Contrary Tomatoes

[catjac1975]

Do you think we gardeners really care?!?!? I have tried to keep a Gardenia alive, for heaven's sake! Glad to know I'm not the Only person to kill one. Sure did smell nice when it was alive.
Seriously, I don't think the Native Americans would have bothered with any plants that were hard to care for, but SOMEBODY introduced the tomato to the English colonies, else they wouldn't have recorded tomato sauce recipes in the 18th century. Perhaps, since the Eastern tribes were agrarian, they were already growing it there.

I don't know your zone but, gardenias are not very cold tolerant, despite what a plant label might say.

 

[ducks4you]

Yes, I know, Zone 10. I brought it inside for the winter and it just didn't like it there, and slowly died. A MidAmericanGardener panelist did the same, same results. Not feeling too bad about it.
I kept a ficus going for years, inside in the winter, outside when it's warm. Then left it out it in a frost. Dead.
Some plants just don't know when they have it good.

 

[digitS']

@ducks4you , you are recognizing the difficulties in growing some tomato varieties in northern climes?

When I lived at a 500 foot higher elevation than I do now, my only choice for a tomato seemed to be Sub-Arctic. My sweet corn choice was Polar Vee.

Ya know, we have this idea that corn was the European Americans grain of choice on their frontier. For the most part, it was wheat. I suspect that before Golden Bantam corn showed up in the 1930's, there was no sweet corn grown anywhere within 200 miles from here.

There are broad choices now, even with tomatoes, since I moved downhill and the country has become even more of a "demand economy."

Steve

 

[Dirtmechanic]

After this years adventures, I am now considering referring to my tomatoes only as DRAMABERRIES or in private as DEVILS BALLS.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Ya know, we have this idea that corn was the European Americans grain of choice on their frontier. For the most part, it was wheat. I suspect that before Golden Bantam corn showed up in the 1930's, there was no sweet corn grown anywhere within 200 miles from here.

Well, I DO know that one of the big reasons that the vast majority of our mass grown corn is yellow or white (even though the native growers were well aware the colored ones were often better for you and told the Europeans so) is because the Europeans INSISTED that, if they HAD to eat corn, it look as much like wheat as possible. Even then corn was often the second class food everywhere, for the poor, the servants and in the south, the slaves (there's an old saying recorded in the south "We grow the wheat and they give us the corn." And part of why the Irish famine got so bad was that when yellow corn came about, they people rejected it saying they would rather starve than eat "brimstone yellow" bread.

 

[flowerbug]

i'm pretty sure that in some older literature they referred to grain as corn even before American maize came along. not that this has anything to do with contrary tomatoes, but i just thought it an interesting tidbit.

 

[digitS']

Tomatoes, even after boiling down a big pot of pasta sauce yesterday.

There has likely been one or 2 from each variety. Sooo late! Let's see ... 11 heirlooms and a half dozen hybrids. (I used all the Coyote in yesterday's sauce .)

Steve

 

[ducks4you]

My tomatoes have been contrary, whereas DD's leggy tomatoes have been fewer but perfect. Mine aren't getting enough air flow. I need to rethink how I plant/stake them for 2021. Too many rotten or bug ridden ones this year.
DD's have full sun part of the day and their 7 hybrid and heirlooms have had to reach for it, but LOTS of air flow around the stems.

 

[flowerbug]

we picked what was left of the tomatoes off the plants which were done. some were green and will be left on the table to ripen. we had a lone tomato on the table in the garage for about 6 weeks before it finally ripened. we ate it yesterday and it was delicious. if you were not in the know you'd think it was ripened on the plant. i think there are quite a few tomatoes out there on the table. i'm waiting for the sun to come around to get a few pictures so i'll snag one of the tomatoes too while i'm at it.

 

[ducks4you]

HALF of my 2019 harvest was right before a hard freeze. I canned 12ish quarts, including 3 quarts with some greenish tomatoes that I didn't want to see spoil, and labeled them, "Tomatoes for Beans," to use for beans for chili.
I used 2 quarts of them yesterday, except I forgot to run them through the blender. The beans had soaked up the tomatoes after a few hours, so I grabbed 1 more quart of "Tomatoes for Beans," this time pulverized.
I ended up hot water bath canning 4 quarts+one 1/2 pint, and have them stored in the fridge for next month's party/protest.
A lot of regular guests are still freaked out about the virus and aren't coming, or even having their regular Halloween bashes at home, so DH will make the usual amount of chili, and we will package up and freeze the leftovers.
You CAN bring in your unripe tomatoes and let them ripen in bowls on your table/counter. Yes, some will go bad, but most will ripen and be great for canning!