CntryBoy777 - The Lazy A** Acres Adventures

[NH homesteader]

I never have tomatoes until September, maybe this year! I try to only do heirloom varieties, so most of the early ones don't work for me.

 

[CntryBoy777]

Some of the Roma varieties might work for ya too, and they make great sauce and canned tomatoes too. Don't forget ya can always eat fried green tomatoes too. Make ya a milk and egg mixture, dip slices of tomatoes, like french toast, then dredge in cornmeal with a spoon or 2 of flour, add salt and pepper to taste, fry in skillet with enough vegetable oil to cover bottom of skillet until golden brown...Yummy!

 

[NH homesteader]

Yes I make fried green tomatoes, and green tomato salsa. But we can extend the season pretty well with clear plastic. Going to try to make actual hoophouses this year... We'll see how that works out.

 

[CntryBoy777]

I use to make those out of PVC, that way I could cover a whole row of mature producing plants when there are early cold snaps in the Fall. Used milk jugs in spring for little plants. I used 6mil plastic sheeting over the PVC with wood or rocks to weigh it down, easy to slide over or down to uncover. It withstood the seabreeze winds in Florida that get quite gusty. They just burn up in the summer under the hot sun, so we had early and late tomatoes.

 

[Mike CHS]

Gardening season is the only thing we miss about South Carolina. Going from zone 9 to zone 5 takes a bit of adjustment.

Brave General was the best tasting tomato I have ever had so I'll look a bit more. Last year for canning we planted Rutgers and gave away dozens of pounds even after canning. We picked two boxes of green tomatoes before our first cold snap and had tomatoes up until about 3 weeks ago.

I love the popular Brandywine and Cherokee Purple but they never seemed to produce enough to can plus they were slow growing.

 

[Mike CHS]

We were eating the Rutgers in early August last year and we didn't get them in the ground until we got moved in June. We had Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes in June from volunteer plants from the year before.

 

[CntryBoy777]

We have always been experimentalists, and have always done pretty good with a few Beefsteak plants, they are pretty good producers and do better in the heat than most. We found the same thing Mike with the brandywine and rutgers, plus they are affected by insects and blight more too. We are not heirloom specific, so open to most varieties.

 

[CntryBoy777]

Well, it was fairly uneventful today for us around here, and I'm feeling a bit disgusted. Tho, I am not discouraged because I have an "Ace in the Hold". We tried to give our 12-14dz eggs away today and nobody wanted them, but we have a group of friends that will take all of them...they have a very large family of cooks, so it isn't a problem. I just couldn't believe that none of the others would take any, oh well the way life goes sometimes. It certainly was much cooler today and didn't have to run the AC....but have the heat on now. The high today was 59 and suppose to drop into the 40's for a low tonight. I did hear, too cloudy to see, some more geese flying north today, and the frogs are croaking again.
Joyce is in one of her down times, so it hasn't been a great day today. She is "Soldiering Thru" it, and she did get a bit excited looking at the Baker Creek catalog and making plans for an order.
Our thoughts and Prayers are with all the is or will be affected by this Ice storm that is sweeping thru Kansas and Missouri right now. My heart does go out to you, because we know first hand how terrible it can be.

 

[Bruce]

Who are these people who have no interest in your eggs @CntryBoy777 ???? Did the local groceries have a big sale lately and everyone is already overstocked with low grade eggs?? I just can't see it. I sell excess when I have them to 4 people. They are patiently waiting (sorta) for the girls to start up again.

Hope Joyce springs back up!!

 

[Mike CHS]

Hope Joyce gets to feeling better.

All this cloudy damp weather can't be helping at all.