The tomato patch (fertilizers, vegetables, leaves, fruits)

[Gerania]

I'm still waiting for my first ripe tomato.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

We've had a really slow start to summer here, and I'm just getting some ripe cherry tomatoes.

As to pouring off 3 gallons of tomato juice - sacrilege! I couldn't waste an ounce of tomato goodness. I'd rather cook it down, or add other ingredients to thicken the sauce, or just can the tomato juice separately or to use in vegetable broth later, etc.

Of course, I don't have the space to have that many tomatoes anymore, so I think of the ones I get as being worth their weight in gold. Just have a balcony now.

I've got a tall vining variety of cherry tomatoes - some red and some gold - that have taken over my balcony. They're insanely tall. Not a ton of tomatoes, though, and that's what other gardeners have told me is the story with their tomatoes, too, this year. It was just too cool and cloudy. Our season is long, though, so there's still hope.

[greatblueheron]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

We've had a really slow start to summer here, and I'm just getting some ripe cherry tomatoes.

As to pouring off 3 gallons of tomato juice - sacrilege! I couldn't waste an ounce of tomato goodness. I'd rather cook it down, or add other ingredients to thicken the sauce, or just can the tomato juice separately or to use in vegetable broth later, etc.

Of course, I don't have the space to have that many tomatoes anymore, so I think of the ones I get as being worth their weight in gold. Just have a balcony now.

I've got a tall vining variety of cherry tomatoes - some red and some gold - that have taken over my balcony. They're insanely tall. Not a ton of tomatoes, though, and that's what other gardeners have told me is the story with their tomatoes, too, this year. It was just too cool and cloudy. Our season is long, though, so there's still hope.

I love growing cherry tomatoes....they are always sweet and so tasty. Do you remember the name of those vining cherries?

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by greatblueheron

I love growing cherry tomatoes....they are always sweet and so tasty. Do you remember the name of those vining cherries?

I'm too lazy to get up right now, but I kept the seed packets, as I keep a garden journal and make notes on how different plants/seeds did. I'll get that info to you soon.

[greatblueheron]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

I'm too lazy to get up right now, but I kept the seed packets, as I keep a garden journal and make notes on how different plants/seeds did. I'll get that info to you soon.

Thanks...

[gemstone1]

The 120# of tomatoes picked last week yielded 13 quarts of sauce...picked another 80 pounds yesterday, lotsa yellow and green varieties, now making green enchilada sauce...
We have a glass top stove, canning not recommended, so we found an Ball FreshTech electric water bath canner on Amazon that will handle 7 quarts at a time....so far so good.

Regards
Gemstone1

[greatblueheron]

Originally Posted by gemstone1

The 120# of tomatoes picked last week yielded 13 quarts of sauce...picked another 80 pounds yesterday, lotsa yellow and green varieties, now making green enchilada sauce...
We have a glass top stove, canning not recommended, so we found an Ball FreshTech electric water bath canner on Amazon that will handle 7 quarts at a time....so far so good.

Regards
Gemstone1

Just how many tomato plants did you plant...?

[gemstone1]

"Just how many tomato plants did you plant...?" ....hundreds, between my garden and the community garden, 41 varieties.....gonna cut that by 21 next season....too much work transplanting.

Regards
Gemstone1

[greatblueheron]

That is a lot of work....canning is a job in itself.

But how good they'll be next winter...

[BurntCoffey]

I planted an Early Girl, Mortgage Lifter, Amish Paste, and Cherokee Purple here in Sonoma County this year. It's a new plot for me and even though I prepped with chicken manure and compost the plants have taken longer than usual to flourish and flower. Next year I'll add in more compost and nutrients to our adobe clay soil as I've been somewhat disappointed in the taste of the Girls and the Paste. The Lifter has only now begun to flower, and my favorite so far, the Purple, has produced some big ugly fruit... but the flavors are wonderful!


Years ago I lived on a chicken farm in Petaluma where we let our layers range freely and the tomatoes that came out of that soil simply exploded with flavor. Decades of dumping chickens make for a fabulous culture in which to grow our favorite fruit...