How many times have you walked past a home garden overflowing with ripe fruits, luscious berries and leafy vegetables, wishing you could sink your teeth into just about everything?
Soroptimist International of Sacramento, Inc. (SIS) is giving you the chance with the 2nd annual Edible Gardens Tour. The tour will take visitors through six different edible gardens in East Sacramento.

Get growing
Susann Hadler, who has lived in East Sacramento for more than 30 years and chairs the Fund Development Committee and Edible Gardens Tour for SIS, said an edible garden is balanced landscape that combines edible plants, such as fruits and vegetables, with purely ornamental plants.
“You’re incorporating plants that you can actually eat into your landscaping,” she said.
For example, one of the gardens on this year’s tour is the home garden of interior designer Amanda Fossum.
Fossum was inspired by the Edible Gardens Tour last year to not only do more with her garden, but also become part of the tour this year.
“I thought if we could show what we’ve done in just two years of owning our house, it would encourage other people to start their own gardens or even be on the tour themselves next year,” Fossum said.
Fossum’s garden includes a covered patio, fire pit and raised beds made from recycled cedar and redwood. It also extends from the backyard to the front.
For the second year of their garden, Fossum said she and her husband decided to “double down” and plant as much as they can. The garden’s bounty includes four different fruit trees, zucchini squash, watermelon, cantaloupe, two different varieties of tomatoes, lettuce, herbs, peppers and cucumbers.
Another garden on the tour this year will feature what Hadler called a “sustainable English cottage garden.”
Hadler said the home itself looks like an English cottage with gardens in both the front and backyards featuring sunflowers, artichokes, tomatoes, beans, strawberries and blueberries. And then there’s a more whimsical garden that features a two-story chicken coop and raised beds for growing vegetables and herbs.
Also on the tour for 2012 is the Science Alive garden at Theodore Judah Elementary School, which features edible gardens, native plant gardens and a butterfly pavilion.
“What they have done is amazing – they’ve really taken science out of the classroom and put it in what you could call a living laboratory,” Hadler said. “They’re excited about being one of the featured (gardens).”

Coming up green
Although edible gardens are the focus of this event, the main purpose is for SIS to raise money for its philanthropic endeavors. SIS is a service club for professional business women whose mission is to improve the lives of women and children.
Last year, Hadler said their first-ever Edible Gardens Tour saw about 600 attendees and raised almost $10,000 for the Guardian Scholars Program at California State University Sacramento.
The program provides a campus-based program to support current and former foster youth successfully complete a college degree. The funds raised also went toward scholarships SIS gives out each year to high school and college students.
This year, funds raised through the Edible Gardens Tour will again go toward scholarships, as well as two main charities, Hadler said.
The first is the Children’s Receiving Home Independent Living Program for Foster Youth, which Hadler said focuses on helping foster youth become independent members of the community once they become young adults.
“There are programs that they go through that guide them on such things as renting an apartment, how to go to the DMV to get your driver’s license, and how to make sure you’re getting the right cell phone contract,” Hadler said.
The second charity is the Lilliput Children’s Services Emergency Kinnect Program.
Hadler said this program provides clothing, toys, formula and diapers to children to have been removed from a home due to an emergency situation until they can be placed in a stable environment.
Fossum said she is proud to be a part of this year’s Edible Gardens Tour to help support SIS in its fundraising efforts for others, and she benefits as well.
“I’m considering opening my own small business right now, so in terms of having other women in the community as a support network, I think it’s a great organization,” she said.

corrie@valcomnews.com

The spring rains are tapering off, the local area received some “previews” of the summer heat to come, and home gardeners’ thoughts are turning to…tomatoes. California’s capital city is nicknamed “Sacra-tomato” with good reason – tomatoes thrive here. The locals may not worship the tomato, but they certainly revere it.

Rich heritage

While a “fruit” by botanical definition, the tomato was designated a “vegetable” by the Supreme Court in 1893. It originated in South America and was distributed throughout the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas.

Thomas Jefferson grew tomatoes at Monticello. At that time, some thought tomatoes were poisonous (they aren’t). Urban legend says that, on a visit to Lynchburg, Jefferson terrified one of the locals when he paused to snack on a tomato on the steps of the Miller-Claytor house.

Good for you

Tomatoes are nutritious and low in calories. A medium-sized tomato boasts only 35 calories.

There is a tomato for every taste and culinary need.

Cherry and grape tomatoes are bite-sized for snacking and are a staple of summer salads.

Paste tomatoes are used for sauces, catsup, tomato paste, and canning.

Slicing tomatoes are the largest of all. Some of these “big boys” can weigh in at over two pounds. They are wonderful sliced and served on a plate, or on sandwiches and burgers.

Get gardening

So, it’s absolutely the right time to be thinking about getting Sacramento’s favorite summer vegetable into the garden.

Avid tomato enthusiasts started their plants from seed in late January and through February. If you started plants from seed, now is the time to begin gradually acclimating your plants to the outdoors.

If you got a late start in the garden, it’s not too late. Now through June is the ideal time to get young tomato plants into the ground. There are many tomato plants available at local nurseries and garden shops.

Each gardener, according to the UC Cooperative Extension Sacramento County office, has an opinion about the most reliable tomatoes to plant each spring. These opinions are based on flavor, yield and disease resistance.

Heirloom or hybrid?

Another factor to consider: heirloom vs. hybrid?

Heirloom tomato varieties are more than 50 years old and open-pollinated. Often, seeds are saved and passed down by generations of tomato growers. These seeds are even traded.

Hybrid tomato cultivars are newer. They were developed after 1950. Hybrids are the result of crossing different parents.

Pros and cons

Hybrid tomatoes have greater disease resistance and higher yields than heirloom tomatoes. The trade-off is that the flavor is not necessarily better than heirloom varieties.

Another factor to consider is nutritional value. A University of Texas study notes that nutritional value in supermarket tomatoes has dropped since 1950, when hybrid tomatoes began to enter the food supply.

“Emerging evidence suggests that when you select for yield, crops grow bigger and faster, but they don’t necessarily have the ability to make or uptake nutrients at the same, faster rate,” said Dr. Donald Davis, the leader of study wrote.

One positive factor for the home gardener is the ability to control the use of inorganic chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Keeping these chemicals out of your garden – and out of your food – will keep them out of your body.

Most of all, having these beauties in the home garden is a source of satisfaction. The ability to conveniently retrieve the freshest, tastiest tomatoes for your next backyard barbeque with friends and family surely rates as one of the unique advantages to living in this region.

SIDEBAR

Tomatoes that grow best in Sacramento County

UCCE Sacramento County Master Gardeners have had best results growing the following “tried-and-true” varieties in their home gardens and at the Fair Oaks Horticultural Center:

Cherry/Grape Tomatoes

Black Cherry (black/brown – heirloom)

Green Grape (greenish yellow – heirloom)

Juliet (red – hybrid) Sweet 100 (red – hybrid)

Large Red Cherry (red – heirloom)

Sun Cherry (red – hybrid)

Sun Gold (yellow-orange – hybrid)

Sun Sugar (orange – hybrid)

Sweet Million (red – hybrid)

Paste Tomatoes

Fresh Salsa (red – hybrid)

Italian Gold (yellow-orange – hybrid)

Orange Banana (orange – heirloom)

Super Marzano (red – hybrid)

Heirloom Slicing Tomatoes

Abe Lincoln (red)

Amana Orange (yellow-orange)

Aunt Ruby’s German Green (green with yellow hints)

Azoychka (yellow)

Caspian Pink (pink)

Cherokee Purple (purple/black)

Eva Purple Ball (dark pink)

Evergreen (green)

Hawaiian Pineapple (yellow-orange)

Jaune Flamme (orange)

Julia Child (deep pink)

Kellogg’s Breakfast (orange)

Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom (yellow)

Marianna’s Peace (pink)

Mortgage Lifter (pink)

Omar’s Lebanese (pink)

Paul Robeson (black)

Redfield Beauty (pink)

Rose (deep pink)

Rose de Berne (pink)

Virginia Sweets (yellow with red stripes)

Hybrid Slicing Tomatoes

Ace (red)

Better Boy (red)

Big Beef (red)

Brandy Boy (pink)

Celebrity (red)

Dinner Plate (red)

Early Girl (red)

Lemon Boy (yellow)

Oregon Spring (red)

Park’s Whopper (red)

Super Fantastic (red)

Whopper VFN (red)

Home canning of fruits and vegetables is regaining popularity thanks to the economic downturn and a growing interest in eating locally grown food. A downside to this practice is that if food is preserved improperly, consumers may become ill or die, according to University of California Cooperative Extension nutrition advisors.

If practiced properly, home canning is a safe method for preserving food. The canning process involves placing foods in jars and heating them to a temperature that destroys the microorganisms that cause food to spoil. During this heating process, air is driven out of the jar and as it cools a vacuum seal is formed. This vacuum seal prevents air and microorganisms from getting back into the jar.

If tested recipes are not followed, food-borne microorganisms can survive and they will spoil canned foods. Worse, consumers can get botulism from eating improperly home-canned foods. Botulism is a rare, but serious paralyzing illness caused by a nerve toxin produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. Botulism can kill if not promptly treated.

There are two safe ways of canning food – the boiling water bath method and the pressure canner method. Boiling water is used with high-acid foods such as fruits. A pressure canner must be used with foods such as vegetables, meats and combinations containing these foods such as salsa or spaghetti sauce. Tested recipes and guidelines must always be followed to ensure safe home-canned foods.

“It is very important to follow scientifically tested canning instructions to avoid illness.” said Susan Algert, UC Cooperative Extension nutrition advisor for Santa Clara County.

“The boiling water bath method is safe for fruits, jams, jellies, pickles and other acidic preserves,” she said. In this method, jars of food are completely covered with boiling water (212 degrees F at sea level) and heated for a specified amount of time.

High-acid foods such as peaches naturally have a pH of 4.6 or less and contain enough acid to prevent the growth of Clostridium botulinum. High-acid foods can be safely canned using the boiling water bath method.

“Certain foods, such as tomatoes, pears and figs, have a pH value close to 4.6 and must have acid added to them to lower the pH enough to use the water bath method,” Algert said. The pH can be lowered by adding commercial lemon juice or powdered citric acid.

When canning homemade salsa or other tomato products, Algert recommends following a scientifically tested recipe and using commercially bottled lemon juice to increase the acidity.

“You can’t use juice squeezed from a fresh lemon because we don’t know exactly how acidic the juice is,” Algert said. “Commercial lemon juice meets a standard acidity.”

To can low-acid vegetables such as green beans without a pressure cooker, the vegetables must first be pickled using a recommended recipe to ensure the final acidity is too high for Clostridium botulinum to grow.

Clostridium botulinum can form spores, a heat tolerant form of the bacteria that can survive boiling. If spores survive because of inadequate processing, they can revive and allow the bacteria to grow and produce toxins. Clostridium botulinum thrives in low-acid foods like meats and vegetables and in the absence of air in canned foods.

“The only safe method of preserving vegetables, meats, poultry and seafood to prevent botulism is pressure canning,” Algert said. “These low-acid foods require heating to at least 240 degrees F for a time specified for each product. This temperature can only be reached using a pressure cooker.”

To ensure safety of home canned goods, she recommends using new lids to ensure a tight seal and following scientifically tested instructions.

For more information about safely canning food, visit the University of California’s Food Safety website at http://ucfoodsafety.ucdavis.edu/Consumer_Advice and the USDA National Center for Home Food Preservation website at http://www.uga.edu/nchfp

Watch a video of safe canning tips at http://stream.ucanr.org/preserving_fruit/canning_safely.html

Low-acid foods:

• meats
• seafood
• poultry
• dairy products
• all vegetables
• combination products using these foods

High-acid foods:

• most fruits
• properly pickled vegetables

Foods that require added lemon juice for boiling water bath canning:

• figs
• pears
• tomatoes

It took traveling to Cuba and Kauai, and marveling at what the farmers’ markets there had to offer to make me realize just what I might be missing back home. Sure enough, once I went to the farmers’ market here in Sacramento, I never looked back.

 

The farmers’ market is held every Sunday from 8 a.m. to noon under the freeway at 8th and X streets, and boasts a plentiful array of seasonal fruits and vegetables, as well as vendors selling freshly baked bread, eggs, cheese, flowers, tortillas, meats, poultry and seafood, and many other items.

 

With the price of food increasingly going up, and the local economy struggling due to the recession, the Certified Farmers’ Markets of Sacramento County offer a solution to both: pay less for your groceries while supporting your local economy. But it doesn’t stop there: About half of the vendors there offer organic produce, often at a much better price than local stores. And perhaps the most convincing argument of all: eating both locally grown food and what’s in season helps to cut down on carbon emissions. Produce imports and exports add a huge debt to our carbon footprint because of the amount of jet fuel it takes to keep up this endless cycle of international produce shipments. So shopping at the farmers’ market means going green, too, and most people even bring their own reusable shopping bags.

 

At the moment, artichokes, asparagus, mushrooms, all kinds of citrus fruit, kiwis, and rainbow kale are all in season, among several other items. Produce items change by the season, but the cheese, bread, egg, olive oil and organic meat vendors are there year round.

 

Touring the market

On a recent Sunday morning, there with my friend Becca Popham, I asked her what she loved about it. She said, “My trip to the farmers market has become a Sunday ritual. The variety is endless: organically raised meat, seasonal fruits and vegetables, flowers for my table, free-range eggs. My favorites right now are the many varieties of daffodils and mandarin oranges. You can even find locally made tortillas – garlic and butter tortillas are my favorite – and fresh bread. The big bonus – everything is fresh and grown or raised close to home. I love that my money goes directly to the hardworking farmers!”

 

Barbara Kingsolver, prolific writer and gardener extraordinaire, expounded further on this subject in her most recent book, “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle.” She wrote: “Concentrating on local foods is a strategy that will keep grocery money in the neighborhood, where it gets recycled into your own school system, and local businesses. The green spaces surrounding your town stay green, and farmers who live nearby get to grow more food next year, for you.”

 

But enough about the politics involved in this debate. Chances are, in the fast-paced lives we lead, not everyone can make it to the farmers’ market every week, and most people need to supplement whatever they buy at the local supermarket, which is fine. When asking people why they shopped at the farmers’ market, there was one answer that everyone had in common: the freshness of the fruits and vegetables, often picked that very morning, and the taste. Because this produce didn’t have to travel or stay preserved for a long length of time, it’s just fresher, and tastes better.

 

 

If you’re not convinced yet, taste heirloom tomatoes in the summer time at the farmers’ market, and compare it to a hothouse tomato. The hothouse tomato is mealy and flavorless. The heirloom tomato at the farmers’ market tastes like sunshine. Have I convinced you yet? If not, go and see for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.

 

E-mail Jeneka Sanford at jeneka@valcomnews.com.