Tomatoes...just the beginning... part three post #7

[so lucky]

Baymule, I think that Italian vining tomato looks fantastic, but I was wondering if it will take too long for you? It says it is a late-season tomato, so I was wondering if it would burn up before producing for you. Or maybe it says mid-late season. Anyway, I was just curious.

 

[MontyJ]

Steve, I'm going to seed the Brandywine and Rutgers and will probably plant a few of each next year to keep the seed fresh. I don't think they will become the main crop canners though. With the previous varieties (Big Boy and Better Boy) I would average about 80+ quarts a season from the same 24 plants. I think we are at 40.5 quarts so far this year. With these two, it looks like I will end up somewhere around 55 quarts. Of course, the weather could be blamed for some of the reduced yield as I have lost many tomatoes to rot caused by damage from hail strikes. Adding in that loss, I could have ended up somewhere around 60-65 quarts, but still well shy of the target goal.

The Romas are not producing as heavily as they normally do either. This picking was from 9 plants. It looks like I will get one more harvest from them, but it won't be as large as this first picking.

I know what you mean about the kitchen heat, Carol! Yesterday was sauce day...ugh. Nothing like standing over a huge pot of boiling, steaming tomato sauce all day to make the kitchen a pleasant room to be in

Bay, my brother lives down in Corpus on Flour Bluff. He has the same problem. They are in a heavy drought right now.

 

[majorcatfish]

holy tomato snot you have major tomatoes canned up

very nice job..congrats

 

[digitS']

We freeze only cherry & saladettes - whole (lazy way ). I say saladettes because they are not the paste varieties of plum tomatoes.

I grew Large Red Cherry tomatoes for about 20 years before I became curious about them. The were reported to have been an heirloom dating back to the 19th century . . ! Ben Quisenberry sold the seed thru the mid-part of the last century. He is the guy who is credited with saving the Brandywine. His idea was that Large Red Cherry was the right choice for canning whole. They are very large plants, indeterminates, and quite late in production.

These days, our frozen cherries are Sungold, SunSugar & Sweet 100's. I'd like to have Sweet Chelsea back. It is a large cherry and a favorite. All these are hybrids, however.

Most of our frozen cherry tomatoes go into scrambled eggs during the winter time. DW wanted me to start making & freezing tomato sauce this weekend but then at breakfast, she chopped up several of the ripe beefsteaks that we didn't take to the market. Now I don't have near enuf to fill a kettle. That is my excuse and I'm sticking to it . My plan is to make soup again to go with lunch but I kind of hate to do it. I'm eating fresh tomatoes as fast as I can. I'd really like to wait until after the 1st frost to make sauce but I'll never be able to put it off that long.

BTW - that tomato snot is where all the sweetness & half the flavor is .

Steve

 

[baymule]

Baymule, I think that Italian vining tomato looks fantastic, but I was wondering if it will take too long for you? It says it is a late-season tomato, so I was wondering if it would burn up before producing for you. Or maybe it says mid-late season. Anyway, I was just curious.

I have no idea what an Italian Tree Tomato would do here. It might go crazy or curl up it's roots and die. That's part of the fun of gardening-ya' just never know what will work and what won't.

 

[MontyJ]

Just pulled another dozen quarts out of the canners. Tomorrow morning I'll pick again and probably do another 24 quarts, plus a load of sauce from the final picking of the Romas. I should have done another run this evening, but I'm just too tired.

 

[Jared77]

When you say quarts is that quarts canned? I've seen lbs per plant but not based on final production. Interesting......is that based on experience?

 

[MontyJ]

Yes, that is quart jars filled and processed. If I pick the 22 quart canner full of tomatoes, I get anywhere from 10-15 quarts of processed tomatoes. It varies depending on tomato size. I have never weighed a picked load. I'll do that tomorrow and post the results.

 

[catjac1975]

I am dreading going out to the end of the tomato row-so much work ahead!

 

[MontyJ]

Finished the last of the main crop canning tomatoes yesterday. We got another 18 quarts and 1 pint. That brings the season total to 71 quarts. I would have got more, but it appears a very large groundhog has found his way to the garden. He's a smart one too. I baited the field with bad tomatoes to draw him into the open, but couldn't get him. I discovered the .22 I was using was way off so I switched to the 12ga pump. Only got one shot at him with it, but he bolted as I was pulling the trigger. I have a live trap set for him now with tomatoes leading into it. He's going to pay for what he did to my brandywines.

We also ran another load of romas for sauce. Put up another 10-1/2 pints. We still have a lot of romas out there so today we are canning tomato soup.