Save those Green Tomatoes! »
By Monday, we are supposed to have freezing temperatures here in Southern Indiana, so today I went out and picked all of the green tomatoes. Here you can see them laid out in cardboard boxes. I will cover these with a light blanket and check them every day or two. Not all of them will [Read More...]
Heirloom Tomato Review »
My family has grown over a dozen varieties of heirloom tomatoes these past 6 years or so. Heirlooms are typically open-pollinated, but they can also be hybrids. So what’s the distinguishing factor? People call unique looking tomatoes heirlooms even if they were bred no more than a decade ago, but on average most heirloom tomatoes [Read More...]
Why Are My Tomatoes Not Ripening Completely? »
The tomatoes above are having problems fully ripening. Actually, they are never going to fully ripen. The problem is often referred to as yellow shoulder or green shoulder. But I must make note that green shoulder is not always a defect but a genetic trait of a particular variety of tomato. I [Read More...]
It Can Be Embarrassing This Time Of Year. »
This morning I spent some time in the garden. I picked tomatoes, peppers, herbs, and dug a few potatoes. Earlier in the year our garden was a thing of beauty! Absolutely pristine! See what it looks like now? To me, it’s still lovely. I know about all the bounty we’ve had. I also know that [Read More...]
“Sun-Dried” Tomatoes from your garden »
In our humid climate (zone 5 – Indiana), I wouldn’t even attempt to “sun-dry” tomatoes, but I have a nice dehydrator. This can also be done in your oven. I will explain that shortly. Above you see about 10 pounds of Roma tomatoes that I’ve washed and drained. Cut each tomato into quarters. Now, look [Read More...]
Is it the End of the Line for your Tomatoes? »
Does this look familiar to you? Battling blossom end rot on your tomatoes (or peppers or eggplant)? Often when your tomatoes are stressed from the extremes of heat or cold and/or lack of water they are also suffering from a physiological disorder commonly called blossom end rot. During an average year on my family’s farm in [Read More...]
Homemade Canned Salsa from your Garden! »
Today was Salsa Day here at home. The recipe I will share here, I call “Millennial Salsa” because I made it up in the year 2000. It’s yummy and here’s how I do it. First, I only wash the tomatoes, do not peel or even bother to cut off the stem ends. Chop them in [Read More...]
Home Canning Tomatoes »
I love the fresh fruits and vegetables I get from my garden and my friends during the summer. Nothing tastes better though, than home grown tomatoes. Last week I realized I had a few too many fresh tomatoes to eat before they went bad (you never actually have too many tomatoes). So I canned a few of them. [Read More...]
Growing Determinate or Indeterminate Tomatoes »
The beginning of April has passed, which means now is the perfect time to start seeds indoors in Upstate New York. With many vegetable varieties needing six to eight weeks of time between seeding indoors and planting outside the second week of April fits well with our final frost date of Memorial Day. Some vegetables [Read More...]
Garden Recommendation: Peat Pots »
On our farm we plant 1,000’s of tomato plants, each one grown from seed. We start the seeds off in a standard 1020 flat, growing them under florescent lights in our heated basement. When they are large enough and the weather has warmed up we can set them out in our unheated greenhouse. When the [Read More...]