Seed selection and garden plans for 2023

[Sally PB]

I hope to find some good tomato canning recipes so absolutely nothing goes to waste.

I picked all the not-ripe and green tomatoes at the end of the season, made salsa verde, and canned it. DH likes HOT salsa, but I'm a wimp, so I made the green stuff for me with just a little bit of heat. I'll be doing that again this year, for sure. I'm almost out of it.

I used to just let the unripe/green tomatoes die on the vine with the first frost. No more!

 

[drycreek]

Wife takes all of our green tomatoes that I pick just before a killing frost and puts them in brown paper bags. They then make the trip down stairs to our store room where they will ripen very slowly. We usually have tomatoes for at least 6 to 7 weeks after that first frost. Our store room maintains a 50 degree temp which causes them to ripen slowly.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

I picked all the not-ripe and green tomatoes at the end of the season, made salsa verde, and canned it. DH likes HOT salsa, but I'm a wimp, so I made the green stuff for me with just a little bit of heat. I'll be doing that again this year, for sure. I'm almost out of it.

I used to just let the unripe/green tomatoes die on the vine with the first frost. No more!

Yum! Sounds delicious. Thanks for the idea for next year.

Wife takes all of our green tomatoes that I pick just before a killing frost and puts them in brown paper bags. They then make the trip down stairs to our store room where they will ripen very slowly. We usually have tomatoes for at least 6 to 7 weeks after that first frost. Our store room maintains a 50 degree temp which causes them to ripen slowly.

Thanks for the idea! I've also heard you can cut off the whole branch with the green tomato(es) on it, bring it in the house, and it will still ripen and get some sweetness. Although I forgot to try that last year.

 

[Iluveggers]

I stuck all my green tomatoes in a bowl on the counter at first frost. About 2/3 ripened with no issues a week or two later. A few rotted out. But I’ll take 67% extra tomatoes over none! Extended our season about a month.

 

[Sally PB]

My parents wrapped unripe tomatoes in newspaper to ripen. I was going to try that last year, but I really wanted some salsa that I could eat. DH likes stuff that is way too hot for me, and I have to make a lot for him to last to the next season.

 

[Sammster]

How did I miss this thread?!

Every year we grow cherry, roma, beefsteak tomatoes; green, yellow, purple beans; yellow, red, purple potatoes, acorn and sometimes spaghetti squash, lots of peas (though I never get any - the Parrot gets tem all - grrrr), tons of peppers for DH (mostly, screaming hot varieties). Last year I tried carrots with limited success. Will be trying those, again. And I want to try rutabaga, cabbage and cauliflower. I'm also planning to install a cattle-fence arch.

I've started tomato seeds (different varieties than what we can get at the greenhouse) in my AeroGarden, already. When they get big enough, I'll transplant them to pots, so I can use the AeroGarden to start herbs.

I have a dome/bin I'll try starting my cabbage and cauliflower in. And a second bin I use for salad greens. Mostly for my girls

We're getting a greenhouse! We have an old gazebo, that sadly, is past its prime. It needs to come down. We'll put the greenhouse in its place. It gets shade in the summer - but sun in the spring and fall. So it can double as a solarium, in the summer months. It'll be a big job, tearing down and putting up. We'll have to get our boys to come help.

 

[Coldd]

That greenhouse looks great. We would love to have something for extending our seasons and hardening off seedlings. Best of luck with the setup! I hope it serves you well.

Here’s what we got going in the garden:

This year’s lineup :

Sage
Thyme
Dill
Oregano
Spearmint
Peppermint
Horseradish
Lemon balm
Valerian
St Johns wort
Yarrow
Red clover/dandelion
Chamomile
Elderberry
Nettle
Cat Mint
Echinacea
Mullein
Rosemary
Basil
Cilantro

Beets (Gold/Detroit Red/Chioggia)
Carrots (orange and a purple, can’t remember the names.)
Greens (rainbow chard, kale)
Squash (Hubbard, Butternut, Pie pumpkin, maybe acorn but we have problems growing anything other than a mini version of what you might find at the store.)
Peas (some sort of shelling pea)
Beans (pole bean of some sort…Blue Lake?)
Tomatoes (Amish Paste, cherries from saved seeds, yellow pear aka the light bulbs, Kelloggs breakfast and Hungarian Heart-y variety)
Onions (yellow sweet Spanish, red can’t remember….both have stored great Till now.)
peppers(overwintered Bells, habaneros for fun, anaheims maybe)
Cukes/zuccs
Fennel

We would’ve had a lot of beets but the moles/voles/mice got them. Disappointing. Chickens loved the greens though.
What veggie has cut down on your grocery bill the most?

Hope you all had a great Sunday. The last of our Hubbards have been cooked! Fleshy all the way to the skin! . Making jerky tonight too. Hoping my partner tries it!

 

[Sammster]

That greenhouse looks great. We would love to have something for extending our seasons and hardening off seedlings. Best of luck with the setup! I hope it serves you well.

Here’s what we got going in the garden:

This year’s lineup :

Oooo....l that is quite the lineup!! Would love to mosey through that garden

 

[saysfaa]

...
What veggie has cut down on your grocery bill the most?
...

Zucchini

 

[Sammster]

What veggie has cut down on your grocery bill the most?

Probably tomatoes. Then potatoes