Tomatoes for 2023

[Branching Out]

One unique quality of Fiaschetto di Manduria is that they have almost no core, which makes them easy to prepare for roasting or drying. The photo with the parking knife shows the finest hole when the stem is twisted and removed.

 

[flowerbug]

We tried drying a couple of pounds of Fiaschetto di Manduria, with half in the oven and half in a dehydrator. It is certainly not an exact science! Some are way too crispy, and others still seem too moist. We are not sure what the goal is. Perhaps the final product should be like fruit leather?

the amount of flavor from those both will probably be rather amazing. i hope so! the darker ones may have some great caramelized notes to them (plenty of umami!)...

 

[ducks4you]

MIGHT try this since DH discovered that I fried his 25yo cheapo dehydrater last winter!
DD has put a small Excalibur one his Christmas gift list.
Took an inventory and I have almost 60 quarts of tomatoes, since we didn't run through much last year.
DH wants to try to make spaghetti sauce. I say...why, not?!?
I have also Stopped trying to save the less than 1/2 pint juice when I am canning. I choose to pour in a glass and drink it, instead.
Dunno Why, but I am getting more wary of mold.
I have left the tomato seeds that I was fermenting for a good week.
I will still try to clean them up to dry today.
I will also bag up, label and freeze specimens just in case the seeds aren't viable enough, since I could defrost and pull them out when I wish.
I know what you Mean about freezer space, @flowerbug !
When you freeze meat and fruit they just isn't much space left.
What I have heard online and read is that freezing tomatoes is only for overflow, not enough time to can and too many tomatoes, and/or, like MY situation, a vacation where they are coming in hot and heavy and you have a house sitter.
Ball has made jars now just for freezing.

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jarandcan.com

MY favorite container for freezing is this:

1 Quart Freezer Storage Container (3-Pack) - Arrow Home Products

This multi-use container is a kitchen necessity. Fill with leftovers or use for canning sauces and fruit. Press the center of the lid to seal tightly. It will not crack when frozen, and the contents can easily be defrosted orRead More ›

www.arrowhomeproducts.com

 

[Zeedman]

Dunno Why, but I am getting more wary of mold.
I have left the tomato seeds that I was fermenting for a good week.
I will still try to clean them up to dry today.

A week is longer than fermentation usually takes, especially under warm conditions. You might want to examine the seeds closely for signs of sprouting. And I get that about mold. There is also the possibility of fruit flies being attracted by the odor, and I don't want to chance bringing them into a house full of tomatoes. I ferment seeds in the garage for those reasons.

I've already fermented a batch of seeds for all tomatoes except for "Elfin". But I always try to do at least 2 different seed lots of each, so will start those lots tomorrow. Fruits which are perfect except for bug bites, a rotten spot, or which were bruised or cracked during handling (oops) make good candidates for seed saving. Since those are the fruits most likely to carry fruit fly larvae, I wouldn't bring them into the house anyway.

For seed saving, tomatoes with blossom end deformities, or extra large tomatoes from fused blossoms, should be avoided. The imperfect flowers which formed them are more susceptible to crossing. Paste tomatoes are less likely to have those; but much like some beans, there are varieties which are especially promiscuous. I gave up the paste variety "Federle" for that reason, it seemed to cross with everything.

 

[SPedigrees]

Candyland tomatoes, the gift that keeps on giving! I think only frost will eventually put an end to this seemingly endless harvest.

 

[flowerbug]

towards the end of tomato season the fruits here start getting spots on them - it is either a bacterial thing or a fungal thing, but it makes almost all later fruits rather inedible or not even worth trying to ripen because they will go off before they can finish ripening. this happened even for the cherry tomatoes. no different this season. probably a good 100 lbs of small green fruits out there a few weeks ago but we were both ready to be done with tomato season and left them to be buried.

now, i suppose that if i were ever going to attempt to rescue them i could try to pick them green and wipe them down or dunk them in diluted bleach water. never tried that. anyone here tried that?

 

[SPedigrees]

towards the end of tomato season the fruits here start getting spots on them - it is either a bacterial thing or a fungal thing, but it makes almost all later fruits rather inedible or not even worth trying to ripen because they will go off before they can finish ripening. this happened even for the cherry tomatoes. no different this season. probably a good 100 lbs of small green fruits out there a few weeks ago but we were both ready to be done with tomato season and left them to be buried.

now, i suppose that if i were ever going to attempt to rescue them i could try to pick them green and wipe them down or dunk them in diluted bleach water. never tried that. anyone here tried that?

That's a shame. Apart from maybe a dozen tomatoes that were split, I've had no issues with these later fruits. I would think that white vinegar might be a better anti-fungal than bleach to use on edible fruit, but could be just as effective.

 

[Branching Out]

towards the end of tomato season the fruits here start getting spots on them - it is either a bacterial thing or a fungal thing, but it makes almost all later fruits rather inedible or not even worth trying to ripen because they will go off before they can finish ripening.

I am curious about this. Do you by any chance have a photo of the white spots flowerbug?

 

[Zeedman]

towards the end of tomato season the fruits here start getting spots on them - it is either a bacterial thing or a fungal thing, but it makes almost all later fruits rather inedible or not even worth trying to ripen because they will go off before they can finish ripening. this happened even for the cherry tomatoes. no different this season. probably a good 100 lbs of small green fruits out there a few weeks ago but we were both ready to be done with tomato season and left them to be buried.

now, i suppose that if i were ever going to attempt to rescue them i could try to pick them green and wipe them down or dunk them in diluted bleach water. never tried that. anyone here tried that?

Cool wet weather sometimes causes that here. Not (yet) this year though, my tomatoes are still producing heavily. Even when that blight appears, it is usually well after harvest started, and only a minor disappointment. But occasionally there is a tomato that was planted late and/or long has a long DTM (like some of the larger slicers) and the plants get wiped out with a full load of green fruit... fortunately a rare occurrence.

I never tried to rescue such plants, and would only attempt to do so if the seed was irreplaceable.

 

[flowerbug]

...I never tried to rescue such plants, and would only attempt to do so if the seed was irreplaceable.

it's not the plant i'm trying to rescue but the last few fruits that are still green and look ok, but once the spotting season starts it seems to end up being on all fruits no matter what. they look healthy and green but then they spot like all the rest once they start turning.

the spots are not white, they're brown and then turn black. if they are small we can cut them away, but usually they are rapid developing and the fruit spoils.