I am starting to harvest some hot and spice peppers. I am trying to leave the bell peppers until they turn their designated colors of red, orange or yellow. The Alpine strawberries are starting to produce nice size fruits and the cantaloupe and muskmelons are getting bigger!
The cucumbers are coming in like crazy. I harvested almost 11 lbs of them this week alone. I started a small batch of dill pickles yesterday. It will take about three weeks until they are ready to be processed.
This is what the kitchen island looked like this week!
As soon as I would get it almost cleared off....there would be more!
The Largest Tomato - a Brandywine
1 lb. 7 oz.
The Ugliest Tomato - also a Brandywine
The Prettiest Tomatoes - White Tomesol
The canning of Tomatoes
I have been canning tomatoes plain and have also been making salsa.
A sampling of the cucumbers harvested this week.
Dill Pickles
Harvest Total - 49.875 lbs.
Cabbage - 2 lbs.
Cucumbers - 10.9375 lbs.
Eggplant - 6 oz.
Onions - 12 oz.
Peppers - 11 oz.
Strawberries - 6 oz.
Tomatoes - 34.75 lbs.
Stop by Daphne's Dandelions the host of Harvest Monday to see more harvests!
Oh my! You have been busy. Your tomatoes are beautiful! Yes, even the Brandywine.
ReplyDeleteBrandywines continue to be our family favorite, I'll never be without them, funny faces and all! Your counter looks like mine last year! Sadly, not this year, so I enjoy your photos!
ReplyDeleteSame is true with my tomato plants. There are some small fruit on the brandywines but not nearly as many as the flowers that were there. Last week was too hot to cook so I could not can my tomatoes. I pureed them and froze them hoping that would work. Never did it that way.
ReplyDeleteToday it's a beautiful morning off to get some stuff done.
Everything looks beautiful.
Incredible display of tomatoes. I don't can so there is no way I will grow that many since there are only two of us most of the time to eat them. I've been freezing sauce and freezing cut up tomatoes.
ReplyDeleteGrafixMuse, I have been a busy bee. We love our Brandywines!
ReplyDeleteErin, We have had some hot weather here...but, not as hot as you! It cooled down last night, for the first time in months! I hope that you get some satisfaction looking at my pictures :)
johanna, I'm sure that freezing tomato puree will work out fine. My in-laws freeze tomatoes and they like them. I just came in from trimming and weeding the two large perennial beds!! Two down..three to go! It was so nice and cool out there :)
Thanks Marcia, There are only two of us here also. My husband is Italian and does a lot of cooking. So, we use a lot of canned tomatoes. Last year I canned 52 jars and we could have used about 70! We also do not eat processed food. ....so, that keeps me busy canning and freezing.
Look at all of those Beautiful tomatoes! I can't wait to start making sauce. I'm a bit nervous about canning them though. Maybe I'll just stick them in the freezer.
ReplyDeleteI love the look of that white variety.
Which one is your favorite taste-wise?
Wow! That's an impressive tomato harvest! Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait until my tomato glut comes in. I won't get as much as you, but I'll have fun canning everything. Well if it cools down a bit I'll have fun canning every thing.
ReplyDeleteHoly crap....that's alot of tomatoes! The white ones are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI was in the middle of canning last year at this time, but this year we're hardly getting enough ripe tomatoes to eat fresh. Same with cucumbers. We're expecting 103F again this week, so blossom drop will probably occur :-(
ReplyDeleteYour harvest looks absolutely lovely!
Thanks Thomas, Don't be nervous about canning..it's easy. If you decide to freeze them, make sure that you blanch, peel and core before you stick them in the freezer. I don't know if I have a favorite tomato. I use different varieties for different things. I'm sure that we will have a family tomato tasting like we did last year. When we do, I will post the reviews.
ReplyDeleteThanks Holly
Daphne, The glut will arrive before you know it. It cooled down here last night. So, you should have some cooler weather tomorrow.
EG, I think that's what you call a big haul!! ha!
Granny, I'm sure that sooner or later you will get your tomato glut. At least you don't have to worry about the Late Blight out there!
I think I want to come live on your kitchen island! The White Tomesols are really striking. Do they taste similar to red tomatoes, or do they have a distinct flavor? Almost 50 lbs of harvest in one week, that's really impressive.
ReplyDeleteWow, look at that incredible haul of tomatoes! I've been picking enough to keep me happy for fresh eating but haven't had to worry about preserving anything.
ReplyDeleteMinji, I don't think that there would be enough room on the island for you too...but, you could try. The White Tomesol tastes light, not acidy in any way, not too sweet or rich...just light. I do like the flavor.
ReplyDeleteMichelle, I am canning tomatoes as I write this!
Wow, all those beautiful tomatoes. I'm with Michelle, we just have enough for fresh eating and don't have to worry about preserving them, maybe later when they all decided to ripen at the same time.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, White Tomesol is not acidic, I might give it a go next year if I can find space for it.
amazing! I've envy. And I love the White Tomesol - pretty.
ReplyDeleteYour tomatoes are beautiful! I like to can as much as possible, so it's always nice to see others that get the satisfaction of seeing a counter full of jars too! I've never canned salsa before. Would you consider putting up a post on how you do that? I like the picture of your dill pickles. Sort of sums up summer in a jar.
ReplyDelete~~Lori
Thanks Mac & Stevie, I don't know how many weeks my tomato plants will have left. Many of the leaves are turning yellow and dying. I spent a couple of hours this morning trimming them. It doesn't look like the Late Blight...but, it could be.
ReplyDeleteLori, I will post the recipe for the salsa that can be canned either tonight or tomorrow.
Now that's the kind of kitchen that my husband would love to see. He's a complete tomato fiend. Wow, what a nice array of colours and shapes and I agree Tomsol (the white one?) looks lovely. How does it taste?
ReplyDeleteThose white tomatoes are cool! Oh I love to get to try growing stuff you can't get in stores! It just makes me feel so special! LOL! ;)
ReplyDeleteWhile I bet all those tomatoes are amazing, the white tomosols look the best! I never managed to get a white tomosol to fruit, hope they were tasty
ReplyDeleteWonderful harvest! I hope to have enough tomatoes in a week so I will make some salsa also.
ReplyDelete