Get excited about heirloom tomatoes

Guest Column

Josie Hart

The essence of summer for me is a freshly picked tomato, and if you are a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) member or visit farmer’s markets, I am sure you love the rainbow of colors that come from heirloom tomatoes. At the Denver Botanic Gardens Chat eld Farms’ CSA, we get super excited about new nds, old classics and interesting adapted heirlooms that we can add to our o erings. Of course, tomato season starts well before the summer — deep in the winter, when the snow is falling, tomato growers pursue seed catalogues with all sorts of tomato varieties. Now, with mid-summer approaching, we enthusiastically wait for the rst fruits of the vine.

I would like to share three varieties we are most excited about for this season. ese varieties are heirloom or more accurately, ‘open pollinated’ tomatoes, which means a saved seed from the fruit will have very similar characteristics as the original plant.

Carbon ese black heirloom tomatoes are heavy feeders and have a high tolerance for drought and hot growing conditions. Carbon tomatoes are open pollinated, which means they use natural pollinators such as bumblebees, bees, birds and, sometimes, the wind — all natual elements of the garden. e carbon tomato is a large, rm, meaty tomato. Its esh is deep red with light to dark purple shoulders. It has a vibrant, sweet, smokey avor with the texture of a beefsteak. ese fruits are marketed as crack resistant, but according to several growers, they tend to split if watering is not regular.

Cherokee green is tomato is a true green when ripe which can cause confusion. We see many people pick up green tomatoes, then set them down because they think they are not ready. However, if you know what to look for in ripeness, then you are blessed with the sweetest avor (in my opinion) of all the tomatoes. Ripeness is indicated by a slight yellow-orange hue on the blossom side of the fruit. is wonderful heirloom has an excellent, complex avor with a gorgeous color, which makes it one of our most anticipated tomatoes for this season based on being a favorite from last year. Each tomato can be between six ounces and one pound. Cherokee green is a large, beautiful beefsteak selected by Craig LeHoullie who has trialed more than 1,200 tomato varieties and has several helpful books on home gardening. is tomato comes from the same gene selections at the Cherokee purple, which is known for bold, acidic avors.

Moskovich

A true classic in every tomato garden, this early, small, red tomato makes for a great slicer. ese perfect little red globes are cold-tolerant, which means they will be one of the rst to start to ripen. Moskovich can put on growth while the early May conditions are still too cold for many big fruit tomatoes. It will be one of the last to keep producing because of its hardiness, making it a true work-horse winner for production. e avor is very balanced — not too acidic and not too sweet, so it also works for canning, if that’s your thing. Happy growing (and eating)!

Josie Hart is the associate director of farm program for the Denver Botanic Gardens.

“ e Last of e Renaissance Men” Dr. Frederick John Fraikor of Golden, Colorado passed away peacefully on July 11th, 2023 surrounded by his family. Fred was born on April 22nd, 1937 to John Fraikor and Mary (Ihnat) Fraikor in Duquesne, PA. At around twelve years of age, while helping his father build their family home, his dad laughingly told him that he’d better stay in school because he would never be able to make a living with his hands. He worked college summers as a steel mill laborer, earning his B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering from CarnegieMellon University and his Ph.D. in Metallurgical Engineering from Ohio State University. He served as an o cer in the U.S. Army and as a visiting scientist at the Smithsonian Institution. Fred is credited with numerous “ rsts.” He was a pioneer in the use of electron microscopy, and a key contributor to a variety of defense program research initiatives during his tenure as a manager of Future Systems and Special Programs and Physical Metallurgy R&D at Rockwell International. As a manager, Fred was a facilitator, nding and bringing out the best in his sta and colleagues. Fred also had a distinguished academic career. He served as Dean of the School of Engineering Technology for Metropolitan State College in Denver, CO, and later retired from the Colorado School of Mines where he held numerous titles including Director of the Colorado Advanced Materials Institute,

Research Professor, and Interim Director of the O ce of Technology Transfer.

Fred was a Renaissance Man. An avid y sherman, closet archeologist, connoisseur of opera, classical music and ne arts, his drive to explore and learn was the essence of his character. Fred was a proli c writer and author who recently discovered a passion as a novelist, publishing six works of ction and one work of historical non- ction. But for all his accomplishments, he was rst a loving husband, father, grandfather, mentor and friend of many. Always kind, compassionate, and infectiously curious, Fred was a scholar who knew something about everything. And if he didn’t know it, he would research it until he was an expert.

Fred is survived by his loving wife Judith M. Jones, children Kathryn (Jon) Pototsky, Gregory (Jennifer) Fraikor, grandchildren Alexander Pototsky, Gabriella and Grant Fraikor, sister Francis McInroy, his nieces, nephew, and many beloved friends and colleagues.

He was preceded in death by his beloved son, Alexander Frederick Fraikor and his children’s mother Arlene.

Services were private. In lieu of owers, donations may be made to the West Denver Chapter of Trout Unlimited, c/o Matt Rivera, 8189 Webster St., Arvada, CO 80003 or the charity of your choice.

FROM

PAGE 14 cause that I think everyone can agree should end in our politically fractured country regardless of whether you are progressive, conservative or whatever. California recently strengthened its criminal code and made the penalties for child tra cking in California stronger. is is one area where earning about history is more fun when you experience it. at’s why the metro area has a wide range of places to experience Colorado’s history rsthand. Museums, tourist attractions and more provide venues for adults and children to get hands-on learning about Colorado history from the Jurrasic age to the 1900s.

Colorado would be well served to follow the lead of California. Together, people of goodwill and determination can come together and say no more to this horrible occurrence. It ends now! Indeed, God’s children should never be for sale by anyone in any place at any time. Once that becomes a reality, the world will have a better future, especially in the eyes of children.

From dinosaurs to mining and railroad history to early home and school life — the metro area has plenty of locations where families can have fun and learn a bit in the process.

Living history museums enable visitors to experience the everyday home life of ordinary people who toiled on Colorado’s farms, ranches, factories, mines, smelters and more, according to Kevin Rucker, a senior lecturer in MSU Denver’s history department.

For example, “visitors are able to visualize and empathize with what it took for women to take care of a household and raise families,” he said.

Rucker pointed to the Four-Mile House, Golden Prospect Park, Littleton Heritage Museum, Black Western History Museum, Molly Brown House as a starting point for all of the living history locations in the area. Colorado Community Media takes a look at some of the places in the metro area that provide hands-on history.

Who

doesn’t love dinosaurs?

Morrison is home to two spots where families can learn about dinosaurs — Dinosaur Ridge and the Morrison Natural History Museum.

logic and paleontological features. Visitors can check out the area themselves or with volunteers and geologists to learn about the dinosaurs that roamed the area. ere’s a museum and gift shop at C-470 and Alameda Parkway, and Dinosaur Ridge has Dinosaur Days throughout the year.

Close by is the Morrison Natural History Museum on Highway 8 just south of downtown Morrison, where families can learn more about dinosaurs. e museum is also a research center, so in addition to visiting the museum, people can take archeological trips.

Stegosaurus Day is always fun for kids as they try their hands at peeling away rocks to nd fossils.

Gold rush

Clear Creek County has several locations to learn more about Colorado’s mining history. At the Phoenix Gold Mine southwest of Idaho Springs, history comes alive as visitors go underground in a gold mine, pan for gold to try to strike it rich themselves and more.

Mine owner Dave Mosch, whose family has lived in Colorado since the 1860s, called the Phoenix Gold Mine fascinating for those who haven’t seen up close what mining was like, especially in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He noted that the mining-support industry also brought people to Colorado — building houses, operating shops and providing personal aspects of life to miners.

“Colorado is a beautiful place, but what originally brought people here was the gold,” Mosch said. “ e more you understand mining, the more you understand the growth of our state.”

He and all of Clear Creek County are proud that the Colorado gold rush began in 1859 in the county.

Trains and more trains e founder of the Colorado Railroad Museum understood how big the railroads were to settling Colorado.

“Bob Richardson (the founder of the museum) realized that people needed to know how it all got started, how people traveled to Colorado and how hard it was,” Roni Kramer, director of education for the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden, explained. “It is important to see every aspect of people’s beginnings and how they got here on the train. Honestly, it’s such an interesting story.”

While adults may be more interested in historical tidbits, children have the opportunity to check out all areas of di erent train cars. ey ring bells, move through

SEE HISTORY, P17

Dinosaur Ridge has interpretive signs along two miles of trails that explain the local geology, fossils, and many other geo- Halloween fun at the Colorado Railroad Museum includes a zombie train ride.