As Mary is off busy-ing herself with the latest and greatest gadgets, I am stealthily planning my garden. Yes, it is only January and I do live in Kansas...but I am figuring how to lower my family's grocery bill even more dramatically. The goal is to harvest and preserve enough that I have wholesome organic food until the next planting season. Through many years of tried and true gardening I have gone from plant a little of everything to planting the basics that our family eats the most of. My absolute favorite garden item would be the tomato. There is just nothing more like heaven on earth than a sun-warmed and ripened tomato for lunch.
I love planting tomatoes. They start as little tiny plants that often require an old coffee can or milk jug to protect it from the harsh Kansas winds and they grow into beautiful mini-trees. I have learned that the closer you plant your tomatoes, the better. I used to plant them far apart, about 4 feet around each one. The reason I did this was because I hate spiders and if the tomato plants were far apart, it was less likely the spider would build his web between tomato cages. But, through the years, my fear of spiders as waned a little and the closer the plants (about 2 feet apart) the more they seem to pollinate. We all know pollination leads to more tomatoes. Tomato cages can be purchased at your local home & garden store, tractor & supply store and even your discount stores. I find that my tomatoes generally exceed my expectations and I have resorted to purchasing hog panel fencing and making round cages out of them.
My husband thinks I am strange because I love the smell of the plant. It makes me sneeze, but it is such a earthy, natural scent I just can't help but love it. The Kansas heat is hard on tomatoes, along with the flash flood type of rains we receive. Irregular watering can cause the peels to split, so try to get them on a watering schedule. Soaker hoses seem to be best. As the tomatoes grow and canopy the ground, the soaker hoses make sure the water gets to the roots. Another thing I have learned is to try and move the spot your tomatoes are in every 3-4 years to prevent various diseases. Especially rainy years can also cause different fungi to grow. Unfortunately, when this happens it is impossible to keep your plants alive and reproducing AND be organic. An antifungal powder will need to be applied. Follow the directions printed on the chemical VERY CLOSELY. One other thing that happens from time to time is tomato worms or these big black awful bugs that look like wasps without wings. One year I recognized them too late and almost lost my whole tomato crop. Again, when these fellas invade, it is no longer possible to keep them alive and still be organic. The label of the pesticide or anitfungal powder will tell you how long you must wait to harvest your vegetable. Even then, wash them very thoroughly.
Generally, preserving tomatoes for me is pretty basic. I like to keep it simple because when your counter tops, window sills and table are full of tomatoes - making it complicated can then make it an overwhelming chore. There are just a few easy steps to preserving your tomatoes. Generally, I prefer to freeze my tomatoes rather than canning them but I have done both and each has their advantages. Here are the steps of preserving your tomatoes:
1. Clean all tomatoes by washing in sink. Before the next step in preparing your maters, put on a large pot to boil on the stove.Next, cut out the stem of each tomato. To cut out the stem take a knife and insert it next the stem. Cut around the stem, but with the knife angled inward. Once you have gone completely around the stem area, the stem should come out and look like a cone. Now, if you are canning your tomatoes in jars, do not use any tomatoes with bad spots. This is essential as there are many dangerous strains of bacteria that cause food poisoning. However, if you are freezing your tomatoes then just cut out the bad spot of the tomato making sure that you have removed it all.
2. Your large pot (use the biggest one you have) should be boiling. Have ready a metal colander that fits inside your pot. It doesn't have to be part of a special set, just any metal colander that fits will do. Also have tongs, a timer and a sink full of clean cold water. Please be sure to disinfect your sink and make sure it is absolutely free of any debris.
3. Next is to load your metal colander up with tomatoes. Now, if you don't have a metal colander and cannot afford to purchase one, never fear. You can also carefully place tomatoes into the boiling water with your own method. Just one thing you need to know is the longer the tomatoes are in the boiling water, the more nutrients cook out of them. This is why I recommend a metal colander, easy in and easy out. Place your tomatoes into the boiling water and quickly set the timer for 1 minute. Quickly and carefully remove the colander from the boiling water. My sink is very close to my stove, but I still lay towels on my counter and floor in case of water drips (messy and slippery). Carefully dump tomatoes that were just in the boiling water into the sink of cold water. Allow them to sit about 1 minute. This process is called blanching and what this does is shock the nutrients so they won't break down later on and also allows the skin of the tomato to practically fall off. Place the "naked" tomatoes in a bowl, skins out of the cold water and repeat the process from step one until all your tomatoes no longer have skins. You may have to add water once in awhile to the boiling pot and change the water in your sink as it will get warmer with each load of tomatoes.
Please be very careful when dealing with boiling water as it can cause burns, blisters and the like. Make sure if you have toddlers, that handles are turned so they cannot pull the pot of water on themselves and make sure all children are clear when you are transporting the tomatoes from the boiling water to the cold water.
What you do next with your tomatoes is pretty much up to you. Here is what I do with them:
I have a blender and blend them into a sauce. I then add 1 teaspoon canning salt and 1 teaspoon lemon juice per 2 quarts of tomato sauce. Then I pour it into quart freezer bags (if you have a large family you may want to do gallon freezer bags). I seal them and lay them FLAT in the freezer. By laying them flat, they freeze flat and take up a lot less room in your freezer. It's kind of like folding your clothes vs. wadding your clothes and trying to get them to fit into the dresser drawer - a lot more clothing will fit if they're folded.
I will also freeze them whole or diced and with this I just fill a freezer bag full, seal and lay as flat as possible.
If you prefer to can, there are some extremely specific detailed steps you must ensure you complete for absolute safety of your family. Canning can be convenient if your freezer space is limited and yes, I have done it. But, if you are canning, I INSIST you research canning in various cookbooks that have whole sections dedicated to canning. Please see the Amazon link below to find the appropriate cookbooks needed for this venture.
Generally, I try and grow a lot of tomatoes because a lot of our menu is tomato-based. Spaghetti, chili, stew and many other uses. I am very happy if I can freeze enough tomatoes to allow me to use them twice a week from October until May. That is approximately 64 quarts of tomatoes for my family. It takes about 4lbs to make a quart and so I try and plant about 20-40 plants. This allows our family enough tomatoes to eat them liberally throughout the summer as well. As it gets cooler and the nights in the fall are getting closer to freezing, it is quite easy to store tomatoes to eat fresh. Pick them all and keep them in a cool dark place wrapped in newspapers. I have often wondered why everything ripens in a newspaper and I don't know why, but it does. This will keep tomatoes for many weeks to come, even after the frost and the plants have died.
If you have never preserved tomatoes before, please do not feel you have to do it on a "Martha" scale the first year. Start slowly and learn. Every year and everyone's experiences are different. I have had many years where things don't work, then mysteriously, because the weather is just right it does work. God made them hardy and they can survive just about anything, so don't be afraid of a tomato plant. Just remember to water it and all should be well - growing things isn't hard, it's in our nature to do so! So dig some holes, plant some home grown fresh food and sit back and marvel at the goodness of God!
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