ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT TOMATOES

1. The tomato is the leading greenhouse vegetable in the United States.
2. The tomato is a fruit because it has seeds and skin, but it is used like a vegetable.
3. It is not practical to harvest tomatoes when they are red-ripe. The fruit is too tender to stand packing and shipping.
4. Tall tomato plants are staked up so that the tomatoes will not touch the ground.
5. People in the 1800's believed that anyone who ate a tomato would die before morning. Colonel Robert Johnson proved this idea was false when he stood on the courthouse steps in Salem, New Jersey, and ate a basketful of tomatoes.
6. Thomas Jefferson was one of the first Americans to grow tomatoes ... not to eat, but for decoration.

EXTENDED ACTIVITIES

1. Use the treasure map the students made and locate Chandler Mountain on the map. Put the picture of a small tomato on the map where Steele is located.
2. Ask students to think of all the ways tomatoes can be used in cooking and list these on the board. Let each student choose a favorite and graph the choices. Discuss favorite and least favorite choices with the students.
3. Make copies of the book about Mike and Muffy's visit to the tomato farm for the students to read to one another and take home for parents to read with them.
4. Bring samples of the various kinds of tomatoes to school for the students to see and compare. If possible, include a green tomato, a red-ripe tomato, a small red cherry tomato, a yellow tomato, and an Italian tomato.