My Gardening WOES and WOWS

Al · My Gardening WOES and WOWS

My Gardening WOES and WOWS
Every year I always try to see how early in the season we can have a ripe tomato from the garden to eat. This year was no different. I babied and petted several plants that I carried back and forth from the inside to the outside in order to prevent them from being killed by freezing weather or frost and in order to get them to set fruit early.

This year we were going to have our very earliest ripe tomatoes ever until the birds decided to change that story a bit.

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Al

Since the tomatoes weren't quite ripe and were not too desirable for slicing and eating like that, we decided to cook them. Fried green tomatoes have almost never been eaten in our home until we have harvested a juicy red ripe one to eat. This year things were very DIFFERENT! We fried them and then covered them with milk gravy that was seasoned with a little mustard.

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Al

WOW!

Talk about good......those tomatoes were delicious.
Smile

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CajuninKy

Did you put this recipe in the recipe forum?

Al

No! The recipe is one my wife found years ago in a Southern Living magazine. We've probably lost it by now.

Simply fry the green slices. We use a bit of milk to dip them in and then let them drain a bit. Then coat them with flour mixed with a little corn meal and a dash of salt. Let that dry a bit and then we fry them in hot olive oil. We fry the slightly ripe or mushier ones last. Then we mash the mushy ones and use them in the gravy that we pour over the firmer fried slices.

For the gravy, Drain oil from skillet and mash up any remaining edible dregs and mix with the mashed tomatoes. Make either a white or milk gravy in the skillet. There should be enough grease in the skillet to suffice. Add some hot water or milk and slowly heat as you stir. Make a mediumly thick paste of flour and milk or flour and water and slowly stir into the mixture before it gets hot. When it thickens add your favorite mustard to taste and pour over the tomato slices. If this confuses you, just find a recipe for milk or flour gravy and make the necessary adjustments for amounts needed. Bon apetite!

CajuninKy

Thanks. Al. That does look good. I found a recipe for a Tomato pie that I plan to try this Spring.

God's Warrior

Cajun, why don't you share that with us over in the recipe forum? That sounds good.

Al

Heartbreak may be just around the corner, but my tomatoes look better this year than anytime I can remember over the past several years. For the past 4-5 years, no matter the name tomato I tried to grow, the blight would just wipe them out entirely. I may not be using the correct term so let me say the leaves would turn yellow starting at the bottom of the plant and work up until most leaves would be gone and all tomatoes would just dry up and fall off or rot on the vine. I would start plants at intervals of 3-4 weeks in hopes that some would survive. After the weather cooled off in Sept. a few green tomatoes would survive and we would eat them fried.

I have tried two new things this year, and hopefully, success will follow.

First, I ordered some seeds that are supposed to be able to resist wilt. I planted my own seeds and my wife nurtured them to the point they could be planted in the garden.

Second, I took a helpful suggestion from CajuninKy and modified things slightly.
Of course I may be wrong, but I have always thought those people raised in Louisiana are pretty cool and super smart.

I followed her instructions and purchased some grass hay. Instead of planting the plants in the bale of hay, I dug a hole large enough and deep enough to accept about an 8 inch thick chunk of hay the same size as the bale. I buried the hay about 6 inches below ground level. I planted the tomatoes on top of the hay in about 2-3 inches of top soil. I watered twice with liquid fertilizer from Co-Op that was high in Potash and recommended for tomatoes. So far, all I have done is stake and tie the vines to some steel posts and bamboo canes I grow. Things look great right now, but I have grown numb over the years, so let the wilt come. I know how to handle heartbreak.

Tomatoes are important, but the LSU Tigers are playing for the National Championship in baseball, and that is really important. Geaux Tigers.

CajuninKy

I sure hope your maters do as well as dem tigahs is doin'. I sure hope they win the championship. They have played some great ball this year.

Good to hear your plants are doing well. I hope it continues for you. Mine are doing very good. I was worried at first. Mine didn't look like they were going to make it and I had to replant several times but they are looking really good now. Most are blooming and a few have set fruit. I think we are a bit behind because we had late cold spells. I have 63 plants out in 33 different varieties. I'll do a lot of sampling this year and we can share seeds. I have some cherry tomatoes in pots so when the weather gets cold I can bring them in and have tomatoes longer into the year. I so wish I had a greenhouse. Just one more item on my wish list. LOL

Have you tried growing Creole tomatoes. I have 1 plant this year to see what it will do in this climate. They are popular in La for their ability to take the heat and humidity. You might also want to add some rabbit manure to your plants. I put it around the stalk and water through it. You can also put it in a bucket or barrel, cover it with water and water the plants with the water. They call it "tea". I was out this morning staking my tomato cages as the plants have gotten heavy and are pulling the cages over.

Al

First, HOW ABOUT THEM TIGERS. Are they unreal or what? I was a little afraid to look after Texas won the second game, but I decided that I could not desert them. I braved up and when things got to going our way, I was sure glad that I did not “chicken out”.

This has to be the best year for my tomatoes that I have had in what seems like forever. I have the healthiest vines and blooms and small tomatoes all over the plants. A few are getting to be a decent size. I am convinced that the hay buried under the plants have made the difference. Thanks for your suggestions. Let me know how the Creole tomatoes work out.

I ordered some seeds from a company in South Carolina that are supposed to be wilt resistant. It remains to be seen if they will hold up. Usually, I get plants up to about where I have mine this year and then the wilt sets in and gradually the leaves turn yellow from the bottom up and before long, the plants will just die. I don’t have much space for plants and I have grown in the same spot for 40 years and I am sure the soil is full of everything bad. The one thing that will grow is cherry tomatoes. For some reason, the problems just do not seem to bother them.

Al

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Tomato Update

This has been my best year dating back many, many years.

Thanks to a most unusual amount of rain spaced out perfectly. Another contributing factor was the suggestion from Cajun in KY to place grass straw under the plants. I am unable to tell which was more critical, but the output of tomatoes was amazing.

I did something else different this year regarding the plants I selected. Usually, I go with Better Boy and Bradley and possibly one or two other plants of a different variety.

This year, I purchased two Original Bonnie plants early and they performed well. Good taste, all the rest.

I ordered seeds from a place in South Carolina .I picked three different seeds that were advertised as blight and wilt resistant. The plants produced extremely well and were fairly disease resistant.

The tomatoes were large, very pretty and are still bearing.

My problem is that the tomatoes do not seem to ripen fully, tend to stay hard and they do not have a very special taste. I suspect the plants are for commercial farmers since the company claims to cater to this market.

I guess I may feel differently next spring when the urge to break out of the winter blues comes around, but I think I will go back to my old favorites.

That is the best part of growing tomatoes, there is always next year. And for now, I am looking forward to next spring.