And even though tomatoes do contain some of the harmful compounds in their poisonous counterparts, their leaves, stems and fruit won’t hurt you a bit. So now that you know you can, how do you eat tomato leaves?
But the leaves of the plant are tender, fragrant and, yes, completely edible. Contrary to popular opinion, you can eat tomato leaves just like any other garden green. They’re tasty, abundant and packed with phytonutrients.
Are tomato leaves poisonous to eat?
, harold mc Gee, in his role of Curious Cook at the Times, goes sleuthing and discovers that not only are tomato leaves probably not poisonous in any real sense, they may actually bind cholesterol and lower its levels in your system.
You may be wondering “Is it OK to cook tomato leaves?”
One idea is that contrary to popular opinion, yes—tomato leaves are flavorful, fragrant, and 100 percent edible. You can cook the fresh, young leaves like most other sturdy garden greens, such as kale, collards, or cabbage (leafy greens that need a little longer cooking time to become tender).
For tomato leaves, this would require eating at least a pound and a half — an exceptionally large amount. Tomato leaves have a very pungent scent, which can certainly be off-putting to some, although not an indicator that they’re harmful. Additionally, we don’t see or hear about tomato leaves very often.
What do you do with tomatoes leaves?
Tomato leaves are best used as an infusion so you can capture the essence of a ripe tomato. For example, infuse a handful of tomato leaves in olive oil or tomato juice when you make gazpacho. You can also toss thinly sliced leaves with a little bit of fish sauce and use it as a savory garnish for fish or rice.
You walk into the garden and suddenly notice that part of your tomato plant has disappeared. Where there were leaves yesterday, only bare stems remain. The damage is too high for it to be a rabbit… “What is eating my tomato’s leaves? ” you wonder. Chances are, it’s the tomato horn worm.
Some have found that look on the stems and edges of partially eaten leaves just under where you see bare stems and branches. Because they are so fat it’s hard to bring yourself to squash them.
Good compost pile management is essential for converting spent tomato plants into compost that can be used for gardening. For tomatoes to perform optimally, the soil must be rich in minerals, including minerals obtained from composting the plants.
Are tomatoes and potatoes edible?
Tomatoes and Potatoes are related to Deadly Nightshade and Tobacco , so I would not eat the leaves! Having a quick Google I’m amazed by the bloggers who seem to suggest eating the leaves should be encouraged. They seem to suggest that because there’s a lack of evidence that the leaves will kill you then that means they must be edible.
Tomato vines are large and may not break down well if thrown willy-nilly into the compost. In addition to having the potential to harbor disease, viney compost is just plain annoying . In order to avoid a big viney mess, always break up the plant material into smaller pieces before throwing them in.
We discovered now that you have some of the reasons not to compost your tomato plants, you may be wondering about appropriate times when to compost tomatoes, if there are any. The answer here is, yes. Gardeners can compost tomato plants as long as the plants don’t have any bacterial or fungal diseases.
While we were writing we ran into the query “Can I compost potato plants?”.
Here is what we learned. it is possible that composting potato plants will cause problems that will persist in the compost for several years , and that this will result in serious damage to future crops—not only tomatoes, but also other plants in the nightshade family, such as bell peppers, potato plants, aubergines, and chili peppers.
What do you put in a compost pile?
When you add food scraps, green plant material, or grass clippings to the heap, be sure to mix in some dead plant matter, leaves, or straw, too, and vice versa.