Vegetable of the week - tomato

[forestdale]

Tomatoes are one of those plants where you learn new things every year.

If you bury a tomato plant's stem much lower than you would most other plants, it develops many more roots along the buried stem and therefore gives a lot more tomatoes. Make sure you strip the tomato stem of branches and leaves before you bury it. 

Tomatoes love to grow in rich soil so it's a good idea to make your planting hole and fill it with compost.  Your plants will love it.  Don't make the mistake of fertilizing tomatoes - they like a little liquid fertilizer or seaweed when they're very small and they like sulphate of potash to promote flowering.  If you over fertilize tomatoes, they'll grow into a big lush bush but give you very few tomatoes.

Mulch up around the stems of tomatoes - a dry natural mulch like straw is ideal for this.  This also allows the tomato to develop a stronger root system which will give you more tomatoes.

If your tomatoes develop flowers when the plant is still small - like under 12 inches tall, pull them off.  I know it's a tough thing to do but you'll allow the plant to develop its roots without spending energy on flowers.  If you do this, you'll have a more productive plant.  Also pinch out the suckers that develop between the main stem and the branches.



TOMATO CATSUP 1 peck (12 1/2 pounds) ripe tomatoes
2 medium onions
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons broken stick cinnamon
1 tablespoon whole cloves
3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1 tablespoon paprika
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons salt WASH and slice tomatoes and boil until soft. Into another kettle slice the onions. Cover with a small quantity of water and cook until tender. Run the cooked onions and tomatoes through a sieve. Mix the onion and tomato pulp. Add the cayenne pepper. Boil this mixture rapidly until it has been reduced to about 1/2 original volume. Place vinegar in an enamel pan; add a spice bag containing the cinnamon, cloves and garlic. Allow this to simmer for about 30 minutes, then bring to boil. Place cover on pan and remove from heat. Allow this to stand in covered pan until ready to use. When tomato mixture has cooked down to 1/2 original volume, add mixture, of which there should be 1 and 1/4 cups. Add the paprika, sugar and salt and boil rapidly until thick. This should require about 10 minutes. Pour while boiling into sterilized jars to within 1/2 inch of top. Put on cap, screw band firmly tight. Process in Boiling Water Bath 5 minutes. Yield: 6 pints.

[daddys3chicks]

I never knew that about pulling flowers off when they are small. I'll have to check mine!