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Post by brownrexx on Jun 10, 2019 8:36:24 GMT -5
This is the second part of yesterday's question about how many plants you are growing.
I am in the minority with only 16 plants so I am wondering what those of you with so many plants do with all of the tomatoes?
I get more than we can eat and preserve and I give away boxes and boxes of them to the local Assisted Living facility.
I can't even imagine how many tomatoes must be produced from the dozens, even hundreds, of plants that some of you are growing.
What do you do with all of the tomatoes?
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Post by september on Jun 10, 2019 8:56:14 GMT -5
I give away some to neighbors and friends, but I'm not growing for production but to get a wide sampling of tastes of many varieties. So I crowd my plants somewhat and don't get as much per plant as I could, which is fine by me. Also many of them are long season tomatoes and may not start bearing here until end of August or September, so maybe half of their production will be in greenies which must come in the house before frost hits. So though I do have a lot of plants, they don't produce as much as if they were in a longer season area.
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Post by coppice on Jun 10, 2019 9:45:02 GMT -5
Some I eat. Most go to seed at my preffered charities.
Depending on how much garden I have access to, I find tomato, corn, beans, easy to save seed of.
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Post by ladymarmalade on Jun 10, 2019 10:15:35 GMT -5
Well, I won't get near as many tomatoes as one might think. It's a brand new garden in new ground, I expect many to struggle and I may only get a few tomatoes off of each plant.
My plans are to share, for one. Then I also have salsa to make, tomato sauce to make, fresh tomatoes to eat in every way I can imagine, and also many jars to can up of just plain tomatoes. I find that I use straight canned tomatoes more than anything else, though it was nice to have tomato sauce on hand this year for quick saucing pizzas and such. I like having some sun-dried tomatoes on hand too.
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Post by carolyn on Jun 10, 2019 13:49:08 GMT -5
mostly eat fresh and sell the rest at my stand or farmers markets some I donate to a food bank or food pantry
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Post by pepperhead212 on Jun 10, 2019 15:20:34 GMT -5
Mostly I eat them fresh, or in a briefly cooked dish. I freeze a bunch, but the ones that I grow aren't canning varieties. The only cooked ones that I do are a pizza sauce that I make by cooking tomatoes, onions, garlic, and some olive oil in a roasting pan on a grill, then grinding it all coarsely, and freezing it. I never know if something like that would be acidic enough to safely can in a water bath, and I never got a pressure canner.
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Post by paquebot on Jun 10, 2019 15:52:03 GMT -5
Two neighbors get as many as they can eat as reward for putting up with me! Then a lot of friends get plenty of "salsa, assembly required". Although I grow a lot fir the seeds, those become seedless puree for various tomato products. Near the end of the season, and more than enough normal canning is done, top off the season with lots of juice.
Martin
The truth is more important than the facts.
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Post by meandtk on Jun 10, 2019 17:47:51 GMT -5
Hmmm.. we may have enough to share. It’s hard to know. We plan to put up much sauce and salsa.
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Post by daylilydude on Jun 10, 2019 19:59:15 GMT -5
I only have 10 tomato plants out there and they are for the same as most others here... sharing and canning/freezing those that the wife doesn't chow down on... LOL!
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Post by Gianna on Jun 10, 2019 20:21:31 GMT -5
Slice and dehydrate a lot of them. And they get used though it's taken a couple years to figure out how to use them. Mostly now cut with scissors and put into stew type meals or soups for longer cooking. Sometimes I'll blend them into a powder which is also easy to use. But that tends to cake after sitting, so I only make smaller amounts of that. The best thing I ever made with extra tomatoes was a roasted concoction. Just cut them in half, and put in the oven and slow-roast until slightly browned, stirring periodically. This took many hours. But, egads, was that good. The house got too hot however to do that very often. I've also added chopped peppers to the roasting tomatoes and roasted that combo down too. Freeze in small containers. Very tasty and easy to use. Very rich. I also give lots away. In the past I sold some too. And did some trades. I mainly just like growing them.
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Post by guruofgardens on Jun 10, 2019 21:32:52 GMT -5
We eat a couple a day when they finally ripen. The kids eat a LOT when the tomatoes are offered, otherwise I would be tomato-less. If I find time, I will freeze a dozen or so quarts for soup. The rest will go to a few special 'older' people who love them as much as I do.
I have a friend who wants green tomatoes for her pies.
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Post by octave1 on Jun 10, 2019 23:07:15 GMT -5
Try to eat them fresh as much as possible. Make sauces and puree for the freezer. Dry some. Sell some. Give tons of them to friends who no longer garden.
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Post by pondgardener on Jun 11, 2019 8:44:46 GMT -5
I give away a lot to family and friends and do a lot of canning with the rest. Ro-tel, basil pasta sauce, V-8 juice, tomato sauce and various heat strengths of salsa. And there are many packages of frozen tomatoes to be used in soups and stews throughout the year. I may try doing some tomato soup as well this year.
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Post by spike on Jun 11, 2019 9:48:12 GMT -5
Eat fresh, can sauce/juice/soups and put in bags, hang on neighbors door knobs, ring the bell and run Donate to the local Mission also. I only have 18 tomato plants. Peppers on the other hand, I grow and we use tons and tons of peppers but I always still have tons to share out.
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Post by paulf on Jun 11, 2019 10:37:56 GMT -5
Eat fresh as many as possible and freeze extras for wintertime use. Anything else gets put into a box and is taken to the village Post Office to share.
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