Thursday, August 8, 2013

It's Tomato Time Here

    I love tomatoes. I love to grow them. I love to eat them. And I love to cook with them. And I've posted previously on tomatoes.

     My tomatoes have started ripening in the last week or ten days. I know some people have been posting that their  tomatoes are finished. But for here this is the right time for tomatoes to ripen.


Tomatoes just starting to turn



    I plant my tomatoes on the south side of a brick house. The soil has warmed up in the spring. It is warmer on the south side of the house and they  are protected from early frosts.


I can't wait for these to ripen!

    I keep my tomatoes going until Sept. 30. I know I have to baby them from frosts so I do some covering. They do produce in Sept. but very slowly. 
Cherry tomatoes

    I love eating fresh tomatoes. As a kid I would reach into a box of tomatoes my Mom had and take two or three and eat them like apples. This was the after school snack. Now I just make sure I have tomatoes for two meals a day.


And here we go!

    When my tomatoes ripen faster than I can eat them, I freeze them. For freezing , I wash them, take out the two ends and put them in a bag and throw them in the deep freeze. You can take the skins off the tomatoes by dropping them in hot water for 30 sec. of so. The skin comes off very easily and you don't have to contend with a skin that doesn't cook. When I want tomatoes for cooking later on I just bring out a bag of tomatoes and I'm in business. 

    So this is a time of year that I look forward to and enjoy a special treat from my garden.

28 comments:

  1. I like cherry tomatoes and tomato and mayo sandwich! Just saw a recceipe for baked chessy tomatoes! Cut tomatoes in slices, top with grated parmesan and provolone spices and bake! Sounds good! Enjoy your tomatoes!

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    1. There are many excellent fresh tomato recipes. The one I like has egg cheese and tomato in layers. You bake it and you have an excellent breakfast.

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  2. I made salsa last Sunday.There is enough heat here to grow big crops.

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    1. There are so many things to make from tomatoes. I've never made sulsa.

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  3. I love good tomatoes, too. I have some cherry tomatoes beginning to ripen, and I have snagged them and brought them in from the garden, only to have them eaten in moments, between me and my husband. They are so good! :-)

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    1. Yes, the cherry tomatoes do go down very well.

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  4. They look superb. I now fancy a tomato. I love the smell of the plants on a hot summer day.

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    1. They are great and I usually eat tomatoes and not much else.

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  5. Your tomatoes look delicious. Mine went kaput early, but I am to blame for it. I planted in buckets early and they simply outgrew them too soon.

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  6. Hi Red - I have a few tomato plants on the south side of the house and we are just beginning to enjoy them - I have only plucked a handful so far and they are just starting to grow quite lovely. I didn't realize you could just take out the two ends, put them in a bag and throw them in the deep freeze. Thanks for the tip and have a great day :)

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    1. It's really nicer if you take off the skin.

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  7. Well Red you have e craving a tomato sandwich right now but mine are slow ripening with all this rain we been having. I love tomatoes too.B

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  8. Most of the people I know are crazy for tomatoes but I'm just not that into them. Maybe I'm the crazy one.

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  9. i do not like fresh tomatoes. i love them cooked in sauces, etc., but not too chunky, either. enjoy yours!

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  10. Tomatoes are the only thing that has grown well this year! Lol! No wonder they call you "Red!"

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  11. There's nothing like fresh, home-grown tomatoes! Our neighbors have a garden, and they share! LOL

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  12. That is a fine crop you have cultivated. Enjoy.

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    1. They are a very cooperative plant. I just have to watch them.

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  13. I love them too in all their forms and uses. BLT's are my summer favorite and then I can chili sauce and whole tomatoes for future use...:)

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  14. There are many things that can be done with tomatoes but I think we all have a favorite of our own.










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  15. A fresh tomato is the first thing I look forward to from the garden. We have a few left.
    Yours look very healthy and delicious!

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  16. Congratulations! I might have a half-dozen this year. Mine are not ripe yet...

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