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Anything I can do?
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Posted by barb_roselover_in 5a IN (My Page) on Thu, Oct 15, 09 at 11:28
| From reading all of the posts, I guess there is no good way that I can grow tomatoes in the winter. With that in mind, I was wondering if there is anything you can do to make the store-bought tomatoes more tasty instead of having those anemic looking things with no flavor? Thanks for any hints, or do I just have to tolerate them? Does it help at all for them to be put under lights, for instance, or put in a paper bag to further ripen or with some other vegetable or fruit? Barb |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Anything I can do?
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Barb,
The store-bought tomatoes were bred to be shipped, not enjoyed! I have found nothing that enhances their flavor.
However, if you have green tomatoes in your garden and frost is predicted, pick the tomatoes, wash them in a 10% clorox solution, dry them carefully and wrap in newspaper and let ripen in a cool, dark place. Alternately, pull the entire plant, hang it upside down in a cool, dark place with good air circulation, and let the tomatoes ripen. It prolongs the harvest. |
RE: Anything I can do?
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| Marlingardener - Your answer was as anticipated. Our hard freeze has already happened, and I did bring in a few green tomatoes and put them in the garage window. What's with the washing in clorox water? What does that do? Thanks for answering. - Barb |
RE: Anything I can do?
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| The best solution is to preserve with either canning or freezing or dehydrating some of your homegrown tomatoes for winter enjoyment. Then, like so many of us, you never have to touch a store-bought tomato. ;) Dave PS: the bleach solution is a disinfectant - it kills any surface bacteria that could cause them to rot. |
RE: Anything I can do?
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| we green house and get one more month with fresh tomatoes. last year i tried to grow some Matina tomatoes in my large south window. i got good tasting tomatoes but even with 9 plants the harvest was slow and few. about one tomato each day. i did take some water sprouts from them in the spring and they produced our first tomatoes in the spring. Dean |
RE: Anything I can do?
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Hey Barb; You seem to be seeing this from a "Summer perspective". I personally love this time of year because with the change in seasons, comes different food. Winter Squash and Dark green leafy vegetables have a lot of Vitamin A&D and Calcium and other great vit.s that will get you through the winter Cold and Flu season unscathed.
I can grow tomatoes until Dec or Jan but I really don't care as by now I have had soo many I am over them for now.
I much prefer to focus on root crops, Kale, Chard Spinach, Garlic, Grano Padano cheese. To me Tomatoes are for summer.
I do have Tomato sauce and paste for winter. |
RE: Anything I can do?
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| I agree with zebraman. The best way to eat (and to get the most out of the garden) is with the seasons. Garden is now producing turnips, beets, carrots, Asian radishes, salad greens, baby Bok Choi, Savoy cabbages, chard. Haven't even started on the kale yet. I find I'm not really interested in tomatoes anymore. They're for summer. |
RE: Anything I can do?
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| Funny, I too love melons in hot weather, but not now.....same for tomatoes and corn. Time for apples, chilli. and such. |
RE: Anything I can do?
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| Thanks eveybody. I've been away from the computer for awhile because I have been giving away my deceased husband's clothes, helping with the estate stuff etc, but I am desperately trying to get into a normal routine to sort of take my mind off of things. I was thinking of the tomatoes in a salad and I hate those pale looking things with no flavor,and they insist on putting them in your salad if you eat out. I do have some fall crops--broccoli and cabbage. Going to try a little lettuce again although I do not think there is enough time--maybe if I cover it. I'm afraid I don't care for kale or chard. I need to work on developing a taste for them because they are so good for you. I am thinking of putting canned tomatoes in my salads. The green ones aren't ripening well--I think they were too nipped before I got them in. Anyway thank you for giving me a different way of looking at this. I have had to make a lot of changes. It is hard to cook for one.- Barb |
RE: Anything I can do?
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| Barb, so sorry to hear about you husband. Perhaps you can start to think about seasonal salads. Fall salads taste great focused on fall greens like fall lettuces, chicories, mustards and radishes. A few Calamata olives don't hurt either. Save cukes and tomatoes for summer salads. |
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