Of 'Maters and 'Taters

About those tomatoes ('maters)? Surely I'm not the only one coaxing the large green ones to hurry and ripen before frost. I have never been a fan like so many are of green tomato recipes. I am sure they are delicious, but I have tried, really I have and I can't seem to not expect the those dishes to have a nice deep red tomato flavor which is impossible. Therefore, disappointment. So I will keep on coaxing. Coaxing 101: I will not be deterred! Head Hillbilly helped me by shoving rebar into the soil around our tomato patch. We then put narrow diameter PVC down onto the rebar, bending and connecting it to the PVC on the opposite side. Draping it with plastic makes the green house effect we were shootin' for. It's working pretty well so far. I am going to take the advice of an avid tomato gardener in our area who takes this approach, only in early spring, when she plants her tomatoes. She keeps them covered almost through the end of June! Oh yeah baby, I will definately try this. By now ya'll have an opinion about the tomato varieties you have harvested. I was late in getting started this past spring with little time to shop around so I planted the standard nursery fare. I missed out on the great heirloom varieties. Brandywine, Stupice, and Homestead are three I have my tastebuds set on for next year. Any other suggestions out there? I would ask Solar Family Mom, but she is busy right now canning, farming and raising her passal of lard fed kids. Some things are more important than blogging?!! Hmmm.... think I'll mosey on along now. If you are canning the last of this years tomato harvest, check out Solar Family Farm's Roasted Tomato Puree here for a great way to preserve your tomatoes. Oh, and about the potatoes ('taters)? Didn't plant any this year. Bummer for us. Truly is there anything tastier than a crisp as an apple 'tater? NO, NO, no. And is there anything more disgusting or worse smelling than a rotten potato dripping from your store bought bag of potatoes? NO, NO, no. There is really no way to tell what lurks in that innocent bag of spuds. The brown plastic cleverly disguises the sneaky bugger that lurks inside. I could have smelled the bag before putting them in my cart, I know, but I didn't want to look like a freak in a crowded grocery store! Okay? Oh the putrid puddle on my counter, yuck. With all the display of horror to my discovery, HH was not moved to sympathy, even when I told him I would rather endure the stench of that dead deer carcass I passed on Panther Creek Road earlier. Lesson to self: Plant 'taters next year and be a freak, smell that bag. Your Freak, bfitz

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Monday, October 12, 2009 - Untitled Comment

Posted by borderling (74.44.15.33)

Our tomatoes never finish ripening on the vine around here. I get about 1/3 that way. The rest get picked and put on newspapers on the basement floor where they ripen up quite nicely. I lose about 1/4 of them to rot, but am able to can up the rest as they ripen. And yes, it was a great year for taters around here. From Glory Farm, Rhonda

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Friday, October 16, 2009 - Untitled Comment

Posted by simpleoldgurl (216.218.119.95)

Lol, nope you are not the only one doing the coaxing, LOL...my mater usually have to ripen off the vine this time of year, too! I always check those bags of taters, too..had a similar experince myself once, eeewww! Ok, so call me a freak, I can deal with it! yep! :) Edited by simpleoldgurl on Friday, October 16, 2009 at 09:07

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Monday, October 19, 2009 - Untitled Comment

Posted by HopefulHeart77 (68.207.166.139)

I just thought I would give my opinion on heirloom tomatos. I planted around 8 different varieties. I wanted to see which ones I liked. My two favorites were Matts wild cherry....for cherry tomatos and for the big ones.......Cherokee purple. I am in Alabama so I am not sure of your growing conditions. These did well for me and the Matts wild Cherries are still producing. Well, I had light frost the past two mornings so that probably ended it. We shall see. I will plant these two varieties next year as well as one more that I havent tried before. I enjoyed your post. Many blessings!