Fall Clean Up Time

October is here and ready or not, it is time to think about closing down the garden(s) for the season.  Today, Oct 2, is the date of the average first hard frost (28F) for my area and a look at the forecast for the week only confirms again that it IS that time of year (cold temps, rain, even possible snow to the west of us!)! :{

I will be harvesting my remaining tomatoes and peppers, and going through my Fall Cleanup Checklist hopefully today.  Most of the tomatoes that remain on the plants are completely green yet so I'll need to ripen them indoors, but that is an easy process.  Check out this post from last year on how to ripen green tomatoes indoors if you haven't done it before.

Happy Fall & Garden Cleanup! :}

Freezing Tomatoes for Later

Lots of frozen tomatoes!

About three weeks ago I harvested the last of the tomatoes in my garden.  Most of them were not yet fully ripe so I brought them into my basement to ripen.  All but about one dozen cherry and another dozen full size tomatoes have fully ripened over the last three weeks. (Yeah! :D)

 Tomatoes from my final fall harvest three weeks ago. (above: then, below: today)

I wanted to be able to process all of the tomatoes at one time so I cleared a shelf in my upright freezer and have been collecting them there as they have ripened (photo above left- mine plus a few pounds I was given by a friend).  I now have an entire shelf of whole, as they would be right out of the garden tomatoes in my freezer.

This summer I discovered freezing the tomatoes like this works great for tomatoes that are intended to be cooked or processed.  Out of despiration, I popped a couple dozen tomatoes that were on the verge of spoiling into the freezer before we left on a trip.  I pulled them out later this fall to make into spaghetti sauce and found that as I washed them the skin peeled right off!  I was ecstatic!  It took a lot less effort and energy, and was a lot less mess than blanching them to get the skins off!  I did have to let them defrost some before I could cut out the stem, but but it didn't take long before I could carve them out.

You do need to know that veggies, like tomatoes, with a high water content will loose their crispness and become soft and mushy when they are defrosted, but if they are intended to process into a sauce that isn't a problem. I look forward to turning my tomatoes into sauces later this winter when the harvest and holiday season are over...

Happy Garden Preserving! :)

Ripening Green Tomatoes Indoors

Tomatoes harvested before the killing frost on Tuesday.

There are always at least a few tomatoes that didn't get to ripen on the vine at the end of the season.  This year my tomatoes were still in full swing so I have lots of green or partially ripe tomatoes sitting in my house right now.  If you are wondering if your green tomatoes will still ripen, let me encourage you.  As long as they were fully mature when you collected them, they will!  It will take some time, but they will ripen.  (Any tomatoes that were not fully mature will never ripen; eventually they will get old and rot.  They are perfect compost! ;)  Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference so don't be afraid to bring everything in and give them all a chance.

The key to ripening green tomatoes is to not let them get too warm while they ripen.  It is best to keep them at about 55F but under 75F is ok.  It is also best to keep them out of direct sunlight as the sun will heat them too much and may cause them to rot before they ripen.  Keep a close eye on your tomatoes as they ripen.  Just like apples, one rotten tomato could spoil the whole bunch so don't forget to check on them frequently!

 Whether you have six tomatoes or dozens, the basic idea is the same; just adjust the size of your 'system'.  You will want to place your tomatoes in a breathable container (paper bag, cardboard box) in a single layer giving each one some space so it doesn't touch its neighbor.  (You may do two layers if you really need to, but place a layer of newspaper between your layers.  Two layers are difficult because it makes it hard to check on the bottom layer quickly. More than two layer could cause the bottom layer to get damaged.)  Cover the box with a layer of newspaper or close up the paper bag. Again, remember to check on your tomatoes frequently and remove any that are ripe or rotten.

Headed to my basement pantry where I can keep a close eye on them.

It could take anywhere from one to six weeks for all of your tomatoes to ripen.  If you are wanting them to all ripen quickly and close to the same time add a banana to your container.  The ethylene gas that the banana gives off will encourage ripening.  If you want them to ripen slowly and only a few at a time, be sure to remove any ripe tomatoes right away. 

Do you ripen your green tomatoes or do you have a favorite preserve or dish you use them in?  I'd love to here what you do with your green tomatoes.

Happy Harvesting! :)

Preserving Backyard Fruit: Apple Abundance

My friends, I need your help.  My hubby and his friend did some apple picking for me the other day and came home with a 35 gallon tote full!  This is where you come in, I have already made 14 pints of apple sauce & froze several crust ready pies (This is so easy!  I'll have a how to post on Monday.).  How else do you use, cook and/or preserve your apples?  I'd love your thoughts, suggestions and recipes!  Thanks. :)

Happy Harvesting & Preserving! :)

Encouraging Ripening

Last week the first day of fall nearly past before I realize it had even arrived, and today is the average first 32F frost for my area and I didn't realized until late in the afternoon.  Why do I point these days out?  Well, because whether we like it or not, garden season will soon come to an end, and there are always a few last fruits/veggies that we would like to encourage to full ripening before that finale killing frost. 

This year I have green tomatoes, pumpkins & peppers.  Not only are the plants full of green fruit, but they are still trying to set on new fruit.  The reality is that any new fruit at this point in the season is not going to reach maturity, so I spent time in my garden this weekend cutting off all of the very small fruit, the flowers and growing ends.  This makes the plants focus their energy on the fruit that are already set.  Truth is I should have done this a couple of weeks ago, but now is better than not at all and hopefully I'll have 2 or 3 more weeks of warm days for these plants to invest all of their energy into the fruit they have and I'll have an abundant ripe harvest before this season ends.  :}  One can always hope...

Have you called an end to your 2011 gardening season yet?

Happy Gardening!  :)

'Funny' Cucumbers

Cucumbers that look like these are a good indication that you need to be more keep a better eye on the water needs in your garden.  Cucumbers need consistant moisture to maintain a consistant shape.  Not only that, but they become very bitter when they do not have enough water.  Check out my series on watering for ideas on watering and water conservation for the rest of the growing season.

Obviously, I need to keep a better eye on my garden!

Happy Gardening! :)

Buttercup Squash Under Attach... Again

This is the third year that I have tried to grow buttercup squash.  Every year I have lost all of my plants to squash vine borers.  Squash borers are the larva of a moth that lays its eggs at the base of squash plants.  After the eggs hatch, the larva borrow into the stem of the plant and commence to eating from the inside out.  Given enough time, they will kill the plants.  My understanding is that the only treatment is prevention, so this year I covered the plants with a tunnel frame and bird netting in the hopes that it might also keep out the parent moths.  Unfortunately, I lifted off the tunnel to weed and didn't get it back on.

I noticed the tell-tail signs of the squash vine borers last week and one nice sized squash on my plants.  I had hoped that I'd get enough time before the borers killed the plants for that one squash to completely ripen, but I don't think I'm going to.  I noticed yesterday that the leaves of all of the squash are wilting and I'd say by the end of the week that the plants will be completely dead. :(

I plan to try squash one more year and use a light weight row cover to see if I can keep out the insects, but if I fail again next year I will be done planting squash... :(

For more information on squash vine borers, check out this National Gardening Association post and this post from the NDSU extension .

I hope you are getting happier news from your garden this week.

Happy Gardening! :)

A Garden 'Welcome Home'

August 8, 2011

Two weeks of being away from home and I am completely amazed at how much everything has grown!  I'm so glad to see it has handled my absence and lack of tending so well! :D

 I have tomato plants that are about 6 foot tall & cherry tomatoes that are starting to turn red.

 The jack-o-lantern pumpkin looks like it would like to take over the whole garden!  I clipped off a couple of growing points this morning and will let it put energy into what is already there.  The pumpkins and squash seem to have problem setting fruit this year.  I don't know if it is the result of the accidental integration of herbicide in my soil or if it is just the way things are this season.  Is anyone else having problems with zucchini, squash or pumpkins setting fruit this year?

A quick search of my cucumbers resulted in a harvest of mammoth size cucumbers that will be turned into refrigerator pickles.  I'll post my favorite recipe later this week.

I also saw that I have kohlrabi that are ready for harvest as well.  I collected one that we enjoyed for lunch today and will harvest one or two a day for the next couple of weeks.  In my opinion, kohlrabi are best fresh from the garden or they loose that juicy crunch I like so well.

It is sooooo good to be home AND find the a small garden harvest waiting for me! :)

What are you harvesting this week?

Happy Gardening! :)