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Tomatoes

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by Bestofour on July 17, 2006 06:45 AM
I've been watching this tomato for a while, it was green for 3 or 4 weeks, and I'm glad Johnny decided to bring it in yesterday afternoon. Last night we had a wind storm, winds at 65 mph, 2 minutes of rain, and this morning my garden is a mess. This tomato might have been tomato sauce for the bugs if he hadn't pulled it.

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by afgreyparrot on July 17, 2006 06:59 AM
quote:
it was green for 3 or 4 weeks
That tomato would NOT have lasted 3 or 4 weeks around me...green!
I would have fried that baby up! [Big Grin]
I love fried green tomatoes! [grin]

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Buckle up! It makes it harder for the aliens to suck you out of your car!
by Triss on July 17, 2006 07:00 AM
Glad he saved it Sheri. Looks really good where it is all red. I hope it tastes as good!

I also hope you can save the gradens!

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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.
by Bestofour on July 17, 2006 07:06 AM
Don't think I didn't think about that every morning and every night, but I wanted to see how big it would get.

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by Triss on July 17, 2006 07:10 AM
I bet. I am keeping a close eye on my first two as well hoping one will start chaging soon.

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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.
by Amigatec on July 17, 2006 07:14 AM
I pick mine a little green and ripen them in the house. I also use a screen laying across a couple of saw horses in the back yard for ripening.

I had two 5 gallon buckets of Tomatoes I either made sauce or juice out of this weekend. I got 8 pints of sauce and 3 quarts of juice.

I have tried a couple of different ways to make sauce and I think I have figured it out, but it is a lot of work and makes for a lot of cleanup.

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One OS to rule them, one OS to find them:
One OS to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Redmond where the shadows lie.
by LandOfOz on July 17, 2006 07:46 AM
Bestofour, what a pretty tomato! I'd almost hate to cut into that one!!

Amigatec, My goodness! 10 gallons of tomatoes? I would just die for that. As it is now, I am collecting, blanching, chopping and freezing my tomatoes for the day when I can make salsa with them. How wonderful to have them all at once!

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Sarah - Zone 5b/6
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by Amigatec on July 17, 2006 09:26 AM
Well the last 2 years I have had problems growing tomatoes, so this I planted 12 Roma, and 12 Celebrity, and I think they all have bezerk.

I have another 5 gal bucket I still have to do something with.

But these are going to be cut up and canned.

I use lots of tomatoe products in my cooking.

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One OS to rule them, one OS to find them:
One OS to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Redmond where the shadows lie.
by elkwc36 on July 17, 2006 09:36 AM
Oz sounds like your garden is starting to do well. I'm getting a few tomatoes a week but won't get the big crop till the middle of August at the earliest it looks like. Getting quite a bit of fruit set now. Afraid this hot spell will slow down set. My sprawlers are setting fruit better than my caged ones like usual. JD
by LandOfOz on July 17, 2006 11:06 AM
I use a lot of tomatoes in my cooking--hence the 6 tom plants. I'm think I'm going to just go gung-ho next year and plant a couple dozen like you, amigatec.

Elkwe36, yup, my garden is finally starting to perk up and produce some veggies! I'm still waiting for my peppers to really get going but their working on it! Got some rain on Monday, which even greened-up my yard!

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Sarah - Zone 5b/6
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by Amigatec on July 17, 2006 11:19 AM
When I made the sauce it took a couple of times to get it right but I think I have it down now.

I took the Romas cut off the top, sliced them lengthwise, and scooped out the seeds.

Put them in a stainless steelpot (Don't use aluminum it will discolor the pot) with no water, they will make plenty of liquid themselves.

I cooked them until they were very soft. I them ran them through a food mill to remove the skins. (This will extract the pulp from the skins.)

I washed the pot and added the pulp back into the pot, chopped up a couple of onions and added some wild garlic to the pot, and simmered for a couple of hours.

I used a Stick blender to puree the contents of the pot and continued to simmer until it thickened up a bit. I added basil, and salt to taste and simmered another 30 minutes.

When I added the basil I got the canning jars ready.

I figured a 5 gal bucket will make about 6 pints of sauce.

This is a lot of work, but there's nothing like homemade tomato sauce!!!

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One OS to rule them, one OS to find them:
One OS to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Redmond where the shadows lie.
by Triss on July 17, 2006 11:23 AM
Sounds good. What is a stick blender?

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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.
by Amigatec on July 17, 2006 11:31 AM
This is the one I have.

Stick Blender

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One OS to rule them, one OS to find them:
One OS to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Redmond where the shadows lie.
by LandOfOz on July 17, 2006 11:34 AM
LOL, Triss, I just thought the same thing!!

Amigatec, do you think that vinegar would correct any staining done to an aluminum pot? I think I read somewhere that vinegar should erase heat and acid stains from most cookware...

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Sarah - Zone 5b/6
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by Triss on July 17, 2006 11:39 AM
Thanks for that Pat. I was thinking wooden sticks for some reason. [nutz]

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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.
by Amigatec on July 17, 2006 11:52 AM
I don't know about the vinegar, I have a 8 qt Stainless Steel pot that works well for this. This pot came with a deep basket for pasta, and a shallow basket for steaming. I just used it without either basket.

I do use a little vinegar in the bottom of the canner, to keep the water deposits down. Otherwise the jars get a white film on the outside, and look bad.

My big aluminum pot is really discolored, about all I use it for is for Water bath canning.

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One OS to rule them, one OS to find them:
One OS to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Redmond where the shadows lie.
by Triss on July 17, 2006 12:01 PM
I have a pot just like that. I use it ALL the time. Will have to make sure it is stainless steel for when I get ready to do my salsa. IF I ever get enough tomatoes.

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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.
by Amigatec on July 17, 2006 12:10 PM
I have tried making sauce 3 different ways and this seems to be the best way.

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One OS to rule them, one OS to find them:
One OS to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Redmond where the shadows lie.
by Triss on July 17, 2006 12:12 PM
Well I have never made it so I am going to borrow yours. [grin]

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We are all under the same stars... therefore we are never far apart.
by johnCT on July 18, 2006 12:47 AM
Bestofour, What variety is that?

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John - Zone 6
by Bestofour on July 30, 2006 03:59 PM
I can't remember what type this is but I wish I knew so I could plant them again. Johnny got this one yesterday. They are so tasty.

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by Patty S on July 30, 2006 05:42 PM
Sheri, why don't you just save some of the seeds, & see if you get the same thing next year? [dunno]

I was busy for 10 days with company, then it was so hot last week that I couldn't/wouldnt work outdoors. Yesterday when I went out to weed my Lily garden, I spotted a tomato plant that's about a foot tall, & has blossoms on it! (I didn't plant it... & certainly wouldn't have planted it in my Lily bed!! [nutz] I don't know why I bother to plant anything around here, cuz the birds seem to do a pretty good job, without me!)

I have cherry tomatoes in the vegie garden & in my up-side-down pots. I'm going to leave the "Lily Tomato" alone & see what kind it is... most of the Lilies are done, anyway!

By the way Sheri, that's pretty tricky, putting that Cherry Tomato in the doll house & taking a picture of it! That makes it really REALLY look big!  -

(Good going, girl!) [kissies]

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by Bestofour on July 31, 2006 11:13 AM
I found my sticker. They are brandywine.

Patty, that's a good idea. Take a tiny tomato and put it in a dollhouse. We could amaze everyone.

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by johnCT on July 31, 2006 03:48 PM
Can't go wrong with brandywines. No wonder it was so good.

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John - Zone 6
by comfrey on August 01, 2006 12:26 AM
quote:
Originally posted by johnCT:
Can't go wrong with brandywines. No wonder it was so good.
You are so funny John!!!! [Big Grin] [Big Grin] [Big Grin] [Big Grin] But I do agree on the Brandywines.

Very nice looking tomatoes Sheri!!!!!

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by Bestofour on August 01, 2006 01:53 PM
what amazes me is that the stalk on these tomatoes is so thick I have to cut it, like with okra.

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