Skip to main content

Saturday’s Newspaper Snippet: Wise & Otherwise

Today’s post mentions my 3rd Great Grandfather John Pierse.  I had a laugh reading this because the biggest and best crop of tomatoes I have ever grown was at our married quarter at Kapooka in 2003.  We called them ‘the triffids‘ and the family consensus was they were the nicest tomatoes any of us had ever had!  I didn’t stake them either and just let them grow freely into the massive plants they became.  I have not been too active growing vegetables recently (Covid 19 got me back into it and my current plantings are growing very nicely at the moment) but I am looking forward to growing tomatoes again this year, especially now and they won’t be staked either!

Source:  WISE & OTHERWISE. (1906, October 17). The Gundagai Independent and Pastoral, Agricultural and Mining Advocate (NSW : 1898 - 1928), p. 3. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article120258756

Transcript:

The worst system of growing tomatoes (and now is the time for planting out) is to allow the plants to run wild, sprawling on the ground ; the fruit becomes inferior owing to its contact with the earth, and takes longer to ripen.  This doesn’t always follow, as Mr John Pierse, of Darbalara, grows, or did a year or two back, some “bonster” tomatoes, very large and excellent flavour, and never staked or trellised the plants.

Update:

Apparently he was very well known for his “Shadybrook” tomatoes as I found more articles about his tomato growing prowess!  “Shadybrook” was the name of the family property by the way.  I get the impression that there was a long running debate between the authors, other gardeners and my great great great Grandfather about the best way to grow tomatoes!


Source
SO WAGS THE WORLD (1915, December 21). The Gundagai Independent and Pastoral, Agricultural and Mining Advocate (NSW : 1898 - 1928), p. 2. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122196064

Transcript:
How are you on tomatoes, Mr. Sullivan?  Are you an expert in cultivating the wholesome and delicious fruit-vegetable?  Some people say you should stake them and tie them up : others say no. let them run on the ground.  Mr John Pierse, of “Shadybrook,” Darbalara, has grown the finest tomatoes in the District, if not the State and he never staked them.  My education has gone no farther than acquiring a taste for the tommytoe.




Source:  
DISTRICT NEWS (1918, January 31). The Gundagai Independent and Pastoral, Agricultural and Mining Advocate (NSW : 1898 - 1928), p. 4. Retrieved from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article121748042
Transcript:


Of course, it would not pay to go to the expense of staking when tomatoes are grown for the market ; but we would advise those with small plots to stake them and thin out the thick foliage.  Mr. John Pierse, of “Shadybrook” has been growing tons of tomatoes (mostly for the benefit of his friends) for years, but he never staked, yet the “Shadybrook” tomato was excellent, both in size and flavour.  Still if you have a small garden and a dozen or so plants, stake them - you will find it all the better if you do.




Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Kendall Children.

I started this post a while ago and was going to finally finish and post it yesterday however our four grandchildren came over and I got sidetracked.  Our grandchildren range in age now from six down to one;  they are so full of life (each of them lights up a room when they enter it) and we feel extremely blessed to have them in our lives.  After spending the afternoon researching this post, their arrival made this tragedy even more poignant for me and so I appreciated their company even more than usual and hugged them a bit tighter too!  This morning I woke up to a cold, wet and windy Wagga day and the thought of three little girls out in August weather like this, in light weight dresses with no shoes or jumpers impacted on me even more. Those poor babies! One of the girls was found still clasping her doll that she had carried with her over the whole tragic journey. When my husband and I were looking around the Wagga Wagga Monumental Cemetery some time ago we came across a very sad he

Trove Tuesday - The Murder of Patrick McCooey

These articles involve my 5th Great Grandmother Ann Puckeridge (nee Maund) and her son William Puckeridge (my half 4th Great grand Uncle).  Ann was born in England and married her first husband Joseph Puckeridge around 1796.  There are records of two children being baptised in St Marylebone, Middlesex,   England for this couple Sarah (1799-?) and James (1800-?).  Their lives took a turn in 1800, when Joseph was sentenced to death for stealing scotch ticking, this sentence was later remitted to transportation for Life.  In 1801 Joseph, the convict and Ann his free wife arrived in Australia on board the ship Earl Cornwallis , their English born children's fate is unknown.  They went on to have the following children in Australia: William (1802-1877), John (1804-1885), Ann Sawyer nee Puckeridge (1806-1882), Mary Ann (1809-1818), Richard (1812-1881), Joseph (1814-1857) and Henry (1817-1819).   Joseph worked as a brickmaker in Australia and died in Sydney in 1818.  In 1820 Ann married J

Trove Tuesday - Death of a Centenarian

The year I turned twelve my Great Great Grandmother Flora Ann Worldon nee McDonnell passed away just two months short of her 105th birthday.  She was born at the Inn owned by her Father and Uncle at Five Mile Creek, Gundagai in 1875; the ruins of which can be still seen today near the 'Dog on the Tuckerbox' and lived a full and interesting life. Growing up she had always been part of the family folklore.  I have always known her to be my oldest ancestor at the time of their death but now it seems that my 5th Great Grandmother Ann Costello nee Hogan at 105 years of age has overtaken her for top ranking. There do seem to be some embellishments and discrepancies in the article however, she had been in Australia for only twenty nine years not over half a century and her immigration files have her birth year c.1798 rather than c.1782 that would be required for her to die in 1887 aged 105, so more research is required for verification of her exact age. Source: DEATH OF A CENT