Tomatoes are planted. Many of them. A very few remaining to go in. A cold snap came through, so I left them in their warm blankies atop the garden heater.
The most advanced are the saved campari seed I started in November. Don't know what kind of tom we'll get, but starting a few in November seems to be a genus of an idea. Which could translate to mean that I should start a few seeds in June for early fall toms.
All the cherry tomatoes are planted along the fence. I'll be starting some more in a few weeks that will go out and about around the place for summertime. Cherry varieties: Sweet 100, WOW!, Black, Yellow, Egg Yolk. I have a dozen cherry tomatoes growing right now.
Something likes to dine in this zone, one of the first transplants got munched, so now they all get some collars. The collars also make it easier to concentrate the fertilizer water; bonus!
Regular tomatoes are in the back planter or in pots. I seem to have all indeterminate; hmm. Cherokee Purple, Black from Tula, Yellow Pear, Black Plum, Plum Lemon, Yellow Jubilee, Mortgage Lifter, Publix Big Ugly F2, Green Zebra, June Flame, San Marzona 2 and Hybrid Tropic Boy. Total of 28. Be interesting to see how that works out for fresh eating and for saving.
I transplanted the most vigorous growers into buckets early on; before the last average freeze date. I'll leave them out here until it gets too hot/intense sun for them then move them into the back and sit the pots inside 5 gallon buckets. Oh, and it is probably fertilizer time again.
A whole bunch of Red Pear seedlings. I think every one I separated lived. I modified my upside down planter to plant from the side instead of smack dab in the middle of the bottom. These are 3 red pears; probably over kill for the pot size. As soon as the weather warms up, I'll plant the Spicy Globe Basil seedling in the top.
I've got one basket with cherry's and another basket starting with Everglades Currant. As well, I'll be starting a basket for my MIL to take home.
I'm planning to dip my pinkie into canning by putting up some tomato sauce. I will also freeze tomatoes. My plan is to freeze individually what we don't eat when there is not enough to can.
Hurry it up you tomato plants! I'm hungry for off the vine tomato sandwiches.
Plus, it will be nice to have at least a few weeks of fresh tomatoes and fresh salads overlapping.
Freezing tomatoes guideline
Freezing Raw Tomatoes (with or without their skins)
Printer-friendly PDF copy
Alice Henneman, MS, RD, UNL Lancaster County Extension
It is possible to quickly freeze raw tomatoes without blanching them first. They may be frozen without their skins or frozen whole with their skins. Frozen tomatoes are best used in cooked foods such as soups, sauces and stews as they become mushy when they're thawed.
Freezing Tomatoes
Tomatoes may be frozen whole, sliced, chopped, or puréed. Additionally, you can freeze them raw or cooked, as juice or sauce, or prepared in the recipe of your choice. Thawed raw tomatoes may be used in any cooked-tomato recipe. Do not try to substituted them for fresh tomatoes, however, since freezing causes their texture to become mushy.
Tomatoes should be seasoned just before serving rather than before freezing; freezing may either strengthen or weaken seasonings such as garlic, onion, and herbs.
Step 1. Preparation and Selection
Select firm, ripe tomatoes for freezing. Sort the tomatoes, discarding any that are spoiled.
Step 2. Wash Tomatoes
Tomatoes should be washed before cutting. To wash, wet each tomato with water, rub its surface, rinse it with running water, and dry it with a paper towel. After washing, cut away the stem scar and surrounding area and discard it before slicing or chopping the tomato.
Washing tomatoes in a sink filled with water is not recommended since contaminated water can be absorbed through the fruit's stem scar. The use of soap or detergent is neither recommended nor approved for washing fruits and vegetables because they can absorb detergent residues.
Dry them by blotting with a clean cloth or paper towels.
Step 3.
Freezing whole tomatoes with peels: Prepare tomatoes as described above. Cut away the stem scar. Place the tomatoes on cookie sheets and freeze. Tomatoes do not need to be blanched before freezing. Once frozen, transfer the tomatoes from the cookie sheets into freezer bags or other containers. Seal tightly. To use the frozen tomatoes, remove them from the freezer a few at a time or all at once. To peel, just run a frozen tomato under warm water in the kitchen sink. Its skin will slip off easily.
Freezing peeled tomatoes: If you prefer to freeze peeled tomatoes, you can wash the tomatoes and then dip them in boiling water for about 1 minute or until the skins split. Peel and then freeze as noted above.
For more information on freezing tomatoes, check these links to other university and Extension sources:
Storage time
To extend the time frozen foods maintain good quality:
- Package foods in material intended for freezing.
- Keep the temperature of the freezer at 0 degrees Fahrenheit or below.
- It is generally recommended frozen vegetables be eaten within about 8 months for best quality.
For canning; or putting up tomato sauce, I'm going to use my slow cooker. I don't have an immersion blender, but I do have a hand mixer. I'll try that. Here is the
recipe I'm going to use; thank you
Farmer Cat!
Actually, I'm pretty much incapable of following a recipe precisely. So I don't do accurate measurements, and I'll likely add some things to this such as carrots, turnips, hot and sweet pepper. A dash of real butter.
Slow Cooker Tomato Sauce
Ingredients
3-4 pounds fresh heirloom tomatoes, chopped (skins removed/seeded if you’d like)
1 stalk celery, minced
1 whole onion, finely chopped
4 mushrooms, chopped
1/2 small pepper, finely chopped
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh basil
3 tablespoons fresh oregano
1/4 cup fresh parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
black pepper
1 tablespoon earth balance (you can use butter, too)
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup wine
1/2 can of organic tomato paste (optional)
Directions
As always, slow cookers have vastly different times, so take this with a grain of salt and do what you think will be best for your slow cooker. Usually when I try a new slow cooker recipe, I stay at home for the first time making it, and then I’ll “set it and forget it” for future excursions.
Sautee the garlic in a pan in a bit of oil on medium heat for about one minute. Add the onions and cook for 2-3 minutes or until translucent. Remove from heat.
Dump the tomatoes, celery, onions, garlic, mushrooms, pepper, olive oil, wine, and bay leaves into the slow cooker. Wait until later on to decide if you want the tomato paste.
Cook on low for about 6 hours. If your sauce is looking pretty soupy (mine usually does), remove the lid and cook on high for about an hour, stirring occasionally.
I keep telling myself that I’m going to put in some tomato paste, and I have a can stashed in the cupboard, but the tomatoes have been so flavorful and rich that I haven’t had to. If yours come out a bit bland, though, it’s a good way to give it a bit of a concentrated punch.
A note from the trenches! Okra! Thicken it up with a bit of Okra!
Once it’s cooked down, you can salt and pepper to taste, add the tomato paste if you need it, toss that little pat of butter or earth balance in, and add in all your fresh herbs. You can let it simmer for a bit longer, but not too long, as you don’t want to degrade the herbs too much. Use it immediately, freeze it, or put it in a jar in the fridge and use it in a couple of days.
Hmmm, I see wide mouth freezer pint jars in my near future.
It's harvest Monday time with
Daphne! Stop on by and check out what's growing around gardens.
