Bees are creating a major buzz worldwide. But it’s not all good. While bee-lievers spread the word in terms of the valuable pollination “services” bees provide, internationally circulated news reports state that billions of bees are being destroyed by pesticides. The result is a worldwide petition to force the European Union to ban the most […]

A team of Chinese and Japanese scientists has discovered that people eating tomatoes regularly are less likely to suffer from depression than those who eat tomatoes less than once a week. The research team led by Kaijun Niu from Tianjin Medical University in China published its findings in the Journal of Affective Disorders recently. They […]

While it is true that canned tomatoes contain much of the goodness of fresh tomatoes, why settle for canned tomatoes when you can preserve your own in times of plenty? Both fresh and canned tomatoes are an excellent source of Vitamin A and Vitamin C and they are low in calories. They contain lycopene, an […]

A medical study by researchers at a Finnish university has found that people, particularly men, have a much lower risk of stroke if they eat tomatoes. The cause of stroke is usually a blood clot that blocks the supply of blood to the brain, often causing death. It is reported that in the USA alone, […]

Heirloom tomatoes were the norm prior to the 20th century. For centuries most families in our current first world countries grew their own vegetables and fruit, collecting seed and replanting it season after season. This meant that the tomatoes grown in different areas, and on individual plots, were often distinctly different, as the seed was […]

Tomato plants growing in a garden in Belgium have been struck by a strange, little-known disease called Tomato Bunchy Top Viroid (or Virus). After growing to a height of about 600 mm or 2 ft, the tomato plants, which are growing in Chris Pavis’s Tervuren garden, develop growing tips with lots of tiny leaves all […]

Researchers at the University of Florida say they have discovered exactly why the tomatoes we grow in our veggie gardens at home taste so much better than those sold in shops and supermarkets. Their findings published in the online version of Current Biology (24 May 2012) titled The Chemical Interactions Underlying Tomato Flavor Preferences, state […]

One of the best things about tomatoes is that you can grow them just about anywhere, even on a small patio or tiny balcony. While some people maintain that growing tomatoes in containers is more time consuming than growing them in a veggie garden, this is not true. Provided you have a spot where they […]

Tomatoes are an incredibly versatile food ingredient that can be eaten raw, cooked or made into soups and sauces. They can be stuffed with meat, rice or breadcrumbs, and used as the main ingredient in tarts. Combined with onions and a few spices, they also make a refreshing sambal for curries and other Eastern dishes.  […]

While a growing number of people are realising the benefits of companion planting, there is still a certain mystique about why some specific vegetables thrive with others. Similarly, those not in the know find it puzzling that it can be disastrous to combine plantings of certain other vegetable types together. For example, carrots love tomatoes; […]