General Discussions 2009 - Chapter 28

Has anyone ever rooted their tomatoes to start more vines?

I rooted about a dozen and transplanted them into the double row where my cukes were.

They are doing well, about a foot or so high. We'll see if I get any tomatoes b4 the frost gets here.

Not on purpose but I have had some where the vine laid on the ground long enough that it did make another plant. It also did bear maters. That wouldn't happen this year though as I am just now starting to get tomatoes. They are all going to be small too. We just didn't get ideal growing conditions right here. But others 12- 15 miles away have been getting good ones in July already.
Good luck on that venture. It may work in your area.

You might get a late batch of green tomato relish Kent. Jeanette

Kent, Ive always started extra tom from cuttings . Goes back to when we couldn't afford more than a coupla plants . If you like determanant toms , you can replant every two or three weeks and use the new , rooted cuttings . That's what we did .
I have such a good crop this year , I'm getting tired of working the tom up . Used my sweet millions ripe and green for salsa . . been freezing green betterboys and whoppers , sliced , breaded , and frozen on trays , then bagged so I don't have to listen to dh all winter . " I wish I had some green fried tomatoes , sniff sniff " . I tried an heirloom Black Russion . It's the best tom I've ever had . Going to take some rooted cuttings to Texas and root some more off them to bring back .I think those and beefsteak is all I'm going to grow next year . I put the beefsteak in real late . Only got two ripe so far but boy are they loaded .

Kent, what no pics of you with the crushed velvet big bow tie on? I know you had to have worn one to the prom or something since we're the same age.

Doug

I'm tard , no, I didn't misspell it Got five trays of toms in the dehydrater today . Much better than sun dried . Faster .Dh just brought in more . No end in sight . This bale gardening is the way to go . D

I'm Tarrrd

Good advice, Russ, Jeanette, and digger.

Doug: LOL! I do seem to remember wearing a light blue tux to the 1 and only prom I went to, which wasn't even my own school.

Uh huh, who was she ? lol D

Kent, do you suppose that is one of the questions on the law enforcement requirements, "Did you go to a school prom, and if so whose?". I never went to the prom either. Not to mine, or anyone else's. It has been too long ago. I don't remember. LOL

Jeanette

digger, are the tomatoes dried in the dehydrator as good (tastewise) as the sun-dried? If they're comparable, I may have to invest in a dehydrator.

I didn't get tomatoes started early enough to beat the heat here in Texas, but I just keep starting new cuttings and eventually, they'll find the kind of weather they like best and start setting fruit again. And if all of these cuttings survive, I could be in trouble. ;)

Jeanette: nope, no questions about the Prom, but it's about the only 1 they didn't ask! :-)

LOL, you're right.

Jeanette

But they probably asked your neighbors.

This message was edited Aug 13, 2009 10:47 PM

Quilter , yes, they are the same . I bought this one about 15 yrs ago and it's made by American Harvester . I bought the best one and ran into others made by them that was a lot cheaper . I f you get one of any kind , the No 1 thing to have on it is a fan . Then you want a thermostat . I can buy extra trays for mine and it drys about three times faster than the cheaper ones without a fan . I do elk , deer , peaches , herbs , the list goes on . Dried toms I cut about 1/3 in thick . Great flavor . If you get one , you'll wonder how you ever did without it . Digger

Thank you so much for all the counsel - off to eBay to shop. ;)

Appreciate the help! :)

I googled food dehydraters and got good info on two brands . I think the other one was Excalibur . That Am. Harvester is cheaper now than what I paid . I only got three trays with mine , had to buy the others and paid over 200.00 at the time .
Btw , I had so many toms this year , just put up another six trays of them . digger

Yippeeeee, that's great! :) I wish I had had that kind of luck with tomatoes, this year.

"Jet Star" and "Mountain Pride" did absolute zippo in Topsy Turvy planters, which brings the grand total of things bought from infomercials that actually work to..... ooops, still ZERO! ;)

I finally cut off the remaining branches and stuck them into pots. The no-name cherry tomato planted in the third Topsy Turvy produced about six or eight tomatoes. These planters were the start of my return to gardening, the first things I put in back in April, so you can see, they didn't do much.

But, I've got some beautiful healthy rooted cuttings and some re-habbed "Patio" variety plants ready to start fruiting when the heat backs off a tad. The Sweet 100's and the grape tomatoes are limping along in shade or partial shade. If they all decide to grow crazy, I'll be up to my ears in them.

I actually considered everything just an experiment, this year - and if I happen to get produce, I'm doing pretty well. All the stuff that's growing on the straw bales has climbed up 10 feet and is now starting to put a roof on my deck, so at the least, I have a lot of shade and privacy that the bare deck doesn't provide.

I have melons hanging through the lattice on the ceiling, and melons and cucumbers hanging from the vertical vines. I have a mister system all around my deck which provides a lot of cooling at the hottest times.

I started with dishpans of potting soil set on top of the bales - the dishpans had about half of the bottom cut out, so that the roots could go straight down into the bales. I'm going to continue this next year because it raises the level up even higher and I can easily mix in top-dressings like alfalfa pellets and manure. It may also be easier if I need to pull a dishpan of one thing that isn't doing well and substitute another dishpan of something that is.

The zucchini and crookneck squashes are pretty much a bust and not worth the space they took up. The zucchini "Born Free" is about a flavorless zucchini as I've ever tasted and Dixie Hybrid is a not-much-better yellow squash. Both have been difficult to even keep alive between the borers and the heat and the mildew. The no-name crookneck did a lot better and tasted great - it's a real bumpy, darker yellow type - wish I knew what it was.

I'm going to try starting some early winter squashes and pumpkins this weekend.

Melon "Ambrosia" has grown beautifully and produced two smallish melons with many more on the vines. I had to pick them too early as they were being bored by something, but they still tasted as good as any supermarket melon I've gotten lately. Melon "Lambkin" has fruit all over the place, but I have no idea how to tell when they're ripe, so I haven't picked any, yet. None of them are softening at the blossom end or anywhere close to "slipping," so we've apparently got a way to go. "Sierra Gold" cantaloupe was started late, but it's loaded with fruit. All three of these varieties are very healthy, with no sign of mildew, molds or viruses.

"Greensleeves" cucumber has done very well, here too - sweetish, not bitter even when they're 8-10" long, prolific, very healthy vines with no sign of the usual culprits.

Pole bean "Helda" is so infected with rust that it's not producing anything more than a few very tough pods. The pinto beans from the grocery store are rust free and picked very small, they have that great green bean flavor. Roma bush beans are doing great, too. I've decided that I like doing containers of bush beans much better than rows of pole beans. I've gotten a lot of shade and privacy, but next year, I'll put that side of the deck into melons, too.

Tomorrow, I have 30 bales of mixed Johnson hay being delivered at $4.00/bale. The guy even baled them extra tight for me. Life is good, ain't it? ;)

Have a great day!
Elizabeth

This message was edited Aug 19, 2009 10:26 AM

Elizabeth, what is Johnson hay??

Jeanette

Here is my dehydrated toms . They just keep making . The plants are really looking bad now and I'm not spraying them any more . The tops look good but the leaves are dried up on the bottom . Wish they would go on and die so I could quit putting up these toms . I'm getting tard ! Gonna do it next year . Actually only had eleven reg . tom plants and three sweet millions . The S M are dried too , just cut them in half and threw them on the tray . Gosh , they are tiny now , but soo good and sweet . digger

Sally they look so good. Wouldn't they make good Christmas gifts?

I loved the Sweet Millions, and then I found Sun Sugars. Have you tried them? They are wonderful too. They are the same size as the SMs, if I remember correctly, but might be a tad bit larger, but they are as good as, or better than the SMs.

I screwed up this year. I tried Galenas, always looking for the better one right, and they aren't nearly as good as either the SMs or the SSs. Try them next year.

Wish I had a good dehydrator. Maybe that will be my winter project. getting one of those and then going for a plant of both the SSs and the SMs next year. LOL Talk about greedy.

Jeanette

Jnette , I will look for them . Dmail me your add and I will send you some Black Russian seeds for next year . Russ is sending me some rhubarb roots and I'll be sending him some as soon as I get his add . I think everyone Needs a dehydrater . I cut one tom into four slices after coreing the stem off and cutting some of the skin off the bottom , good thick slices . concentrates the flavor altho it takes longer to dry . It's worth it .
It is so much easier to dry the toms than anyway you can put them up and can use in everything or crumbled in salads and stuff . Saves hours of work .The little toms shrink to nothing , but really good to nibble on or when you have so many , easier to dry than to fool with any other way . D

Johnson is a really tall grass - here's a link all about it: http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/outreach/VMG/johngrass.html

I have clumps of it in the back lawn and it's pretty and tough. When they come up in the flower beds, I like to pull them and pot them in tall, skinny plug pots - in mixed containers, the grass is a pretty vertical/fountain shape. The leaves have a white vein up the middle and the stems are pink, so the clumps add some eye-catching color along with a different texture. I put the little pot wherever I want it in the bigger pot, otherwise, it will take over the whole container.

digger, those tomatoes look great! YUM! I was going to ask about drying cherry tomatoes, so you already answered my questions. :)

I got the clear type American Harvest, where you can see the food inside. And I ordered two extra trays and two fruit roll-up type trays - do you think that nine trays will be too many for this type of dehydrator?

Jnette, I haven't even heard of the Sun Sugars - my goodness, I'm thinking these Sweet 100's are the sweetest tomatoes I've ever tasted! I'll have to try the others, next year. :)

These forums are priceless for all the info you can find, here.

Sally, your tomatoes look great. Now I want a dehydrator too! My darling Mother just gave me a wonderful brand new food processor for my birthday, I am going to be happy with that for now. Or I could ask to "borrow" mums dehydrator lol, I don't think she uses it much any more. From memory its very noisy, she used to put it in my room when I still lived at home, because I wasn't home much anyway. My whole room smelt like pineapple. Is yours noisy?

Time for a spring picture

Daffodils are coming out, always a promising sign

The new cloche thing, with reinforcing at both ends it has stayed up for almost a month now, sucess! The wind gives it a really hard time

Lena, borrow your mothers this summer . Check that the fan isn't hitting anything , may be where the noise is from . Mine is real quiet .You can make one with a small personal fan and a cardboard box . It can set in the sun for the heat, outside . There are directions to build one . Surely it can be found on the net . digger

Add a light bulb and you will have all kinds of heat. A friend of mine did that and was dehydrating every thing he could from the garden.
I haven't tried drying toms yet, but maybe I will. that is if I get enough.
My dehydrator don't have a fan, I agree it takes a while. I may just have to get crafty and put one on it. One the size of a small computer processor fan should move plenty air for it.
Russ

I saw a thread on DG somewhere a while ago about making your own solar powered dehydrator with black cardboard and something else, I might see if I can find it again.

I'm going in and dry some more maters . I get to go to a coin show tomorrow , so get a day away from that kitchen . Yea ! D

Lena: good Spring pics from down your way. I'm already planning my next year's garden in my mind.

Sally and Elizabeth, what are the model numbers you got and where did you get them? I googled American Harvester and it is very interesting but I would like to see the ones you got.

Lena your pics are wonderful. Wish I could start spring with you. Now, are you in your house for this whole summer?

Jeanette

You guys, how many trays do you use?

Jeanette

Jeanette, with the amount of seedlings I have started, I wont be going anywhere till after summer! Maybe move next winter, or even the one after. I will be finished at college this November, will have to see where I can get a job. Theres not many jobs available at the moment, a bad time to start looking.

Jnette , six trays or so is a lot of peeling , sliceing of anything . That's enough for me at one time . My model no is no longer available but I'll go on and report the comparable one to you . It was more trays and cheaper . I got mine from a hardware and home store . They sold everthing . digger

Well Lena, if you can't find a job and it is possible, continue with your schooling. A backup profession will be useful.

I can imagine 6 would be a lot Sally. Don't worry about it. I did a little looking last night and I might go for a square one. The fan and heat blow across all of the trays on them, rather than up thru the trays.

What do you think of those?

Jeanette

My ex had an aunt that gave me one like that . I didn't use it but a coupla times . When we separeted , the B came in my house and stole it so all I can tell you for sure is I had NO trouble with it or the design . It should do everything you want it to . Does it have a temp control ? I think the medium temp is about 130-135degrees . digger

Yes, I would have to look but I think it went to 145. Probably sold it at a yard sale. LOL

Jeanette

Jnette , if you can get that at a decent price and it works , grab it .Where did you find it ?
No, she wouldn't have sold it she would either give it away or put it in the shed to gather dust . That's what she did with a medicare paid electric chair . digger

I will find it and let you know. Jeanette

Go on Amazon and put in dehydrator. They have Excaliber 5 tray for $129 new, and E'quipe which also has good ratings.

I would have to look at them again to see if all of them have the temp control. I think they do. They go up to 9 tray for $229 I think it was.

I buy a lot thru Amazon and have never been burned. I bought a $179 (I think it was) Hoover carpet cleaner this spring, and a $500 air filter last fall. Also a $300+ Kitchen Aid mixer. So, yes, I do buy a lot thru them.

Jeanette

Jeanette, its a great idea, but I am already doing that this year! I finished off my bachelor of commerce (property valuation and finance) last year, this year I'm doing a one year graduate diploma in agriculture and sustainable energy. I'm feeling more and more like I want to work in agriculture, and keep the valuation/finance as a backup. I have been playing with the idea of continuing the agricultural diploma to bachelor level, but it means another two years. And at the end of this year I will have reached my 5 year limit of government supported student living allowance. A meagre NZ$150 a week but it does make all the difference. Time to get a job, save up for some new appliances, a car that works, and then put down a deposit on a house of my own. I've done pretty well getting to 25 before becoming enslaved by life's responsibilities. My Daddy is definately looking forward to the day I get a job!

Interesting, all this dehydrator talk. Mums is round and had 5 or 6 trays I think. Mum made strange little green meusli bar biscuit things with spirulina and linseeds. Yuck. The dried pineapple, persimmon, apples, and pears were good though.

Lena