***What's growing? The official garden thread***

lastexitlondon

rgambs

lastexitlondon said:

Wholly shit!  Those look rad.  What's the cultivar?  Have you done them before, and if so, how sweet are they?
The Sunsugars I posted are ridiculously sweet, too sweet sometimes.  They throw off any recipes you include them in and they are too sweet to pair with veggie dip.  Great for plain snacking though.

lastexitlondon

This  is the  label. I haven't  tried one yet they  are very near ready  though

rgambs

Boy, those would really look good with the Sunsugars in a salad or pasta salad!

rgambs

lastexitlondon

My toms are just starting to turn . So a glut is coming. But my baby 2 year old girl loves them so I'm so pleased about that. We can eat them together. 

rgambs

It is glut season for sure.  I'm having a hard time keeping up with processing, but there's nothing new about that.  By the time I get a 20 lb haul of tomatoes milled, cooked down, and my implements clean the counters are covered in tomatoes waiting to be milled, cooked down, and frozen/canned again.

tempo_n_groove

rgambs said:

It is glut season for sure.  I'm having a hard time keeping up with processing, but there's nothing new about that.  By the time I get a 20 lb haul of tomatoes milled, cooked down, and my implements clean the counters are covered in tomatoes waiting to be milled, cooked down, and frozen/canned again.

Question about the canning.

If you want a mater in the winter for say a sandwich, do you unman one and slice it up?  If so, does it still taste fresh?

I have been wanting to can for this reason and the supermarket maters aren’t good in the winter ever...

Little help please.  I’m sure I can google it but knowing that you’ve done this year in and out would sit w me better.

rgambs

tempo_n_groove said:

rgambs said:

It is glut season for sure.  I'm having a hard time keeping up with processing, but there's nothing new about that.  By the time I get a 20 lb haul of tomatoes milled, cooked down, and my implements clean the counters are covered in tomatoes waiting to be milled, cooked down, and frozen/canned again.

Question about the canning.

If you want a mater in the winter for say a sandwich, do you unman one and slice it up?  If so, does it still taste fresh?

I have been wanting to can for this reason and the supermarket maters aren’t good in the winter ever...

Little help please.  I’m sure I can google it but knowing that you’ve done this year in and out would sit w me better.

If you want a good fresh mater sandwich in winter you are going to have to go to South America lol
Whether canned or frozen, a tomato will need to be cooked first to maintain color and flavor.  If you freeze a tomato fresh it will just turn to mush and the naturally occurring enzymes will destroy the sugars and leave you with the same lack of flavor you find in the grocery store tomatoes.
Most fruits and vegetables taste different cooked, of course, and preserving them further degrades the bright, crisp, freshness...that's why most people make sauces, salsas, pie fillings, jellies, etc rather than trying to capture flavors and textures that are so ephemeral.

Side note: it also explains the difference in Italian cuisine and American Italian cuisine. In northern climes where Italian immigrants settled we don't have a Mediterranean climate that supports fresh produce through most of the year, so tomatoes were cooked down into the heavy sauces we think of as "Italian" which contrast sharply with the light sauces made from fresh tomatoes that they actually eat in Italy.

tempo_n_groove

rgambs said:

tempo_n_groove said:

rgambs said:

It is glut season for sure.  I'm having a hard time keeping up with processing, but there's nothing new about that.  By the time I get a 20 lb haul of tomatoes milled, cooked down, and my implements clean the counters are covered in tomatoes waiting to be milled, cooked down, and frozen/canned again.

Question about the canning.

If you want a mater in the winter for say a sandwich, do you unman one and slice it up?  If so, does it still taste fresh?

I have been wanting to can for this reason and the supermarket maters aren’t good in the winter ever...

Little help please.  I’m sure I can google it but knowing that you’ve done this year in and out would sit w me better.

If you want a good fresh mater sandwich in winter you are going to have to go to South America lol
Whether canned or frozen, a tomato will need to be cooked first to maintain color and flavor.  If you freeze a tomato fresh it will just turn to mush and the naturally occurring enzymes will destroy the sugars and leave you with the same lack of flavor you find in the grocery store tomatoes.
Most fruits and vegetables taste different cooked, of course, and preserving them further degrades the bright, crisp, freshness...that's why most people make sauces, salsas, pie fillings, jellies, etc rather than trying to capture flavors and textures that are so ephemeral.

Side note: it also explains the difference in Italian cuisine and American Italian cuisine. In northern climes where Italian immigrants settled we don't have a Mediterranean climate that supports fresh produce through most of the year, so tomatoes were cooked down into the heavy sauces we think of as "Italian" which contrast sharply with the light sauces made from fresh tomatoes that they actually eat in Italy.

Thanks.  I was hoping for fresh mater out of a jar, lol.

dankind

Only two things money can't buy
That's true love and ...

rgambs

lastexitlondon

Wow large crop 

rgambs

wasa1971

That is fantastic!
what will you do with all your squash?

rgambs

wasa1971 said:

That is fantastic!
what will you do with all your squash?

3/4 of it will be peeled, cubed, and frozen for the winter.  They keep several months, but not long enough to make it to spring.
I use most of the intact ones to make "pumpkin pie" throughout the early winter. 
For those that don't know, butternut squash makes a much better pie than pumpkin does.  Sweeter fruit means less added sugar.
The cubed squash goes into a variety of dishes, but probably 75% of it goes to Butternut Squash Carbonara.  Butternut squash+peppers+onion+garlic creates an alchemical reaction that defies explanation.  Add bacon and puree with heavy cream, chicken bouillon, and a pinch of nutmeg and you have the best pasta sauce imaginable.

lastexitlondon

a few bits

PJPOWER

Anyone seeing action in their gardens yet?  I noticed a couple things are starting to take off (asparagus, spinach).  Ate a couple asparagus today from the garden and it really was just what I needed to help my attitude with all the shit going on right now.

rgambs

My spinach bed is ready to plant as soon as we get a break from the rain.  Quarantine is going to be pretty easy if we get flooded in lol
Got a half-ton load of compost that is waiting to spread, but first I'm going to run through with my weed dragon to blast out those weeds that are bouncing back from their winter roots.
Tiller won't start, so I'm going to have to get it fixed or I'm in for some rough weeks.

deadendp

rgambs said:

My spinach bed is ready to plant as soon as we get a break from the rain.  Quarantine is going to be pretty easy if we get flooded in lol
Got a half-ton load of compost that is waiting to spread, but first I'm going to run through with my weed dragon to blast out those weeds that are bouncing back from their winter roots.
Tiller won't start, so I'm going to have to get it fixed or I'm in for some rough weeks.

A weed dragon?! Tell me more!

I have some seedlings up. That middle section might get a transplant this weekend.