Show Us Your Tomato!

[joz]

The subject line is apt for me, as I've only gotten ONE tomato this year. But I didn't get a photo.

All the rest have rotted on the vine. I'm having a sucky-bug problem this year, and have had issues with the plants themselves yellowing or just plain burning up. And now, of course, it's way too hot.

I snipped off several suckers of each of the varieties I planted and am trying to clone them for a fall crop, but I've not got much hope.

I also have a sneaking suspicion that I may have received clones as transplants. They seemed way too big and fluffy for their size when I pulled them out of the box.

Does this look like a seedling to you?

 

[Chickie'sMomaInNH]

not really sure on that Joz, but they look healthy and strong in the picture! you wouldn't want them spindly or stunted. you sure they aren't grafted tomatoes? that seems to be the newest rage and that section of stem looks odd to me like it was grafted. tomatoes seem so easy to grow from suckers that it is probably easy to 'clone' them.

one of my favorite suppliers of seeds is http://www.ohioheirloomseeds.com/ though i think he goofed on labeling some seeds he had for bianca rosa eggplants. i ended up with a couple of really nice tomato plants that are getting big and starting to show some green tomatoes. it is nice and healthy looking after all the rain we got.

anyone else this year growing the indigo rose purple tomatoes? i'm just curious since i have a few tomatoes coming on them already and they seem to have purple shoulders as the bottom half stays the unripe green. i know the toms are not ready yet but will these turn completely purple as they ripen? does it lighten up the darkness of purple at all?

 

[canesisters]

I GOT SOME!

Can you see the dime sitting on one?

(phone pict... )

Also, made the white tomato soup (not from these of course) - YUM-O

eta:
BRUNCH!

 

[dewdropsinwv]

Nice looking tomatoes canesisters!!!! I was helping Monty in the garden the other day and he showed me the tomatoes that we have. Some of them are pretty good size! We will be canning fools when they are ripe. I can not wait to be able to pass up the produce section at the grocery store!!!!

 

[canesisters]

Dew, how do yall can your tomatoes? Do you can them 'as is' to use for different things later? Or do you make up sauce, salsa, etc?
I buy A LOT of diced tomatoes to use in everything from chili and sauces to pasta dishes. I'd like to be able to save mine just diced up 'as is'.

 

[desertlady]

http://www.theeasygarden.com/forum/uploads/8721_maters.jpg

beautiful!!!! Whats the dark purple called?

 

[canesisters]

Oh... I'm sorry. That was just a picture I found. They ARE mouth watering though, aren't they?

 

[dewdropsinwv]

Cane, we blanch them then can them up for sauce, for tacos pretty much everything. I me a tomato and mayo sandwich!!!!! I have a few green ones in the kitchen that need fried up. Sounds like a good lunch for me today

I seen the other day that we are loosing some blooms. Monty said he isn't sure why they are dropping the blooms

 

[canesisters]

Sooo.. Blanch, can whole? Or blanch, peel, can whole? Or blanch, peel, dice, can?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Cane, if you really want them diced, youre out of luck. If you can them, they will break down. If you freeze them, they will break down when they thaw. You just cant get them to hold their shape, canning or freezing. Maybe canning small plum tomatoes whole after skinning them and adding enough acid so you can water bath them, but theyll still be mushy soft.

If you freeze them, they will form a solid clump unless you tray freeze them. Put a sheet of waxed paper on a cookie sheet, spread the tomatoes prepared the way you want to use them and not touching on that and freeze them, stirring them up a time or two as they freeze so they dont stick to the waxed paper. Then stick them in a zip-loc bag. That way you could proportion out what you want as you want them. I dont do that.

I have to remove all the seeds anyway for medical reasons, diverticula. I put mine through a Squeezo to remove skin and seeds after cooking them down a bit and can them. I guess I could can them as is but that would be too watery for me. Sometimes I cook them down to where I just call them tomatoes. Often I cook them down to a puree. Sometimes I cook them down to a sauce consistency. Thats a lot of cooking down. Usually, I add herbs, spices, and some veggies to make a spaghetti sauce. This also involves a lot of cooking down but the end result is thick enough to stick to noodles.

Sometimes that sauce is used as a spaghetti sauce. Sometimes I use it to make eggplant parmesan or some other dish. That puree is used when the recipe just calls for tomatoes.

If you dont have to take the seeds out, you can just skin them and can them that way. How much you cook them down depends on what consistency you want. For sauces and such I dont think you would not need to dice them, just quarter and core them.

Itll be interesting to see what others do. Im sure a lot of us do it differently.