When I had the garden I experimented a lot, I learned from my own mistakes and together with my family we planted a variety of things. We learned how to take care of them and then we had a very good guide, an expert who helped us. My godfather was Italian and like you he didn't like bought tomatoes. His tomatoes were the best, he cooked deliciously and we exchanged a lot of products with him. It was great!
I think I'd get along with your godfather; we seem to share a taste for good, homegrown, tomatoes. Store bought ones are rubbish.
In his garden he had a lot of things and he raised chicks, poultry, the Italian likes that very much. My maternal grandmother, when she was a child, also had her own garden with her family and my great-grandfather sold eggs in the neighbourhood, from the hens he had in his house.
Tomatoes, peppers... all these things have a different taste and we know what we are eating if they come from our own garden.