Tomato 2022

[seedcorn]

I miss tomatoes the most when fall hits. Can’t buy good tomatoes in stores.

 

[ducks4you]

YOU should become a hot water bath canner!!
I bought a new one this year, and I really like it so much better than the two cheapo spatterware canners that I still own, but their racks are pretty much rusted out.

McSunley 21.5 Qt. Stainless Steel Water Bath Canner - 620 | Blain's Farm & Fleet

Get your McSunley 21.5 Qt. Stainless Steel Water Bath Canner - 620 at Blain's Farm & Fleet. Buy online, choose delivery or in-store pickup. Great prices on Water Bath Canners.

www.farmandfleet.com

I bought mine on sale last Spring for $41
When we made chili last weekend I added a pint of cherry tomatoes from 2015. We always do the smell test, and they smelled like I had just cooked them, and this was 7 years later.

 

[flowerbug]

I miss tomatoes the most when fall hits. Can’t buy good tomatoes in stores.

canned tomatoes in glass are really good in the middle of winter or into the next gardening season until the next batch starts to ripen. it's a lot of work but worth every moment.

 

[digitS']

I was thinking about not having Thessaloniki tomatoes this year.

That tomato has lasted into December sitting on the kitchen counter. However, no tomato picked green has developed its full, garden-fresh flavor for me. And, I do NOT pick any tomato that is still dark green.

Thessaloniki does well in my garden and I will have to grow it again but maybe there are some suggestions along that "long keeper" line. I mean, two months plus after harvesting and still perfectly intact - that is something.

Steve

 

[meadow]

Almost time to say goodbye to fresh off the vine tomatoes.

We just had our first non-cherry tomato this past weekend... and the first melon (cantaloupe) yesterday. This year has been soooo slow for us. It must be the lack of sunny days, which is why I'm so freaking excited when we do have sun (like the past 2 days - sun all day long!). The week (or two?) before that saw a forecast of sun in the afternoons but the sun never made an appearance.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I miss tomatoes the most when fall hits. Can’t buy good tomatoes in stores.

Last year I lucked out in that the local farm stand did heirloom cherry tomatoes in their hothouse, so I had decent tomatoes all year round. But this year, they've already gone to just a plain yellow and red mix on the cherries, and even the larger heirlooms have vanished (I even had trouble finding any decent ones at the ACTUAL farmer's market on Saturday; only 4 small ones made the cut.) I still have my cherries coming in at some point, but the one non cherry is already collapsing.

 

[digitS']

. It must be the lack of sunny days

There you see the difference between the Maritime Pacific Northwest and the Interior Pacific Northwest.

The climate here isn't the same as Utah and Nevada but similar. Spring has a strong tendency to be somewhat like the Pacific coastal side with the clouds but not so much rain. Those very tall Cascade Mountains create the contrast. It certainly was cloudy early in the growing season but then, we cooked.

Things were behind coming out of the greenhouse and tomatoes were furthest back, I suppose. A good pepper year but melons did take a beating from the hailstorm.

Steve

 

[meadow]

There you see the difference between the Maritime Pacific Northwest and the Interior Pacific Northwest.

Yeah, there is a stark contrast between West of the Cascades and East of them even in a normal year (this year was abnormally low on sunshine). My brother used to live near Oldtown.

 

[Dahlia]

A few years ago I grew three varieties of cilantro, 2 that I'd picked out myself and one that was a freebie. One of them tasted like soap. That is the one and only time I've experienced the soap taste.

I love putting fresh garden cilantro in my homemade fajitas! I grew a bunch of it when I lived in CA. I didn't know there were so many varieties! Never tried growing it in the PNW. I believe I have tasted a slight soap taste before, but not usually.

 

[Alasgun]

In my experience the soap taste is more likely with mature cilantro.
(coriander)
At 6-8 inches tall it’s at it’s best. We grow enough to eat a small handful every day for it’s antioxidant properties and of course use it in all the Mexican dishes. In soft tacos we also chop 4-5 mint sprigs and mix it into the chopped lettuce, cillantro.