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- #291
Beekissed
Garden Master
Dehydrating tomatoes for the first time today...hope to do a lot more before the season is over. My tomatoes are having a very weird year....I've never seen anything like it.
What are you canning now?
- Thread starter Beekissed
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Smart Red
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Not canning, but I am dehydrating 'greens' tonight. 
Can't tell you any more than that. It's a surprise.
Can't tell you any more than that. It's a surprise.- Thread starter
- #293
Beekissed
Garden Master
Red, are you drying pot in yer dehydrator again? 
Nyboy
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canesisters
Garden Master
haha - mine doesn't have a setting. It's plugged in or not. Did a good job though. I have a big bowl of dried basil. Going to try oregano next.
canesisters
Garden Master
I did a bunch of cherry tomatoes last year and I found that they got a bit of a 'candy' coating on them. Made for some really good snacking. Also great chopped up and sprinkled over salad.
ninnymary
Garden Master
- Thread starter
- #298
Beekissed
Garden Master
I don't know yet, which is why it's so weird...but I'll lean towards the bad weird. They all got a fungal blight that is slowly working its way up the plants, consequently I keep pruning off the affected limbs and leaves as it marches upward. Meanwhile, I've got uneven growth patterns going on, but most are more slender than usual for my tomatoes....BUT, and here's the weird part....they are growing hugely tall, even for this type of tomato, even the Romas are very tall, which is weird for a bush type tomato.
Then, all the tomatoes are very small compared to usual...I'm used to HUGE beefsteak tomatoes and I mean HUGE. I've only got a few that are bigger than a softball right now. And the fact they are putting on tomatoes at all with all the problems they have is a mystery, but there's quite a few out there.
I can see where the nature of the soil~too compact in that area~has stunted the root growth and the fungal infection is also affecting the plants, but nothing explains why they are growing so tall despite these things. Why not put that nutrition into putting out more and bigger fruit instead of getting tall? Not sure. Today I lopped off all that were 6-7 ft or more, as even if they did put on fruit that high, the weight of it would bend the vine against the top of the cattle panel and cut off nutrition to the fruit.
Like I said, weird year with weirder results. I'm used to thick vines, usually get to 6 ft and beyond but have the thickness of vine to support that height, and with very LARGE tomatoes.
Then, I have one cherry tomato that has fruit fronds that are almost 3 ft long...it's by far the biggest plant in the garden, with both a super thick vine and also tall growth, though it isn't as tall as the much skinnier cherry tomato of the same kind growing over the arbor by the gate...that thing is around 10 ft. now but skinny and the fruiting fronds are not as big as the other.
Hope next year everything goes back to normal.
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- #299
Beekissed
Garden Master
That's what everyone has said, that the dried maters just melt in the mouth. I'll have to try them. I'm hoping to get enough to make some tomato powder for thickening of salsa, sauce and soups.
canesisters
Garden Master
oooh - that's a good idea.
How do you make tomato powder? Dehydrate slices and then food processer it???
How do you make tomato powder? Dehydrate slices and then food processer it???
