Comments on: The Vine-Ripened Tomato Lie

By: Stasia

Stasia — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 23:59:25 +0000

I just want my tomatoes to ripen NATURALLY, I am so sick of gas ripened tomatoes. They just don’t taste right at all!

I grew up on home grown tomatoes though. So maybe that is my problem.

By: Wm_Atl

Wm_Atl — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 04:19:54 +0000

The science backs you up. As soon as the Tomato starts to show a little hint of pink the plant is done with it. The fruit does not receive anything from the plant after it starts to turn. In fact the ones I picked just as they started to turn looked a lot better than the ones I missed on the plant.
For me the season is done. I harvested all the tomatoes and have them in a box with a couple apples to help them ripen.

By: nubbystubby

nubbystubby — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 19:13:08 +0000

OH! I transplanted my asparagus to my flower garden. We will see how do this winter and hopefully, I will see them again in the spring! I think I should put straw or something on them before winter.

By: nubbystubby

nubbystubby — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 18:56:16 +0000

With frost warnings nearing, I picked all of my acorn squashes, and some tomato vines with green ‘maters on them. I’m going to hang the vines in the chicken house with my 3 little hens, who weigh about 10 pounds each now. The first eggs were smaller than a golf ball! They all prefer one nest box, and it so cute to see them wait their turn to lay. They are having a field day eating bugs off of the okra still attached on their sturdy stalks! I read somewhere on the net that this lady’s grandma strung the okra pods on twine, so I will see if my husband lets me get by with hanging these as decorations! The chicken droppings will be put on the garden and be broken down by the winter weather to make a nice fertilizer by spring.

By: lee

lee — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 02:24:08 +0000

my tomatoes fit the too much water/too much sun/ cracks and insects scenario to the “t”….while I had a huge crop this year…unbelievably….I’ve lost some to insects and then some seem to fall off the vine easily, with barely a touch….I do think we watered too much….

By: Daniel Gasteiger

Daniel Gasteiger — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 13:53:08 +0000

I’ve seen two very healthy asparagus patches that looked kind of like lawn with asparagus plants growing in it. Ideally, you plant asparagus roots somewhat deep in heavily-amended soil (lots of compost), and mulch over them with compost (hence the trench concept). As they put up shoots, you add soil/compost (again: good reason for a trench). Of course, setting the plants in decent soil and hitting them with compost mulch several times a season will produce perfectly acceptable results. My asparagus does just fine with even less attention than that: I pretty much just weed around it a few times a year, but I haven’t fed it compost in quite some time. Now I’m feeling guilty; I WILL mulch my asparagus with compost THIS WEEK!

Can you plant them in your flower garden? I’d Google “companion planting” and see whether anyone mentions good and bad plants to set near your asparagus. After that, why no grow asparagus in your flower beds? Design for a plant that spreads very very slowly from the roots, and that can grow 4 or 5 feet tall.

By: Daniel Gasteiger

Daniel Gasteiger — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 13:44:19 +0000

Schneider: Half tomatoes & half water is a bit extreme, though canned tomatoes usually float and leave, perhaps, 1/8 to 1/4 of the jar tomato-free at the bottom. The variety of tomato plays in this far less than your canning technique. Here are two ways to improve the tomato-to-liquid ratio in your canning jars:

1: Pack the tomatoes firmly. I’m talking about diced, sliced, or halved tomatoes: don’t just drop them into the jar until the jar is full. Rather, as you fill a jar, manipulate the tomato chunks so you fill as much space as possible with them. If the contents of a jar look “loose” I’ll hold my hand across the top and give the jar a shake or two to help the tomato pieces settle. It’s good even to press down gently to encourage the tomato chunks to slip together (but don’t crush the pieces unless you’re using the “pack in their own juice” method which requires 85 minutes in a boiling water bath canner). When you add boiling water, release air bubbles with a chopstick or something similar, and again encourage the tomato chunks to settle tightly. I usually have to add a few more tomato pieces at that point and then a bit more water. Yes, the tomatoes will float after processing, but you’ll probably do better than the 50/50 split you’ve described.

2: This is a less practical way to get a higher tomato-content in a canning jar: de-seed the tomatoes before you pack them. The gel and seeds take up space that could go to tomato meat. By removing seeds, you make it easier for the tomato chunks to snuggle against each other. The difference will be small, and you can achieve it more easily by choosing “paste tomatoes” to plant for your next crop. A paste tomato has far fewer seeds than a slicing tomato has. Romas are, perhaps, the best-known paste tomatoes, but if you Google “Paste tomato” you’ll find many other varieties as well.

Honestly: I can both paste and slicing tomatoes (often mixed in the same jars). I usually cut them into about 1-inch chunks, and when I pack the jars well, I rarely get even an inch of clear liquid at the bottoms of my pint jars (I don’t can tomatoes in quarts).

By: nubbystubby

nubbystubby — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:45:20 +0000

Do you know anything about asparagus? I planted some seeds and have these beautiful feathery plants that I have in flower pots, but I don’t know what to do with them next .I read where they are supposed to be in trenches, but I remember picking asparagus growing along fences in the country. Do you think I could just plant them in my flower garden ? They are so pretty, I don’t care if they grow spears.

By: Schneider

Schneider — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 01:06:16 +0000

Please tell me what variety of tomato is best for canning; the result is always half a jar of water and half a jar of tomatoes. Is that typical?

By: Daniel Gasteiger

Daniel Gasteiger — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 00:57:12 +0000

nubbystubby: I can’t tell you whether you’re weird, but I’m happy to reassure you that gardening and raising chickens isn’t a valid gauge of weird. There’s an awesome network of gardeners and landscape designers on Twitter and Facebook, and my gut tells me it runs about 10% to 15% men. There’s no doubt that every human would find farmers among their ancestors… sadly, huge numbers of us have lost touch with that history, and evidence is growing that being disconnected from the soil is what makes us (Americans, that is) overweight and physically ill. It’s a great pleasure to connect with people who enjoy growing and eating their own food!