Radishrain
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We're growing Spacemaster cucumbers, this year. They're doing phenomenally well, especially considering that they're in soil that is probably kind of salty (due to being right next to a driveway that is salted in the winter). I don't know if they just like the year, or if it's an especially good variety for our garden (or maybe that soil is more ideal for cucumbers than I thought).
The fruits have been bitter from the start, but if you peel them first, that takes away all the bitterness.
The fruits have been bitter from the start, but if you peel them first, that takes away all the bitterness.
So, I thought garden strawberries just multiplied by runners, or seed. But my plants (which were initially just one plant in each spot) now look like clumps of many plants. I wonder if they'll produce if I split them up. I wonder if they'll all stop producing at the same time, or if splitting them up renews their fruiting cycle.
Stick tomato
Offsite articles:
• Tatiana's TOMATObase
• Dave's Garden
Offsite forum search results:
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• Google: Tomatoville
heirloom_tomato
We got our first ripe tomatoes, today. There were three altogether: one from the Galapagos Island plant from a seed from a fruit with 5 locules, and the other two were from the Galapagos Island tomato from seeds from fruits that had withstood several hard freezes.
I gave the fruits to someone, who ate them, and said they were good, and described them as tart.
The fruits started to color a day or two ago.
I think the one from the 5-chamber plant is on the right, but I could be wrong:
As you can see the one from the 5-chamber plant doesn't appear to have five chambers, by the fruit size and shape. Nevertheless, I am pleased with the fruits. They're a nice color.
I gave the fruits to someone, who ate them, and said they were good, and described them as tart.
The fruits started to color a day or two ago.
I think the one from the 5-chamber plant is on the right, but I could be wrong:
As you can see the one from the 5-chamber plant doesn't appear to have five chambers, by the fruit size and shape. Nevertheless, I am pleased with the fruits. They're a nice color.
We were gifted a seedless watermelon recently (probably about 20lbs in weight). I cut it open and we ate about a slice of it altogether. Then I cut up the rest and started dehydrating it. Yes, the dehydrator fits about a whole store-bought seedless watermelon, although with thinner slices, maybe not. I was surprised six 15"x13" trays were enough! It was pretty heavy. I'm also dehydrating an apple, too, since there was a little room left over. I set it to 145° F. after I put all the trays in, but it was on 135° F. for a time (with already-loaded trays) while I was cutting up the watermelon and loading the other trays. I may have stuck with 135° F., but I heard it's pretty good with a temperature that isn't particularly low. So, we'll see.
Our Red-seeded Citron watermelons that we harvested last year aren't getting any younger. So, I decided to cut the two largest ones up, season them like I do for citron watermelon crisp, and dehydrate them! :)
Yes, seeding those watermelons took a nice duration to do.
I figure they can probably take a pretty high temperature, since they taste good fully cooked with those seasonings (brown sugar, citric acid, nutmeg, and cinnamon). So, I'll probably keep them on at least 145° F. as I dehydrate them (it's on 166 right now). The seasonings (probably the brown sugar) caused them to release juices (so, that should help the dehydration process).
I'm dehydrating a few grocery store Roma-type tomatoes, in thick slices, since there was some room left over after I cut up the watermelons. I filled about six 13" x 15" trays. The dehydrator can take six more trays, but the slices can be thicker with only six (and I only have six trays).
The tomatoes are on the top tray so that they don't get the watermelon seasonings dripping on them.
tomato_
dehydrating_
Yes, seeding those watermelons took a nice duration to do.
I figure they can probably take a pretty high temperature, since they taste good fully cooked with those seasonings (brown sugar, citric acid, nutmeg, and cinnamon). So, I'll probably keep them on at least 145° F. as I dehydrate them (it's on 166 right now). The seasonings (probably the brown sugar) caused them to release juices (so, that should help the dehydration process).
I'm dehydrating a few grocery store Roma-type tomatoes, in thick slices, since there was some room left over after I cut up the watermelons. I filled about six 13" x 15" trays. The dehydrator can take six more trays, but the slices can be thicker with only six (and I only have six trays).
The tomatoes are on the top tray so that they don't get the watermelon seasonings dripping on them.
tomato_
dehydrating_
When you're out of ketchup for your hamburgers you can do any of the following things:
• Appreciate them without ketchup (not my personal favorite, but they are appreciable).
• Make your own make-shift ketchup from canned tomatoes, salt, vinegar, and something like onion greens.
• Instead of ketchup, slice tomatoes, salt them, dip them in vinegar, and put lots of them on your hamburgers. I tried this, today and it was great. Ketchup is basically tomatoes, salt, vinegar, sugar, and spices; so, this will get you some of the same flavor.
Here's a ketchup-free, mayonnaise-free, pickle-free, onion-free hamburger recipe that I enjoyed, today:
• Cook some hamburgers.
• Mustard some bread.
• Slice some cheddar cheese (thin-ish slices)
• Harvest one large Shark Fin Melon squash leaf for each hamburger.
• Bake the two squash leaves in the toaster oven on the racks at 450° F. until they're crispy.
• Slice some tomatoes
• Salt and vinegar the tomatoes
• Put your hamburger together (fold the squash greens to fit; expect them to crumble partially as you do), and eat.
The squash greens were pretty good on this, actually. FYI, I like ketchup, pickles, onions, and mayonnaise on hambugers.
recipe_
hamburger_
ketchup_
chilacayote_
tomato_
cheese_
salt_
vinegar_
greens_
• Appreciate them without ketchup (not my personal favorite, but they are appreciable).
• Make your own make-shift ketchup from canned tomatoes, salt, vinegar, and something like onion greens.
• Instead of ketchup, slice tomatoes, salt them, dip them in vinegar, and put lots of them on your hamburgers. I tried this, today and it was great. Ketchup is basically tomatoes, salt, vinegar, sugar, and spices; so, this will get you some of the same flavor.
Here's a ketchup-free, mayonnaise-free, pickle-free, onion-free hamburger recipe that I enjoyed, today:
• Cook some hamburgers.
• Mustard some bread.
• Slice some cheddar cheese (thin-ish slices)
• Harvest one large Shark Fin Melon squash leaf for each hamburger.
• Bake the two squash leaves in the toaster oven on the racks at 450° F. until they're crispy.
• Slice some tomatoes
• Salt and vinegar the tomatoes
• Put your hamburger together (fold the squash greens to fit; expect them to crumble partially as you do), and eat.
The squash greens were pretty good on this, actually. FYI, I like ketchup, pickles, onions, and mayonnaise on hambugers.
recipe_
hamburger_
ketchup_
chilacayote_
tomato_
cheese_
salt_
vinegar_
greens_
Tomato variety attributes to consider
Historical information:
Breed names
Ancestry
Breeder, discoverer, and introducer
Location of origin (City, state/province, and country of origin)
History
Is it PVP, PVPAF, or under plant patents?
Is it covered by a utility patent?
Is the breed name that you are using for it trademarked?
Has this tomato or any of its ancestors been genetically engineered?
How many sets of chromosomes does it have?
Awards
Contests won
Was it bred for a particular region, and/or purpose? What region and/or purpose?
Fruit information:
Size
Weight
Color
Flesh colors
Skin colors
Anthocyanin?
Striped (like Green Zebra)?
Striped (other)?
Green shoulders (when ripe)?
Shape
Directional (balanced, long, wide)
Distribution (balanced, pear, oxheart)
Rounded or blocky edges
Uniform or uneven (the beefsteak shape is uneven)
Ribbing (none, light, moderate, heavy, ultra)
Nippled?
Hollow?
Other
Best uses
Taste
Sweetness
Acidity/sourness/tartness
Potency
Retains the same flavor when cooked?
Texture
Soft, moderate, firm, or as crunchy as an unripe tomato
Thick or thin walls
Meaty interior (walls aside)?
Fruit life:
Shelf-life
Hang-time
Storage tomato (in the fashion of Burpee’s Longkeeper)
Flower and fruiting information:
Centiflora?
Days to ripe fruit (from transplant)
Days to ripe fruit (from seed)
Days to fruit set (from transplant)
Parthenocarpic?
Is it prone to megablooms, fused blossoms, fused stems, and such?
Jointless fruit stems?
Seed information:
Days to sprout
Seed size
Sprouts cool
Sprouts hot
How much gel on seeds?
Seeds per fruit
Plant information:
Species
Is it an F1 hybrid?
Does it breed true?
Size
Growth habit
Vine length
Bushy or viny?
Leaf cover
Flexible or stiff plant
Thick or narrow branch stems
Leaf information:
Leaf type
Wispy?
Variegated?
Anthocyanin?
Chartreuse?
Tolerances, resistances, and afflictions:
Sets fruit in 90+° F. in arid climates?
Sets fruit in 90+° F. in humid climates?
Cold-tolerant (early season)
Cold-tolerant (late season)
Fruit itself is cold-tolerant
Drought-tolerant
Fruits fine in the shade
Does the fruit still taste good in cold conditions?
Does the fruit still taste as good when the plant is grown in the shade or partial shade?
Disease tolerances
Pest tolerances
Easliy stunted in hot temperatures?
Easily stunted in cold temperatures?
Easily stunted in drought?
Handles temperature fluctuations easily?
Handles uneven watering easily?
Prone to blossom end rot?
Prone to concentric cracking?
Prone to radial cracking?
Prone to splitting upon harvesting?
Prone to splitting before harvesting?
Prone to catfacing?
Handles warm wet conditions easily?
Alpine strawberries, as you may or may not know, are small. Tasty, prolific, and easy-to-grow, but small (usually; sometimes some bigger ones appear). It takes about two seconds to eat an entire handful.
So, I figured I'd freeze them to make them take longer to eat, and make a bigger impact in the mouth (due to the cold). Guess what: It worked! They're very tasty frozen, and they are much more substantial, and even more filling. The taste does change when frozen, but in a good way.
I used to think the frozen strawberry taste was particular to a specific variety of strawberry, but nope. Frozen strawberries taste different. No, every variety doesn't taste exactly the same when frozen, but you can learn to tell a frozen strawberry taste from a fresh one.
The great thing about these frozen alpine strawberries is that they don't stay frozen for a super long time, due to their small size. Plus, if you suck on them, the skins and seeds come off first, leaving the rest of the strawberry for you to taste in your mouth.
Garden strawberries are great frozen, too.
Another tip I have for you is that if you wash the dried up alpine strawberries before you freeze them, they absorb just enough water to be pretty awesome when frozen.
garden_strawberry
tip_
So, I figured I'd freeze them to make them take longer to eat, and make a bigger impact in the mouth (due to the cold). Guess what: It worked! They're very tasty frozen, and they are much more substantial, and even more filling. The taste does change when frozen, but in a good way.
I used to think the frozen strawberry taste was particular to a specific variety of strawberry, but nope. Frozen strawberries taste different. No, every variety doesn't taste exactly the same when frozen, but you can learn to tell a frozen strawberry taste from a fresh one.
The great thing about these frozen alpine strawberries is that they don't stay frozen for a super long time, due to their small size. Plus, if you suck on them, the skins and seeds come off first, leaving the rest of the strawberry for you to taste in your mouth.
Garden strawberries are great frozen, too.
Another tip I have for you is that if you wash the dried up alpine strawberries before you freeze them, they absorb just enough water to be pretty awesome when frozen.
garden_strawberry
tip_
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