Ten mistakes concerning tomatoes

[Bill who putters]

Touches on a few thing discussed here. Nice and concise.

[Escargo]

Bill who putters wrote in news:b2forewagner- [e-mail]:

Item 3 in the list though suggests 6 plants for a family of four! I suppose for a family that size it may be enough for a few salads or nibbles. Our family is the same size but last year 22 outdoor plants(no greenhouse here sadly) were hardly enough so this year we did 30. The varieties are Gardeners Delight, Sweet Million(both cherry type) and Incas(plum) We preserve them though when we have a glut, in jars and bottles for curries, soups juices etc. and still run out of them thats why we grow so many. We still have to buy fresh ones out of season. Tomatoes my number 1 fav.

Thanks again Sandra and Micky

[Suzanne D.]

Ha, that's like my family of six, who couldn't be satisfied with 60 tomato plants last year!

--S.

[Frank]

Good stuff. The guy with the BER and splitting problems should copy and post in his garden ;)

[Escargo]

"Suzanne D." wrote in news:i4c65g$uf$ [e-mail]:

Thats a good thing, kids need vitamins and yours are obviously getting them. I think an early appetite for fruit and veg sets kids up to enjoy them for life. Do you preserve some of them? If so how, I am always looking out for different tried and tested methods. We are eating ours as fast as they ripen so next year we will find space for even more.

Best regards Sandra and Micky

[The Cook]

Two of us here but with a couple of kids who show up and leave with jars of food.

I usually plant at least 50 and hope for the best. One year I planted

100 and spent the month of August between the garden and the kitchen. I can plain tomatoes, various pasta sauces, salsa, relishes. If it was listed in a canning book I probably tried it. Also gave away a lot.

This year blight has just about wiped out the tomato crop so I am making things that we have run out of, primarily spaghetti and pizza sauces. Besides they are quick to make and can.

As the local county extension agent says, "Copy Rotation."

[FarmI]

Have you ever made tomato jam?

[The Cook]

Yes and jelly too.

[Doug Freyburger]

Is it much thicker than tomato paste? At some point the moisture level drops and it gets hard to prevent burning.

[Bill who putters]

Guess you know about Iranian carrot jam ?

[The Cook]

[Suzanne D.]

\>> Ha, that's like my family of six, who couldn't be satisfied with 60

Oh absolutely. Kids will eat what you feed them, if you make sure to feed them the right things early and often. My kids LOVE fresh vegetables. In good garden years they will barely eat anything I cook inside; they just go out to the garden and nibble all day.

We usually don't have much left over to preserve. I try to make tomato sauce when we have surplus, but it's been a few years since we did.

--S.

[Bill who putters]

My kids knew about wild blueberries early on and looking for edible pod peas early. But the oldest two still complain in a away about moving hens for eggs which I wonder if theirs will ever enjoy. Seems I may have to lead the way but a glimmer of hope did appear and a future son in law looks like he may consider self sufficiency a worth while endeavor . We will see.

[David Hare-Scott]

Tomato jam is the best use for all the green ones left on the plant at the end of season when you pull them out. Yum.

David

[David Hare-Scott]

It is not different to making any kind of jam in that respect, when it gets to nearly cooked it will spit and spatter and you must stir continually and systematically all over the pot. I recommend trying green tomato jam at least once.

David

[Steve Peek]

I remember my grandmother making a green tomato pie that was quite like apple. It's been many years but I think I'm remembering correctly. Steve

[Billy]

I have 2 Armenian cukes that look like they have wilt. Right next to them are 2 lemon cukes who seem to be doing OK except for the 2 Romanesco cukes, right next to them, that turned out to be zuchs. Putain.

[FarmI]

It's a jam - the sort that is sweet and that you spread on toast

[FarmI]

I've been meaning to try green fried tomato but have not yet gotten around to it when we have some to try. Now, with your recommendation, I'll need to add tom jam to that list or round to-its.

Our green toms tend to get used in Green tom pickle but I don't like that pickle nearly as much as my rich fruit chutney that uses ripe toms - I used to have to post jars of it to an elderly friend which turned out to be damned expensive given the cost of postage.

[Steve Peek]

I can't grow either. The toughest ones seem to be the pickling cukes. Planting them and judicious use of pyrethrum is the only way to get enough for pickling.

It's my understanding that the only way to break the cycle is to stop growing all cucurbits and corn for several years. The beetle larvae feed on the corn roots then the adults feed on the cucurbits.

Steve