15 tomatoes turned into 5 quarts canned
last night. there are a few out there that
are bigger than my two hands.

as for flavor, when we were done canning
we had a quarter of a cup left that would
not fit in the jars so we split it and
sipped. heaven!

we've been enjoying them fresh too. one
slice of tomato for the whole sandwich.

the previous post where i mentioned the
tomatoes getting some fungal damage (the plants
are too close together there) from the several
wet rainy days in a row. i left it alone and
as soon as the sun came out the fungus didn't
progress and the infected leaves have mostly
fallen off. no spraying needed. i consider it
natures way of dealing with the problem. it
did by dropping the fungus prone leaves. there
is plenty of new green growth up top so i
consider them to be doing just fine. sure they
would have done better spaced further apart, but
when we planted i tried to get more spacing but
was overruled by the management. next year
the management may listen...

i'm not sure what we'll be like for final
production, but the size of the current tomatoes
are indicating a bumper. if we get 40+qts put
up along with what we eat and give away
we'll be quite happy.

the cherry tomatoes are doing well too.
plenty of sunshine with some rain here or
there makes for good tomato weather. temperatures
are finally moderate enough. looks to be the
mid 80sF this week and some rain in the forecast
here or there.


songbird

songbird wrote:
15 tomatoes turned into 5 quarts canned
last night. there are a few out there that
are bigger than my two hands.

as for flavor, when we were done canning
we had a quarter of a cup left that would
not fit in the jars so we split it and
sipped. heaven!

we've been enjoying them fresh too. one
slice of tomato for the whole sandwich.

the previous post where i mentioned the
tomatoes getting some fungal damage (the plants
are too close together there) from the several
wet rainy days in a row. i left it alone and
as soon as the sun came out the fungus didn't
progress and the infected leaves have mostly
fallen off. no spraying needed. i consider it
natures way of dealing with the problem. it
did by dropping the fungus prone leaves. there
is plenty of new green growth up top so i
consider them to be doing just fine. sure they
would have done better spaced further apart, but
when we planted i tried to get more spacing but
was overruled by the management. next year
the management may listen...

i'm not sure what we'll be like for final
production, but the size of the current tomatoes
are indicating a bumper. if we get 40+qts put
up along with what we eat and give away
we'll be quite happy.

the cherry tomatoes are doing well too.
plenty of sunshine with some rain here or
there makes for good tomato weather. temperatures
are finally moderate enough. looks to be the
mid 80sF this week and some rain in the forecast
here or there.


songbird

My tomatoes also look nice but still green. I like mine to come in around
first half of September in the belief the cooler weather helps them taste
better. I have mostly beefsteaks and Romas. I am getting lots of cherry
tomatoes. I did get a handful of tomatoes two weeks ago with some bottom
rot after several days of heavy rain. But that seemed to go way now that
rain has settled down. I do not believe it was due to calcium deficiency
but due to uneven watering.

My pickling cucumbers also came in nicely. I made 12 pints of Bread and
Butter slices and 12 pints of dill spears. The cucumber vines are spent and
ready for the compost pile. I think I will try broccoli in that spot and
see what happens this fall.

In two week I should be freezing some green beans. I did not plant many
garden peas to freeze, so they are for fresh eating. I do can some whole
tomatoes but tend to turn the beefsteaks into tomato juice and the Romas
into sauce and salsa. Since it is just me, I go for the pints and I tend to
pressure can all tomato products instead of the Boiling Water Bath.

--
Nad

wrote:
....
My tomatoes also look nice but still green. I like mine to come in around
first half of September in the belief the cooler weather helps them taste
better. I have mostly beefsteaks and Romas. I am getting lots of cherry
tomatoes. I did get a handful of tomatoes two weeks ago with some bottom
rot after several days of heavy rain. But that seemed to go way now that
rain has settled down. I do not believe it was due to calcium deficiency
but due to uneven watering.

we had one BER to start with and i found another
one buried in deep today when i was looking for
a worm. we grow beefsteaks too and they have always
done well and taste great. i'd like to try some
romas sometime.


My pickling cucumbers also came in nicely. I made 12 pints of Bread and
Butter slices and 12 pints of dill spears. The cucumber vines are spent and
ready for the compost pile. I think I will try broccoli in that spot and
see what happens this fall.

starting broccoli from seed?


In two week I should be freezing some green beans. I did not plant many
garden peas to freeze, so they are for fresh eating.

they are so good i usually raid them along
with the strawberries.

what kind of peas and beans have you planted?

our peas are Little Marvel and Alaska Early.

the wax beans are Top Notch Golden Wax Bush.

the green beans are Tendergreen Improved Bush
(i'm not a big fan of these, but don't have a
replacement picked out yet).

for pods next year i have Dwarf Gray Sugar
and Oregon Sugar Pod II, with maturity dates at
66-68 days that's two weeks later than the above
peas labeled at 55-60days. i'm not sure if they
are saying i won't have pods until that long,
but that doesn't seem right. i'm assuming they
mean until the peas are dry in the pod again.
they could add more to the label saying about
how many days are for pods, fresh peas and dry
peas. that would help. also funny, the days
to germination on the packages are 7-14 days
but that must be for cold spring soil as when
i've planted them they've sprouted in 3-5 days.


I do can some whole
tomatoes but tend to turn the beefsteaks into tomato juice and the Romas
into sauce and salsa. Since it is just me, I go for the pints and I tend to
pressure can all tomato products instead of the Boiling Water Bath.

does it cut down on time without messing up
the flavor or are you more concerned about the
risk of spoiling?

in the years of canning we've done tomatoes
we've not had any spoil lately (we don't grow low
acid types for canning). Ma has canned off and
on for 50 years. she's only had a little trouble
from using damaged jars that didn't seal well.
i bought her new jars a few years ago and she's
a happy canner. i like the quart wide mouth jars
because i can get my hand in them to scrub them
if they need it.

when she cooks for the families she can use
4-6 quarts at a time. for us we use 2 at a
time (most often for macaroni and tomatoes, in
the middle of winter it is our favorite).


songbird

songbird wrote:
wrote:

done well and taste great. i'd like to try some
romas sometime.

Romas are great for salsas and sauces. They have more pulp and less juice.
I use a Roma strainer that removes the skin and seeds so that it gives the
sauce a sweeter taste. Most store bought sauces blend the whole tomato that
seems to me gives the sauce a bitter taste.

starting broccoli from seed?

I have not done this yet, not positive, I think Broccoli is a cool weather
plant. If it fails, oh well, better than letting the soil go bare. I might
change my mind and plant more leaf lettuce... From seed

what kind of peas and beans have you planted?
our peas are Little Marvel and Alaska Early.

Alaskan also for the peas.

Kentucky Wonder Pole beans growing up on a trellis. I have always had very
good luck with these beans. The Japanese Beetle trap thirty feet away seems
to keep them away from the beans. A few years ago those beetles have
stripped the beans in the past. The traps seems to work well and keeps them
off the beans.

I do can some whole
tomatoes but tend to turn the beefsteaks into tomato juice and the Romas
into sauce and salsa. Since it is just me, I go for the pints and I tend to
pressure can all tomato products instead of the Boiling Water Bath.

does it cut down on time without messing up
the flavor or are you more concerned about the
risk of spoiling?

I have done it both ways for canning tomatoes. I cannot taste the
difference and I have rarely had any failures of the Water Bath or Pressure
canning. I like the pressure canner because I do not need gallons and
gallons of water on my small stove and a pain to fill it up. My
All-American pressure canner heats up much faster than the BWB but takes
longer to cool down. Time is a little longer than the BWB by a few minutes.
Since tomatoes are a border line fruit on the PH scale it probably helps on
the food safety issue also.

when she cooks for the families she can use
4-6 quarts at a time. for us we use 2 at a
time (most often for macaroni and tomatoes, in
the middle of winter it is our favorite).

Quarts are way too much for me since I do not cook for a family. One or two
pints are the perfect size for me for soups or chili. I prefer the
standard jars instead of the wide mouth because they are easier to remove
with the jar lifter. I use a bottle brush for cleaning. My hand would have
a hard time in a wide mouth jar also

--
Nad

wrote:
songbird wrote:
wrote:

done well and taste great. i'd like to try some
romas sometime.

Romas are great for salsas and sauces. They have more pulp and less juice.
I use a Roma strainer that removes the skin and seeds so that it gives the
sauce a sweeter taste. Most store bought sauces blend the whole tomato that
seems to me gives the sauce a bitter taste.

when we juice we core them, then heat
them up to soften and then run them through a
hand cranked food mill to remove the seeds and
skins. when we do chunks we soak the tomatoes
in hot water and then peel off the skins and
core them. then to can them we make sure they
are good and hot and fill the jars, wipe the
rims, put the lids and rings on and then
process as usual.

we don't do sauces or salsas, but we give
a lot of tomatoes away to my SIL who does
make salsa from them.


starting broccoli from seed?

I have not done this yet, not positive, I think Broccoli is a cool weather
plant. If it fails, oh well, better than letting the soil go bare. I might
change my mind and plant more leaf lettuce... From seed




what kind of peas and beans have you planted?
our peas are Little Marvel and Alaska Early.

Alaskan also for the peas.

Kentucky Wonder Pole beans growing up on a trellis. I have always had very
good luck with these beans. The Japanese Beetle trap thirty feet away seems
to keep them away from the beans. A few years ago those beetles have
stripped the beans in the past. The traps seems to work well and keeps them
off the beans.

we have a few Japanese Beetles here. i
try to get them by hand when i see them.
there's not a lot of grass/sod around for
them to start from.

if they get bad i'll try the traps, but
as of yet no reason to bother. not for a
little chewing here or there.


I do can some whole
tomatoes but tend to turn the beefsteaks into tomato juice and the Romas
into sauce and salsa. Since it is just me, I go for the pints and I tend to
pressure can all tomato products instead of the Boiling Water Bath.

does it cut down on time without messing up
the flavor or are you more concerned about the
risk of spoiling?

I have done it both ways for canning tomatoes. I cannot taste the
difference and I have rarely had any failures of the Water Bath or Pressure
canning. I like the pressure canner because I do not need gallons and
gallons of water on my small stove and a pain to fill it up. My
All-American pressure canner heats up much faster than the BWB but takes
longer to cool down. Time is a little longer than the BWB by a few minutes.
Since tomatoes are a border line fruit on the PH scale it probably helps on
the food safety issue also.

no worries here on the acid levels.
using Beefsteaks and they are fine.

normal processing here is oven canning
so we are not boiling large amount of water
to seal the jars. just preheating the
oven. i do not recommend oven canning to
anyone else, but Ma has been doing it this
way for as long as i've been alive and
it's not that tough. just need a reliable
oven or oven thermometer and a timer and
all high acid items come out fine for us.

low acid canning i would go with a
pressure cooking method for sure.


when she cooks for the families she can use
4-6 quarts at a time. for us we use 2 at a
time (most often for macaroni and tomatoes, in
the middle of winter it is our favorite).

Quarts are way too much for me since I do not cook for a family. One or two
pints are the perfect size for me for soups or chili. I prefer the
standard jars instead of the wide mouth because they are easier to remove
with the jar lifter. I use a bottle brush for cleaning. My hand would have
a hard time in a wide mouth jar also

we'll eat all week off it and sometime freeze
portions for later if she's making something
more complicated like lasagne or manicotti.
cold lasagne is the food of the gods for
breakfast or quick lunch on a hot day.
i like to keep things simple...


songbird

Derald wrote:

Although, my tomatoes lasted well into July, now they are gone, long gone.
Most years, I layer a couple of canes to use for fall tomatoes but, since I want
that bed for something else, I didn't do that this year. If I fool with fall
tomatoes at all, they'll be in containers. A tub from a clothes-washing machine
or a "big half" a 60-gal olive barrel work well because they each hold a 3-4
cubic feet of soil mix.

what types do you usually grow?


I have a direct "request" from TLOML not to grow "so
damned many" tomatoes from now own, LOL; suits me: Tomatoes are for hamburgers
and little else, in my view, and since I eat only a couple of those in a year's
time, demand from fresh tomatoes isn't high around here!

i could eat them every day and this time of
year i do. i also like them sliced on
burgers with onion, miracle whip and ketchup.
cheese optional. also we'll just eat them
alone on toasted bread.

i know there are people out there who don't
like them or are allergic to tomatoes, but
wow am i so glad i'm not one of them. the
easiest thing we grow and by far the most
versatile source of many vitamins that are
important to have in the middle of winter
when other fresh fruits are dear to come by.
not hard to put up and store (doesn't need
sugar, vinegar or other preservatives).


Now, what to do with
all of that basil that just won't quit....

a good pesto is yummy.

give the extra away.


songbird

In article ,
songbird wrote:

Derald wrote:

Although, my tomatoes lasted well into July, now they are gone, long gone.
Most years, I layer a couple of canes to use for fall tomatoes but, since I
want
that bed for something else, I didn't do that this year. If I fool with
fall
tomatoes at all, they'll be in containers. A tub from a clothes-washing
machine
or a "big half" a 60-gal olive barrel work well because they each hold a
3-4
cubic feet of soil mix.

what types do you usually grow?


I have a direct "request" from TLOML not to grow "so
damned many" tomatoes from now own, LOL; suits me: Tomatoes are for
hamburgers
and little else, in my view, and since I eat only a couple of those in a
year's
time, demand from fresh tomatoes isn't high around here!

i could eat them every day and this time of
year i do. i also like them sliced on
burgers with onion, miracle whip and ketchup.
cheese optional. also we'll just eat them
alone on toasted bread.

i know there are people out there who don't
like them or are allergic to tomatoes, but
wow am i so glad i'm not one of them. the
easiest thing we grow and by far the most
versatile source of many vitamins that are
important to have in the middle of winter
when other fresh fruits are dear to come by.
not hard to put up and store (doesn't need
sugar, vinegar or other preservatives).


Now, what to do with
all of that basil that just won't quit....

a good pesto is yummy.

give the extra away.

Give away?!!!!

Are you mad, or are you trying for sainthood, bird?

Pesto sauce (a garlic delivery device) can be frozen. Pesto, warmed in a
miro-wave, gives off a rich perfume which will make you the envy of your
work place. Lets people know that you're NOT a Wonderbread, French's
mustard, and bologny kind of guy.

For snacks, there is no-thing better than bruchetta, and a glass of
white wine.

Bruchetta

baguette sliced length-wise horizontally
fresh ripe tomatoes
basil leaves, fresh, chopped
1 large clove garlic, cut in half
Extra virgin olive oil

Broil the sliced side of baguette until light to golden brown.
Rub the toasted side with cut garlic clove, while the bread is still
warm and cut into 2" lengths.

Drizzle lightly with olive oil over the garlic rub, and sprinkle with
chopped basil.

Slice very ripe plum tomatoes and place slices the length of the
baguette.

Top tomatoes with grated parmesan.

Return bread to broiler until parmesan starts to brown.

Good warm or cold.

Hmmm, I think I hear brunch calling. Now where did I leave the corkscrew?

à ta santé,



songbird
--
- Billy
Both the House and Senate budget plan would have cut Social Security and Medicare, while cutting taxes on the wealthy.

Kucinich noted that none of the government programs targeted for
elimination or severe cutback in House Republican spending plans
"appeared on the GAO's list of government programs at high risk of
waste, fraud and abuse."
http://www.politifact.com/ohio/state...is-kucinich/re
p-dennis-kucinich-says-gop-budget-cuts-dont-targ/

[W]e have the situation with the deficit and the debt and spending and jobs. And it¹s not that difficult to get out of it. The first thing you do is you get rid of corporate welfare. That¹s hundreds of billions of dollars a year. The second is you tax corporations so that they don¹t get away with no taxation.
- Ralph Nader
http://www.democracynow.org/2011/7/19/ralph_naders_solution_to_debt_crisis