How Do You Fix A Sliced Tomato?… Use Tomato Paste!!
The threat to the Ostriches in Edgewood are now in serious peril. The Kelowna Task Force is assigned the position of elimination. A company called Clearwater Truck Rental found out what their rentals were being used for and demanded they be returned immediately as they would have never rented them to these murderers had they known what they were going to be used for. Good on you Clearwater Truck Rental! The crowds of protesters that have gathered are quite large blocking roads as police choppers fly over the farm. I figure that several people should enter their pens and mill about the Ratites which is their classification as they won’t be able to shoot at them however as they are in Quarantine they need to wear protective gear (or not). No complaints or illness in the protesters, owners, or surrounding farm animals or birds has been reported. This is uncalled for and cruel.
Now true signs of Fall are upon us. Yellows and reds are rapidly appearing on the trees and the temperatures are much cooler and daylight hours are shorter. Lots to do in the yard and garden! I can’t believe the bumper crop of Tomatoes this year! I hope everyone else is enjoying the same bounty. Although the crop in the greenhouse is ripening faster and growing more rapidly the Tomatoes outside are certainly coming on strong. With the cooler temperatures your Tomatoes should start ripening faster. Tomatoes were initially raised by the Aztecs in 700 AD and did not reach Europe until the 16th century and were widely accepted everywhere except in Britain where they were demonized by the rich due to their use of pewter flatware which has a high lead content, the acids in the Tomato caused the lead to leach into their food which caused illness and even death. The poor people had no such problem as they used wooden plates and cheaper non lead utensils and suffered no problems. In the 1800’s they were brought to America by new citizens particularly the Italians and their introduction of Pizza. Now over 12 million tons of Tomatoes are eaten annually and there is nothing nicer than a delicious Tomato from your own garden!
Soon it will be time to pull our tomatoes from the vine but at this point they can remain on the vine to ripen. Tomatoes that ripen on the vine have better flavour because when picked the oxygen they get from the vine stops and therefor the sugars in tomatoes loose that oxygen source and the flavour is not further enhanced. Tomatoes (depending on the variety) take 60 to 85 days to mature. That is to their full size called Mature Green. When it gets to this stage it begins to produce Ethylene causing the green to fade and pigment changes occur causing it to change to the colour that it is supposed to have red, pink or yellow. You can tell that the tomato is totally ripe when it is uniform in colour, it is firm but it has a little give at the shoulders and the bottom and it is easily removed from the vine by giving it a little twist. Of course there are a few exceptions to this. Heirloom Tomatoes ripen before they completely turn colour so they should be picked sooner and Cherry Tomatoes will crack if left too long on the vine so they should be picked just before they are perfectly ripe. It is a little early yet to worry about getting all the tomatoes on the vine to ripen but to speed up this process you can do a few thing to encourage your tomatoes to ripen. Pinch off the flowers to stop further production and remove any small fruit. Be sure to remove any suckers at the bottom of the plant and any that appear between the main stem’s branches. Remove any discoloured leaves and any that touch the ground. Reduce watering and make sure that watering is done at the base of the plant and not on the leaves. Disturbing the roots will cause the plant to finish its fruit so carefully with a pitch fork or a spade lift the plant slightly on one side. Temperature is another factor in vine ripened Tomatoes, If the temperature is under 10 degrees the process will slow and when the temperature is over 29 degrees the ripening process may even stop and we have a spell of that kind of warmth upon us.
Tomatoes ripen from the inside out and will do this because of warmth not light. So when picking your unripe tomatoes they should be placed in the dark to ripen. If you prefer a window sill make sure it is away from direct light and turn the tomato daily to ensure even ripening. In fall, cover your tomatoes to protect from frost and when a severe frost is expected you can either pick the mature sized green tomatoes or hang the entire plant in a warm dark place (55 to 70 degrees). Your picked tomatoes can be washed and when dry placed in a box covered with newspaper. I wash mine in warm water with a touch or bleach and I find that I have had excellent success and very few rotten tomatoes. You can, depending on the amount of tomatoes to be ripened, use a paper bag to ripen your tomatoes. You can add an apple or banana to the bag or box to increase the amount of Ethylene which will cause them to ripen faster.
Happy Gardening!
Samantha Nason
BS Ranch & Greenhouses
250 547 6567
sam1nason@gmail.com
