The Daily Citizen, Dalton, GA

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July 29, 2010

Consumer Q’s

Georgia Department of Agriculture

Question:  When is the best time to pick tomatoes for the best taste?

Answer: The best time to pick your tomatoes for best taste is when they are ripe.  There is not one specific signal that will tell you this.  Some tomatoes will still have green shoulders when fully ripe.  Others can have turned completely red or yellow but still need to ripen a day or two more to a somewhat deeper color for maximum flavor.  It takes some practice and intuition to recognize when this is.   There is not one particular time of day to harvest tomatoes for maximum flavor.  Another tip for the best-tasting tomatoes: Do not refrigerate them if you are planning on using them fresh.  Refrigerating them destroys that highly-desired fresh flavor.

Q: What is the difference between sultanas and impatiens?

A: They are the same flower.  “Sultana” is not as common a name as it used to be.  The name “impatiens” is more common in the nursery trade now.  

Q: I saw perilla (Perilla frutescens) seeds offered in a seed catalog. It sounded attractive with its purple leaves.  I planted it and it is thriving with my flowers.  When my neighbor (who raises cattle) saw it, he said the plant is toxic to cattle and asked if I would pull the plants up or at least keep them from going to seed.  Is perilla toxic to cattle?

 A: Yes, perilla causes a respiratory problem that usually kills cattle. Typically, when cattle have plenty to eat they do not consume it, but when food is scarce they may.   Perilla, also called perilla mint, is native to Asia but naturalized throughout the eastern U.S. (including Georgia) and Canada. Perilla is sometimes grown as an ornamental.  Perilla can be purple or green depending on the strain.  It is not the best ornamental as it sows itself around rather freely, which is why it has naturalized such a large area – and why your neighbor is concerned it will spread to his pastures.  The odor of the leaves is unpleasant to many people.  There are other more attractive (and more useful) purple plants to grow such as one of the purple-leaved basil varieties.

If you have questions about services or products regulated by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, visit our website at www.agr.georgia.gov or write us at 19 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Room 227, Atlanta, GA  30334 or e-mail us at  info@agr.georgia.gov.

 

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