History of Tomatoes | The Garden of Eat'n

by chrisTopher the Tomato Traveler

Tomatoes have a fantastic and complex history that takes a moment to untangle. While many believe them to be native to Mexico and a common fruit cultivated by the Aztecs, in actuality their history can be traced farther back in time and to the Incas. According to Arizona University report “Growing Tomatoes Hydroponicallly”, tomatoes were cultivated by the Incas, native to Peru where they grew wild in the Andes before being brought to Mexico as early as 700A.D. (Hayden, Rorabaugh, & Jensen “Tomato Timeline”).

The name “tomato” comes from the Spanish word “tomate”, but if we trace the name farther down the stem we will see that it has its roots in the Aztec Nahuatl word xltomatl and it is believed to have been a ritual plant given to new couples to increase fertility. According to author of “Our Vegetable Travelers” Victor R. Boswell, most likely the cultivated species of tomato traveled north to Central America and Mexico from the Andes just like maize, during a migration of Indians in prehistoric times, presumably within the last two thousand years. It is believed that the tomato was one of the last crops to become domesticated and were considered of lesser value because of their difficulty to keep preserved.

It wouldn’t be for an additional 200 years after colonialism before tomatoes would be cultivated and eaten by the new settlers in the United States (Boswell, MacAlpine, & Lineberger 2000). Hérnan Cortes and the conquistadors brought the tomato back to Europe where it was used as an ornamental. It was believed that the fruit was poisonous. Later it was discovered that the fruits were safe to eat. The Latin botanical name, Lycopersicon esculentum, which translates to “wolfpeach” was given by French botanist Tournefort, but the common French called it pomme d’amour (apple of love) because those daring enough to eat it believed it to be an aphrodisiac. “The tomato belongs to the Solanaceae family, containing more than 3000 species including many plants of economic importance including potatoes, eggplants, petunias, tobacco, peppers (Capsicum) and Physalis”, (Bergougnoux 172). The chances that an ancient Aztec person would recognize a modern-day tomato is unlikely, since it has changed significantly as a result of domestication and carefully selected traits, moving away from the original yellow fruit that resembles a cherry tomato towards the large red fruit we know today.

By 1550 the Italians became the first Europeans to grow tomatoes for food and called it poma d’oro (apple of gold), but oddly it wouldn’t be until after the Declaration of Independence that the Wolf Peach or Love Apple would be finally considered edible on the mass of land that it originated (Filippone “Ever Wondered About the History of Tomatoes? A Tale of a Forbidden Fruit”). One of the strange facts about tomatoes is that they had to become world travelers, becoming an integral part of foreign foodways for 200 years before modern day American’s accepted them into their diets.

Here in the Garden of Eat’n, we have selected what we believes to be the most delicious and exciting tomatoes selected from seven years of non stop research and tasting. We have selected all organic seeds, and we grow our plants using strictly the finest organic materials to create healthy and strong plants. We use renewable resources, such as Cocoa coir, mychorizea, Azomite, and the finest local organic soil, composts, and fertilizers. We started out using very few organic pest management techniques but now have virtually abandoned them and resolved to a do nothing approach and let plants thrive or die. This way there is no harm to the beneficial insects. When pest control is used we use neem oil, baking soda, and Doctor Bronner’s soap. While a “hands off” approach to protecting plants from pests and diseases doesn’t always succeed in preventing a troubles in the garden, I do believe that natural methods are responsible for the best tasting fruits that are worthy of comparison to that old apple from the garden of Eden.