Trellising Tomatoes...

I'm not even sure trellising is actually a verb.

After working at the farm last year, 

it definitely feels like an action word.

In years past, we had lost a large percentage of our harvest. 

The loss was due to the fact that the weight

of the tomatoes actually bent the vines down. 

The vines then grew along the ground

and produced more tomato fruit. 

The result was the tomatoes that touched

the ground went bad very fast. 

After all of the effort in growing the seedlings

and tending to them in the garden beds,

to see them go bad was heartbreaking.

While I wasn't the person who actually did the trellis work at the farm,
I understood the principle behind it.


With that knowledge, I felt better equipped this year.

My husband and I do not spend money on our garden.

We get the majority of garden-related stuff by donation or trading.

When I suggested we invest in metal T bars this year

it took a bit to convince the husband.

"It is an investment!"

"They will last for a very long time!"

"They are reusable!"

These were just a few of the sales pitches I tried out.

In the end, he relented and we purchased the T bars.

Luckily it wasn't the sort of thing we had to buy right away!

We planted our tomato seedlings at the beginning of June.

It took a few weeks for them to be tall enough for us to work with.

We hammered in the T bars at the end of each row of tomato plants.

(There are two rows of tomato plants in the bed shown above.)

Then the REAL fun begins!

Next we grabbed some baling twine.

We started at a spot that is near the bottom of the T bar.

Tie off one end and go around the inside of the first plant,

then outside of the next plant,

and so on...until to reach the end of the bed.

We tied off the twine at the other end just in case.

Then we came back to the beginning,

reversing the direction of the twine for each plant.

We had to grab the odd vine that was growing this way and that.

What you are left with is a great way to keep the tomatoes

standing tall without strangling the life out of the vines.

For the record, we've never seen the walkways look so great!

You can even see the recycled water jugs we use.

Cut the bottom off of a jig and

plant the spout end in the ground.

Its like a funnel right to the roots!

This method works best if you organize the jugs as

you plant the seedlings.

It also works best if you place the jugs between

the plant and the walkway...rather than beside the plant.

(we discovered that placing the jug beside the plant

results in losing the jug in the jungle of tomato plants)

It might be difficult to see in the above picture...

But our tomato plants are up to my shoulder!

Our tomatoes thrived this year!

Our walkways were clear enough that we could access

all of the plants for watering.

We also had way less loss due to mould.

Almost none of our plants had vines or

fruit which touched the ground!

The results speak for themselves in this instance.

Perfect tomatoes!

Seed Saving...Round 2

We have saved seeds before...

Last year we did tomatoes as well as white corn and broccoli seeds.

Tomato seeds, in my opinion, is only for the advanced seed saver!

(psst....its really gross)

We saved tomato seeds this year too.

Mainly because I really enjoyed the heritage Black Kris tomatoes we nabbed for free.

We also saved cantaloupe and honeydew melon seeds...as shown above.

The melons were purchased for a family event...so naturally we snagged the seeds. 

We are also trying our hand at radish seeds...which was really the result of forgetting to harvest them.

I think we have enough radish seeds now...each wee pod you see has at least 3-8 tiny seeds...

It is time consuming, but easily done while watching a movie on the couch.

Not too hard at all.

We chopped the heads off our Gigantius sunflowers...

not sure if these beauties will become winter feed for the chickens?

Or snacking for us...or for re planting next year?

Only time will tell....again, I think we have enough...

Butter crunch lettuce seeds?  Sure, why not?

One of the kinds of lettuce that came from our mesclun mix...

Yup...it's all good.

Added bonus of seed saving?

You can take them to a seed exchange and its like money!

You can exchange for any other seed you want!

AMAZING!

So if you are lax one week and some of your veg goes bolting on you (sends out flowers), don't fret!  

Get excited about what you can do with all of those seeds...

It is our goal to never buy seeds or plants again...sorry Burt's Greenhouses...

I'll always refer people to your business and your advice has been invaluable.

But we are DONE with seed buying!

(insert evil laugh here)

What were you able to save for next year?

What to do with your Tomatoes...

As any gardener knows, you do the best with what you've got.

Sometimes that means you deal with a poor growing season...

(like the one we just had...cool and rainy)

and save what you can...while you've got it!

This past spring, we started our own tomato plants indoors in March.

We always had indoor cats...so this was a first for us!

We raised 45 Roma tomato plants and several yellow pear and tiny tim cherry tomatoes.

The romas did so well, we donated 35 of them to the Grandmothers for Africa plant and bake sale.

In return, we were gifted with some of the heritage tomatoes we grew this year. 

Although the growing season was poor...we were still drowning in tomatoes.

What to do?

I picked a sunny day to sit outside and listen to the Blue Jays 

(a local fall bird....not the sports team)

while I sliced and seeded our plentiful Romas.

There was also a beautiful breeze going on...so I took advantage!

Sundried tomatoes...on my screen.

The dried for about 3 days, each night I brought them in so the heavy dew wouldn't make them mold.

Alternatively, I tried a food dehydrator to see if there was a big difference.

It just so happened my mother in law had one she was willing to loan me!

What I eventually found out was...both ways worked about the same.

The dehydrator was pretty darned convenient during our week of overcast skies and rain.

They smelled pretty nice too.

Still...there is something extra nice about tomatoes that were actually dried in the sun.

These sad indoor tomatoes just felt like impostors.

Luckily you can't tell the difference between them when they are all in the same bag!

The end result was a small freeze bag of dried summery goodness that we will enjoy all winter.

***************

Another solution is to host a salsa party!

We had friends come by, enjoy some salsa music and we took over the entire kitchen with salsa fixins.

Of course the open bags of tostitos were for the sampling...so much sampling...just to make sure, ya know?

A salsa party is an excellent idea to make the work go quicker.

You can also invite each guest to bring something that they has in abundance...

or that they can buy and contribute to the salsa.

We don't grow sweet bell peppers or cilantro...so having our guests bring those ingredients was a win for us!

We even had a guest bring the snap lids!

Perfect!!!

With so many helpers...you can make enough to split between each guest.

Everyone wins!

***************

This year, we also made pizza sauce in jars...

And pasta sauce for the freezer...

You can also make ahead meals and freeze them too...using your tomatoes...but I haven't gotten than far yet.

You can also blanch and skin them for the freezer too!

****************

Sadly...I tried making pasta sauce in jars...

but after a few days it became apparent that something went wrong in the canning process.

While this is common...it is no less heartbreaking.

It felt like a serious waste...but that sometimes happens when you are learning.

I am very thankful for the fact that my mistakes aren't going to mean my family will be starving this winter.

Luckily, when I make sauce, I don't add meat until I'm ready to cook it for dinner.

That meant the spoiled sauce went right into the composter.

Not so sad, right?

So tell me, what do you do with your tomatoes?

UPDATE: Garden 2014

So here is our garden for this year....

It's bigger!

It's badder!!

It's all ours!!!

Above is the plan we created while planting.

We used the "Carrots Love Tomatoes" plan and adjusted it where necessary.

Some plants we already had planted in other areas of the yard, so we

weren't able to adhere to it very strictly.

The above shots are of our red and white potatoes.

The metal bin at the back is actually filled with spare soil.

Potatoes need to be mounded as the get taller...so we save

some dirt for that purpose.

Red and white onions in the above shot.

Many jalapeno plants as some other hot peppers at the front.

Our field of tomatoes!

There are 24 plants in this area, some romas and some hertiage varieties.

While I am loving not hauling water, the tomatoes are not loving all the rain we've been having.

Can you see the leaves that are yellowing at the back?

Heritage white corn...we grew it last year and saved the seeds

for this year!  Looks like it worked!!!

(we found the wood under our pile of logs for the campfire...

nicely repurposed to keep the weeds down)

Directly to the left of the corn are our two sweet potato plants!

We tried growing sweet potatoes once in 2011...

it didn't turn out then...so we thought we'd try again!

The last time the plants spent the whole growing season just trying to grow leaves!

The bunnies thought the leaves were mighty tasty...so the plants never got a chance to grow tubers.

Our yellow zucchinis are starting out great!

The green zucchinis...not so much...

We dismantled a black composter...and filled them with dirt.

The sides have slots...so you don't have to worry about the plants drowning

in rain water!  Score!

Our pumpkins...with one sad trellis...

I have to get me some T bars and do these

trellis thingies right!

The radishes are coming along...

The beets are shy.

We planted dill with them (as per the book)

and the dill likes the bed...

NOW WAKE UP BEETS!!!

Our cucumber machine makes its triumphant return.

We had such a great year with cukes last year.

We're taking a small break and only planted about a dozen of them this year.

Our kale seems to love it here!

The swiss chard on the left hand side of the bed...not so much.

I want to make kale chips so badly...

mainly so I can see what all the hype is all about...

\

Above shows our salad bar!

We have 5 different packs of lettuce and salad greens sprinkled

in this bed.  We forgot almost instantly what kinds we planted...but does it really matter?

SALADS!

Our spinach bed is pretty pathetic right now...

Hopefully it will make a come back...

or a decent fall crop from a second planting...

We have 2 rows of peas this year...cuz why not?

No seriously...we love peas.  

Especially sitting in the garden eating them straight out of the pod.

Each year we plan to store some in the freezer...and sometimes we actually do!

This year I am determined to get a whole large freezer bag full!

We also have to get to work on trellises (or is it trelli!?) for these peas.

Pea plants have a tendency to fall over and grow in the dirt.

We saved beans from last years crop.

We have no idea which beans are which...

but in this bed are green, yellow and purple wax beans.

Finally we have our acorn squash.

Again with the sad trellis...

So I've been pinning a TON of trellis ideas.

I will be posting soon with the results of my adventures into trellising.

(Trellising?  I have no idea...but you'll see some cool stuff for sure!)

I have to admit...last year we didn't plan much.
In fact, I made the mistake of having a few libations while planting seeds.
The result was that I had no idea what I planted and where.
(Laugh all you like)
It was a surprise when everything started growing...which was funny for about a week.
(oh who are we kidding...I'm still getting ribbed for that!!!)


Don't forget to send me your garden love!
I want you to post photos of YOUR gardens on my facebook group and page.
Lets celebrate our accomplishments together!!!

A Tale of Two Chilies...

Ah fall...

The time of year we celebrate cooler days, shorter days, woolen mittens,

cozy sweaters, thick socks, falling leaves, apple cider, everything cinnamon...

and hearty-warm-stick-to-your-ribs cookin!

TIME FOR CHILI!!!

I have 2 very different recipes for you, my readers...

Beef Chili

INGREDIENTS:  

Browned ground beef, diced tomatoes x 2 cans, chopped onions, pressed garlic, 

sliced mushrooms, corn, kidney beans x 1 can, 2 tbsp chili powder, dash of beer

Throw everything in pot and simmer for a few hrs.

Serve with johnny cake or cornbread, spoon on a bun or over a hot dog!

(Even great on fries!)

Turkey Pumpkin Chili

INGREDIENTS:  

Browned ground turkey, diced tomatoes x 2 cans, chopped carrots from the garden, 

chick peas x 1 can, chopped onions, corn from the garden, 3 tbsp chili powder, 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp turmeric

Throw everything in a slow cooker, set the temp for high and cook for 4-6 hrs.

Serve with dinner rolls or bread sticks for yummy dipping!

Although this version of chili may weird some folks out...

It really is worth a try.

I've made it with turkey as well as chicken and they both turn out lovely.

If you are looking for warm meal this fall...try one of these chili recipes!

Healthy, filling and really easy on the budget!!!

We have been taking chili outside for a bonfire in the backyard lately.

You gotta get these activities in while the weather is permitting.

One just had a few of those excellent moon nights where

the moon is so bright...it casts shadows!

What are you doing this fall?

2 Mexi Options for a Meat Free Monday

Every now and again I like to offer up options for people who are trying to curb their meat intake.

I have previously done posts about Meatfree Mondays, 

an initiative spearheaded by Sir Paul McCartney and his daughters.

If you are looking for the nutritional info on beans (or beans and rice together) - check out this link to my previous post.

Here is another in that series of posts:

Meat Free Burritos

I have posted this recipe before - but its so good, I'm posting it again.

I make a bean and rice dish that was inspired by something husband and I loved in Costa Rica.

Basically its black beans cooked in a little oil with lemon juice, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, coriander, onions and S&P to taste.

Add in rice (I use a mixture of wild and brown rices) and simmer a bit more.

I add the beans and rice mixture to the wraps and top with spinach, tomatoes, 

sweet bell peppers, shredded cheese and plain Greek yogurt.

(Previously I have shown eating these with ranch dressing - but the Greek yogurt is awesome too)

What you get is a delicious, healthy and filling meal!

Pretty cheap too, if you happen to grow yer own veggies!
Beans and rice keep forever (in the proper conditions) so they really are a great investment for your grocery dollar, whether they be canned or dried.


I use the same bean and rice mixture in another dish...

Vegetarian Nachos

I take the same beans and rice mixture and scoop them into the center of a dinner plate.

Surround the scoops with nachos chips (shown here is Tostitos Cantina chips)

I sprinkled the last of my Roma tomatoes, chopped, and some sweet bell peppers, chopped.

Homemade salsa gets spooned around too.

Grated cheese (marble cheddar and hot pepper brick cheeses) on top of the whole mess and bake at 400 degrees C until cheese is melty!

I've been able to find these chips for quite a good deal, so the overall price on these nachos is still way below pub or restaurant rates.

ENJOY!

What have you been making meat-free these days?