Too many tomatoes!

[lullaby80]

What do you do with the excess produce coming from your garden?

This is my first year gardening. I sarted everything from seeds and went all organic. Being a bit too excited, I didn't look at the seed package that carefully and instead of planting regular tomatoes (I wanted to make a ton of marinara), I planted 8 grape tomato bushes. As happy as I am about the wonderful harvest (hundreds of grape tomatoes), we don't eat them. I mean, sometimes we might snack on a few but overall the tomatoes just rot in the bushes. We've already given a bunch to coworkers but is there a better place to take these to? A food bank perhaps? What do you think?

[Edna_E]

My sister planted 12 tomato bushes one year, and supplied all her neighbors and then started taking them to the medical offices near where she lives (not sure WHY, but she did - and they appreciated it).

I've never been sufficiently successful at gardening to have an excess of anything except weeds and ants.

[coltsmama]

I am sure your local food bank or homeless shelter would love fresh tomatoes! You might also try your local nursing homes or retirement village. I also see alot of tables set in peoples front lawn with excess produce for sale. put a box out and people will leave the money. Good luck!

[Jaded]

I'm so glad somebody did that too! I found out the hard way that four grape tomato bushes would yield enough for 25 people! LOL I ate tomatoes until I thought I was gonna die! Then I decided to do some pickled green tomatoes with them, and they turned out great. It's a lot of work, but worth it if you like that sort of thing. If you want the recipe, I'll hunt it up.

[mickee311]

Jaded--I'll take that recipe, please! I planted 30 tomato plants and now I've got them coming out of my ears! I planted so many simply because I got overzealous. I've got a ton of Roma's I'll be cooking up and canning tomorrow for sauce, but I would love a good green tomato pickle recipe. Any green tomato recipe, I'm down for it! I love fried green tomatoes, but I can't eat that all the time to use them up...lol And we don't eat ripe ones, I only cook them up for sauce/salsa....

[AmyMCGS]

I'm jealous! We didn't get anything planted this year, so I'll have to stop by a farmer's stand to get any fresh tomatoes. Next year, I'm planting our own again!

This is SO good with the grape tomatoes:
Tomatos & Green Beans: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Green-B...es/Detail.aspx
I've done it with canned beans and dried herbs, and it's still good.

I've also done a tomato/mozzarella salad using the grape tomatoes, halved, with cubes of the cheese:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Owens-M...ad/Detail.aspx

[kaykwilts]

Here is my tried and true green tomato pickel recipe:

Green Tomato Pickles
7 lbs green tomatoes, sliced
8 onions, sliced
2 cups household limes
2 quarts vinegar
8 cups sugar
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons pickling spices
1 teaspoon celery seeds

Mix together in crock 2 cups household lime and 2 gallons water.
Add sliced tomatoes and onions.
Soak 24 hours.
Stir often.
Drain lime solution and wash pickles until clean.
Add 2 quarts vinegar, 8 cups sugar, and 2 teaspoons salt.
In a cloth put pickling spice and 1 teaspoon celery seed and tie this up.
Put in with your pickles.
Let stand overnight.
Boil hard 35 minutes.
Can in hot sterilized jars.

[McD]

I don't have recipes but you could make and can your own salsa/pizza sauce. My parents did it for years and I loved it!

[mickee311]

Kay--What kind of vinegar? I only have white, will that work?

And not to be a dummy, what's household lime?

[Katybird]

I would make salsa. I have never made it from grape tomatoes but I am sure it would be fine. There is nothing better than fresh homemade salsa and warm salted chips.