Yes, I finally bought my USA Tomatoes

[HockeyMom]

if you remember my story. Too hot now for Florida tomatoes. So, why should I buy Mexico or Canada tomatoes? I was almost ready to ask my daughter to bring her OWN GARDEN NEW YORK tomatoes with her on the plane. I went to 5 different stores. Mexican tomatoes at $1.99 a lb. Canadian HOT HOUSE tomatoes at $1.99 a lb. Who wants hot house tomatoes in a state where it is ALWAYS SUMMER?

I finally found "Ugly" tomatoes from northern Florida, at $3.50 a pound. I bought them. Since I needed a lot to make soup it cost me almost $10.00, just for the tomatoes. If we can ship from the south to north in the winters, why can't we reverse it in the summers. Why do we have to IMPORT FOOD from foreign countries? It is cheaper to ship from CANADA to Florida than from Virginia or New Jersey?

No, I REFUSE to buy FOREIGN tomatoes, even if they are CHEAPER. I feel the same way about $10 shirts from El Salvador. I would rather get out my sewing machine, buy the fabric, and make it myself. It is getting harder and harder to find ANYTHING that is made in the USA and not foreign countries. What the hell is wrong with this picture?

My little "home grown" tomato search is just a tiny part of the bigger problem in AMERICA. Then we find we don't have JOBS? How can we when we are IMPORTING everything in this country.

[Uncle Joe]

1. You can say that again.

Thanks for the threads, HockeyMom.

[CurtEastPoint]

2. Same thoughts the other day. How FU is that. And HockeyMom is TRIPLE mad! LOL!

It is ridiculous, though. I live in GA, the next state from FL and the store has 'local' tomatoes (location unknown) and then they're from Mexico and Canada.

[WinkyDink]

3. I'm lucky to live near Lancaster Cty, PA, land of awesome home-grown veggies!

[KamaAina]

4. We have Canadian bell peppers

In California. At a produce market!! :wtf:

[msongs]

5. all this importing is a corporate scam designed to keep all the money for themselves =

these corporations all give business to their subsidiaries. their farm to their trucking to their airlines to their trucking to their stores, all an insiders club. They are keeping all the money so they don't care if they fly it all over the planet because YOU ARE PAYING FOR IT SO IT MEANS NOTHING TO THEM. local or regional stuff escapes the corporate systems so it undesirable.

[JDPriestly]

8. Right.

Buy from local farmers. Buy as close to the grower as you possibly can.

Better yet, grow your own if you can. Tomatoes are pretty easy.

[kath]

26. Tomatoes are easy in some areas - but where it's been 100 degrees or above for 31 straight days, 95

or above for 47 days, and 90 or above for 60 days, not so much!

[HipChick]

6. I buy from the Amish market..

[elleng]

7. DRIVING to Jersey soon for some FAMILY-grown tomatoes!

[Gormy Cuss]

24. Don't forget to pick up some corn

if it's available already. I don't really know the season but I live with a NJ native who measures all tomatoes and corn against NJ grown.:D

[elleng]

27. Don't know about corn, I like MD corn on the way to the beach,

Silver Queen.

If its good in NJ. will do, but have to eat it immediately.

[cwydro]

9. Heck...I got more than I can use

growing right here in NC on my little farm.

Say the word and I'll send them to you just for the postage price.

[Skidmore]

10. I just [picked a half a dozen this morning.

Plant a couple of pots.

[FLyellowdog]

12. Me too. Had my first home grown tomato for dinner last night.

[Lugnut]

14. We've been picking and eating our own for two weeks.

There's nothing better than going out in the back yard for a tomato.

[get the red out]

11. I am fortunate

Right now is tomato prime time in Kentucky and people keep giving us nice big ripe ones, the farmer's market is also filled with them. Damn good eatin'!!!

[elfin]

13. I always wait for locally grown, fresh tomatoes

Where I live in both Wisconsin and Michigan , it is usually August and September. The rest of the year, only buy sparingly -- they have no taste in comparison.

Getting ready to pig out here in Michigan. I just LOVE them along with fresh corn.

[Jack Sprat]

15. Fortunately, there are farmer's markets

in my area. I don't even like store bought tomatoes for making sandwiches. Locally farm grown tomatoes are so good that I make sandwiches using only tomatoes and mayo. and salt or pepper.

[trof]

16. The 2000 Mile Spuds

A year or so ago I was 'educated' about localvores.
Locavores?
Whatever.

The farther away from home produce is grown, the more energy necessary to get them to market, blah blah blah.
Makes sense.

I was buying a 5 lb. bag of potatoes at Winn-Dixie.
The bag came from Simi Valley, CA.
2000 miles from our little town in coastal Alabama.
I picked up a bag with another 'brand' name.
Golden, Colorado.
'Only' 1500 miles.
I bought the 1500 mile spuds.
:-(

Our area used to be a major potato producer for the southeast.
Now our farmers grow...TURF!
Grass for your yard.
:grr:

[Shagbark Hickory]

22. The decline in new house construction didn't do the sod farmers any favors. Maybe they'll go back to

growing food.

[Seedersandleechers]

17. Welcome to Locavore365.org - where you can buy, sell, swap or give away locally grown produce.

http://www.locavore365.org/

[HockeyMom]

18. You guys from the closer Southern states

want to make some money, bring your produce on down to Florida in summer. It might be a drive but which is closer? Kentucky or Canada?

[B Calm]

19. I have tomatoes rotting away in my Indiana garden. Too many to eat

and the wife is not planning on canning any this summer.

[Mimosa]

20. Totally agree!

Locally grown tomatoes can be so yummy. Homegrown varieties often have thinner skins so they don't ship well.

[Shagbark Hickory]

21. Is it ok to ever ok import *anything*?

Even if it pays a living wage in those countries?

Do you think the person who picked your north fladuh tomatoes was a US citizen or documented worker?

[jtuck004]

23. The family that created this website lived only on things they could buy within 100 miles

or so for a year. He is a local (Presby?) pastor, wife, 2 kids (I think).

Their website is here - http://www.yearofplenty.org/ - might be of interest

They opened up the parking lot to a two day a week farmers market, even stood up to the city a bit when the city started making up rules to gig the vendors with, kept the market going. They removed their backyard during that time, now virtually all vegetable garden, I think.

Did a series of open talks on various gardening and canning, very informative. Wouldn't know you were at a church except for the
signs and pictures, but that never became an overt part of anything.

One of the interesting parts was when they recounted the story of their visit to the local mill for flour. They were shown the various bags and labels, all of it ground right there for the different companies. Often the only difference between what was in bags for different companies was the grinding.

They have now written a book (haven't read it), and the website has a lot of data.

[Morizovich]

25. Tomatoes are Beautiful

I still can't believe they did not originate in Italy!