. For cooks and chefs, if there are no one enjoying or appreciating our skills, we might as well not exist.
As an immigrant who grew up in a food culture before America, it’s wretchedly depressing. The grocery stores here are designed like warehouses and farms are like factories. The goods are standardized and optimized for efficient supply chain. All the joy of food shopping is sucked dry from these sterile environments.
As a small acreage farmer who wants to automate and improve tech, the options are minimal to nil. There are some companies that try to help small farmers but I am not sure how it will pan out. Time will tell. Everything in America has to scale. Economies of scale is the killer. Must scale is the mantra.
While Europe has at least close to a dozen small acreage ag bots in the work, you don’t even hear about the handful that is working to help us small acreage farmer out..many have died out even before they can get started because of lack of funding. But that’s another topic for another day.
California is better than most places, tbh with varieties. The weather is the saving grace.
Also: There is California rare fruits association and scion exchange.
fresh dino kale (not the curly kale type) sauteed in olive oil with a bit of salt is heavenly. and various fresh lettuces are wonderful, so you should tone down your blanket condemnations
I grew up near some small farms in MD and we’d turn our nose up at yesterday’s Silver Queen (corn). It really does change over the course of just a few days.
One of the best methods for getting seeds for good tasting fruits (that breed true) is to just purchase the fruit of something you like and plant the seeds inside. I do this with tomatoes all the time, just go to the market, pick up the a few pounds of heirlooms and squish out the seeds before I eat them at home. I get so many tomato starts this way, that I generally have to transplant or kill off a few.
With other plants, it's also easy and advisable just to let some go to seed instead of harvesting them. You'll have plenty for the next round.
I think 'breed true' is the key here, for example you can't plant the seeds out of that tasty Gala apple and get a tree covered with Gala apples (in 10yr - another challenge with some food crops)[1]. But for perennials like tomatoes and chiles, it's great!
Comments
Berries are the obvious example, as they're fragile & fiddly, typically need to be picked when ripe (plenty of other fruit will ripen after being picked), and have a short shelf life -- but there's other surprising items that home gardeners discover.
Sweet corn, for example, starts converting sugars to starch soon after it's picked. Many people don't really understand why it's called sweet corn, as they've only ever eaten corn that was picked a few days ago. Asparagus I believe is very similar, with significant flavour changes happening rapidly after harvest.
We've enjoyed dozens of varieties of cherries straight off the trees all with wonderfully distinct flavours, but a day or two after picking, they're all merely 'cherry-flavoured'.
William Alexander wrote, somewhat humorously, about the dollar & effort costs of growing produce at home [1] but in addition to unique / superior flavours, advocates will often assert the intangible benefits (a new problem domain to engage the brain, a tighter connection with your food, the near-meditative aspects of some repetitive gardening activities).
Oh, and for seed acquisition, in AU we've got a few really good options - Green Harvest, Diggers, Edens etc - that maintain many of the heirloom varieties that found there way here, but I thought stateside you'd have way more options? Check the Seed Savers Network[2] if you haven't found them already.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_$64_Tomato
[2] https://seedsavers.net/
I enjoyed reading that. Thanks.
I have noticed that this preference for superior produce is lacking in America. That’s mostly because there is no food culture or habit of dining together.
In Asia and even in parts of Europe, people will wait for seasonal produce and appreciate certain varieties. (White asparagus dipped in melted butter..yum. Don’t get me started about mango season in India)
The National dish of USA is the cheeseburger. And we import most of our produce. So there is no appreciation for seasonality and food is always from elsewhere. And often picked unripe and have travelled a lot of food miles. There is no anticipation or excitement for food. Everything is available in massive quantities and on demand. At some point, the law of diminishing returns kicks in.
We export commodities like nuts and fodder. We have billions of sales in worthless tasteless leafy greens like kale and lettuce. Nobody ever enjoyed a bowl of ‘yummy’ lettuce. Nobody.
As a farmer, this is very depressing to me. As a chef, I feel almost suicidal. For cooks and chefs, if there are no one enjoying or appreciating our skills, we might as well not exist.
As an immigrant who grew up in a food culture before America, it’s wretchedly depressing. The grocery stores here are designed like warehouses and farms are like factories. The goods are standardized and optimized for efficient supply chain. All the joy of food shopping is sucked dry from these sterile environments.
As a small acreage farmer who wants to automate and improve tech, the options are minimal to nil. There are some companies that try to help small farmers but I am not sure how it will pan out. Time will tell. Everything in America has to scale. Economies of scale is the killer. Must scale is the mantra.
While Europe has at least close to a dozen small acreage ag bots in the work, you don’t even hear about the handful that is working to help us small acreage farmer out..many have died out even before they can get started because of lack of funding. But that’s another topic for another day.
California is better than most places, tbh with varieties. The weather is the saving grace.
Also: There is California rare fruits association and scion exchange.
http://mbcrfg.org/scion-exchange/
fresh dino kale (not the curly kale type) sauteed in olive oil with a bit of salt is heavenly. and various fresh lettuces are wonderful, so you should tone down your blanket condemnations
I hear that you have different food preferences than me. Thanks for sharing.
P.S: I want to apologize to the two children who downvoted me for hurting their tender feelings. I do have a recipe for Kale popsicles though..!!
https://weelicious.com/green-ice-pops-yes-green/
I grew up near some small farms in MD and we’d turn our nose up at yesterday’s Silver Queen (corn). It really does change over the course of just a few days.
For this reason my grandfather wouldn't pick the corn from his backyard garden until my grandmother had the water boiling.
One of the best methods for getting seeds for good tasting fruits (that breed true) is to just purchase the fruit of something you like and plant the seeds inside. I do this with tomatoes all the time, just go to the market, pick up the a few pounds of heirlooms and squish out the seeds before I eat them at home. I get so many tomato starts this way, that I generally have to transplant or kill off a few.
With other plants, it's also easy and advisable just to let some go to seed instead of harvesting them. You'll have plenty for the next round.
I think 'breed true' is the key here, for example you can't plant the seeds out of that tasty Gala apple and get a tree covered with Gala apples (in 10yr - another challenge with some food crops)[1]. But for perennials like tomatoes and chiles, it's great!
1: https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/faq/can-i-grow-apple-...