August 25, 2020
Cherry Tomatoes Fresh From Buckhorn Inn Garden
Don’t you love those luscious, sweet, end-of-summer cherry tomatoes? They pop in your mouth with such bright flavor. We have grown several varieties of these small tomatoes here at Buckhorn Inn. One of the most prolific this year was our heirloom Yellow Pear tomatoes. They fruit is bright yellow and they are deliciously tangy. We also have had great success with Shimmer, Honeycomb, Napa Grape, Mighty Sweet, and Black Pearl. They look beautiful served together in a salad! Our chefs also have enjoyed using them in “farmer’s omelets” showcasing our garden-fresh veggies. http://www.burpee.com/vegetables
Each tomato has a slightly different flavor profile.
Tomato History
Food historians believe cherry tomatoes are a modern version of South American wild tomatoes. According to archeological evidence, Central American farmers grew the first domestic strains of these small tomatoes. The Incas and Aztecs farmed tiny pea-size fruit around 700 A.D. You may not realize that large tomatoes are actually a mutation of the cherry varieties. The first cultivated tomatoes were berry-small and housed only two cavities for seeds.
We do not know who gets credit for bringing tomatoes to Europe. The first description of small tomatoes in print appears in a 1623 illustrated book of plants. The fruits reached wild popularity in the 1970s when British chain Marks & Spencer worked with local growers and food scientists to develop a new cherry tomato that was very sweet and shelf-stable.
We hope you are enjoying a bountiful crop! If you have more tomatoes than you can use fresh, why not oven dry some of them? That is what we have been doing. These little flavor bombs are great for salads, pasta topping, or snacking. They burst with intense tomato flavor. And it couldn’t be more easy.
Oven-Dried Cherry Tomatoes
35 cherry tomatoes
1 Tablespoon of salt
Herbs, optional
Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut tomatoes in half horizontally and place on the sheet, sides touching and cut side up. Sprinkle with salt and let sit about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped basil, oregano, or parsley. Bake for 2 1/2 to 3 hours until the halves are about 3/4 of their original size and are deep red in color. You may keep them for a month or so in an airtight container in the refrigerator or they may be frozen.
August 3, 2020
Pittman Center Has Become A Bee City!
Our community of Pittman Center has joined communities across the country to call attention to an important issue. Affiliates of Bee City USA are working to protect pollinators. So far 111 cities have signed up to raise awareness, establish and enhance habitats, and celebrate the efforts of volunteer leaders.
Honey bees are busy at work in Buckhorn Inn flower and vegetable gardens.
Honey bees and other pollinators are facing threats at increasing rates. According to Bee City USA http://www.beecityusa.org one of every three bites of food that we eat is thanks to insect pollination. In fact, 90% of all plants and trees rely on pollinators for the survival of their species. That is why we must be concerned with bees disappearing because of loss of habitat, diseases and parasites, and inappropriate pesticide use. Some experts estimate that U.S. honey bee populations are declining at an annual rate of as much as 44%.
Pittman Center Approves Resolution
In May 2020 the town of Pittman Center approved a resolution naming the town an affiliate of Bee City USA. The town’s Tree Board will oversee the Bee City USA program. The town will host at least one educational event or pollinator habitat planting each year to showcase the community’s commitment. There also are plans to create or expand a pollinator-friendly habitat on public and private land. The Tree Board also will create and adopt an integrated pest management plan. This plan will be designed to prevent pest problems, reduce pesticide use, and expand the use of non-chemical pest management methods.
At the Buckhorn Inn, we are delighted with this new program. This is the second summer for our honey bee hives. We report that Queens Violet and Catherine and their minions are healthy and happy. You can watch them at work in our vegetable and flower gardens. When the nectar is flowing they are especially busy in St. Cordelia’s garden. We hope you have a chance to watch them at work.
April 30, 2018
April Gardening at Buckhorn Inn
We love gardening at Buckhorn Inn! Our guests from other parts of the country often are curious about our growing season. So we thought we would give you a peek into what we are doing this April.
Keeping our gardens in good shape is a labor of love.
Our display of spring bulbs was beautiful this year. We are marking their locations so we will know where to fertilize this fall. We are diligent about removing the faded flowers to make everything look better and to keep seeds from forming. Our Siberian irises are blooming now. After they finish we will divide them and replant.
We have pruned the perennials that have not yet started to grow, and renewed our mulch so that is about 3″ deep. We pruned our trees, removing dead and diseased limbs, before they began to leaf out.
The annual flowers we have set out bring color now, and throughout the entire summer. Even though some early balmy temperatures and sunny days were seductive, we waited until we were sure spring had arrived for good before we put them out!
Gardening for Edibles
This month we filled our new raised-bed vegetable gardens with seeds for early and late lettuce mixes, kaleidoscope carrots and okra. Last week we planted tomatoes and a mix of sweet and hot peppers. We are especially pleased with our new kitchen herb garden. It is planted right outside the kitchen door for easy access by our chefs.
This month we planted our kitchen herb garden.
Our selections include dill, cilantro, basil, curry, rosemary, majoram, oregano, thyme, and sage. We look forward to seeing how the supply of fresh herbs and vegetables will inspire our chefs!
The school of agriculture at the University of Tennessee is a wonderful source of information and inspiration. Check out their website http://www.agt.tennessee.edu/utg for information and inspiration! They also have information on upcoming events, such as their May 6 Plantapalooza and hosta sale!
We wish you a wonderful spring and hope that your gardens grow and flourish!
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