You know who you are...Those of you with dozens and dozens of plants in the ground and in containers...
What do you do with all the fruit? I mean, with with the 7 or 8 plants I usually do, I have all we can eat fresh and we also do a few batches of sauce and salsa, etc.
So...do you sell some? Farmers market? Keep all your friends and neighbors 'matered to the max?
1. Eat a ton of them. Mater sandwich, BLT, mater on hamburger, Veggie plate with maters piled high, salads.
2. Make Vegetable Gumbo--with lots of fresh maters and okra, corn if I have it, peas, peppers, chicken broth, chicken and hamburger
3. Peel and freeze in gallon zip lock bags, to use in winter time
4. Cook some with okra, let cool, freeze in zip locks for later.
5. Got about a dozen lake neighbors who keep up with the progress of my plants and about when they can expect delivery. I fill four or five plastic bags, jump on my sea doo. Others come by and I send them away with maters.
6. Got some friends at the Gulf who expect me to show up sometime in July with a trunk full.
7. Seafood gumbo
8. Squirrels get some of mine, but then, I get some of the squirrels
So put me down for "matered to the max"
2. Make Vegetable Gumbo--with lots of fresh maters and okra, corn if I have it, peas, peppers, chicken broth, chicken and hamburger
3. Peel and freeze in gallon zip lock bags, to use in winter time
4. Cook some with okra, let cool, freeze in zip locks for later.
5. Got about a dozen lake neighbors who keep up with the progress of my plants and about when they can expect delivery. I fill four or five plastic bags, jump on my sea doo. Others come by and I send them away with maters.
6. Got some friends at the Gulf who expect me to show up sometime in July with a trunk full.
7. Seafood gumbo
8. Squirrels get some of mine, but then, I get some of the squirrels
So put me down for "matered to the max"
I have a freezer dedicated to garden produce so most of my tomatoes go for sauce frozen in stacks of gallon ziplocks. We usually have chili or pasta sauce once a week, so that is about 25-30 gallons a year.
I throw a lot in the bushes when nobody is looking so that I don't have to deal with trying to give them away. The neighbors are not enthused about the shapes and colors I grow.
I throw a lot in the bushes when nobody is looking so that I don't have to deal with trying to give them away. The neighbors are not enthused about the shapes and colors I grow.
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gixxerific
- Super Green Thumb
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Sauce in October but, before that, sell quite a lot . . .
Something that helps at a farmers' market is variety. If you can put 3 different colors in a basket - that really helps. Yes, some folks don't consider a tomato, a tomato unless it is red. Still, put different colors together and you will attract their attention. Then, they might buy a basket of red Early Girls but, that's okay
.
Steve
who is facing a predicted low of 36° thursday morning with 50+ tomatoes in the garden!
Something that helps at a farmers' market is variety. If you can put 3 different colors in a basket - that really helps. Yes, some folks don't consider a tomato, a tomato unless it is red. Still, put different colors together and you will attract their attention. Then, they might buy a basket of red Early Girls but, that's okay
.Steve
who is facing a predicted low of 36° thursday morning with 50+ tomatoes in the garden!
I have a lot of recipes for tomatoes, and that call for diced stewed tomatoes, so I stew them up and jar them to use whenever I need them during the off season. And since my partner's mom and grandma grow tomatoes too, I only plat 4 tomato plants, LOL
BTW, use the tomatoes to make chili beans and homemade BBQ sauce!
BTW, use the tomatoes to make chili beans and homemade BBQ sauce!
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applestar
- Mod
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- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
Well, I just completed my first phase tomato planting plans and found space to plant 85 tomato plants in the ground, but still have to do some more creative planning for 20-25 more. 
2nd 3rd phase -- Moving onto containers and hopefully a new narrow raised bed (oh! Just remembered one other spot I was planting tomatoes! 
>>OK found homes for 10 more 
)
...I'll let you know in July... 
2nd 3rd phase -- Moving onto containers and hopefully a new narrow raised bed (oh! Just remembered one other spot I was planting tomatoes! >>OK found homes for 10 more ) ...I'll let you know in July... -
mattie g
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- Location: Northern VA, USA -- Zone 7a
We generally eat our tomatoes cooked in some fashion, as I'm not much of a fan of fresh tomatoes, so most of ours go into gallon bags and into the freezer for use later in salsa and sauces.
Fresh tomatoes are often made into sauce and salsa or pico de gallo. We also put some on burgers and other sandwiches, and slice some up and top with buffalo mozzarella, basil, and aged balsamic vinegar...now *that's* good stuff!
Fresh tomatoes are often made into sauce and salsa or pico de gallo. We also put some on burgers and other sandwiches, and slice some up and top with buffalo mozzarella, basil, and aged balsamic vinegar...now *that's* good stuff!
I actually have damage to my liver, and the vitamin C in tomatoes is something I need for cleansing it. So I eat and fortunately LOVE fresh tomatoes, lol I eat them sliced up with a little salt and pepper, especially if they are home grown!
BTW, the damage to my liver is not from drinking or drug use, it's from the flu medication Tamiflu! Anybody taking that stuff needs to be really careful, and watch your liver function!
BTW, the damage to my liver is not from drinking or drug use, it's from the flu medication Tamiflu! Anybody taking that stuff needs to be really careful, and watch your liver function!
We end up slicing and drying a lot of my toms. I used to do it outside in the sun, but the cactus wren are on to me so I have had to move the production inside to the dehydrator if I want any left for us to eat! It is pretty humid in VA, so if you can't do it outside and don't have a dehydrator you can do a few at a time in the oven or toaster oven.
Also when I pull up old plants at the end of the season I harvest all the green tomatoes and make "fried" green tomatoes and pickled green tomatoes. They are like tart, super crunchy pickles! Use your standard pickle recipe, but cut way down on the dill leaves/seeds. Small toms like cherries or grapes can be pickled whole, but bigger ones need to be halved, quartered or cut into spears. You can try sliced, but I've not had luck with them yet. You don't have to wait til the end of the season, you can pick them green any time!
Oh, and if you have eggplant and summer squash, ratatouille is always requested in the summer in my house and you can put just about any of your summer garden harvest into it.
Also when I pull up old plants at the end of the season I harvest all the green tomatoes and make "fried" green tomatoes and pickled green tomatoes. They are like tart, super crunchy pickles! Use your standard pickle recipe, but cut way down on the dill leaves/seeds. Small toms like cherries or grapes can be pickled whole, but bigger ones need to be halved, quartered or cut into spears. You can try sliced, but I've not had luck with them yet. You don't have to wait til the end of the season, you can pick them green any time!
Oh, and if you have eggplant and summer squash, ratatouille is always requested in the summer in my house and you can put just about any of your summer garden harvest into it.
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dustyrivergardens
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