There is just no end to these Tomatoes right now. I diced up another 16 cups worth (After dicing) this evening which may not sound like a lot but is a pretty good haul of ripe Tomatoes in just a few days. I know there are more out there ripe and ready to pick again too.
These pictured are a type I been growing a few years now named Purple Russians. They are good for dicing and making sauces and paste because after you blanch em you can squeeze em slightly and they pretty much shoot right out of their skins like a bullet. It cuts down on the precessing time by a huge amount.
Time is at a premium right now. Luckily this is also the slow season for car shuttle jobs as well.
To make time matters worse Sandwich the Ewe stuck her nose on the business end of either one of Kymber's Canadian vipers or a spider from one of Tolkien's books because it swelled up to the size of a balloon. Luckily it was only the top part of her nose and didn't block her windpipe but she certainly hasn't felt well today. The Vet said we should just watch her and make sure she kept breathing properly and to check her every hour or so. The heat has really been coming on and without nasal passages to breath the little girl had to slow down a lot.
She spent a large part of her time laying in the shade today or deep in the barn where she didn't have to exert herself. In this heat all the sheep begin breathing hard all the time. Another reason I fenced in the area behind the barn and just leave them to come and go as they please right now. They are actually much more active at night in these temps.
I started picking the first of my dried beans I will use as seed stock for next year today and then some unexpected and not in the forecast storm blew in which ruined all my outside work. I will have to wait until tomorrow when things dry out once again.
Busy Busy busy is all I can say but the more I get put away the less we spend on groceries this Winter and the more we have. Makes for a long day and an aching back.
Oh ya I have a question. Any of you pig owners out there ever seen or had your pigs eat Tomato Plants? I been getting conflicting information about whether Tomato plants are poisonous to pigs or not and I am thinking about getting a couple to keep in my garden area over Winter. I would prefer to not have to pull all the old Tomato vines out if I didn't have to.
Keep Prepping Everyone!!!
Those are some nice looking tomatoes, I haven't seen them around here. Having so many is a good problem.
ReplyDeleteSf - That type was another Baker Creek score. I been growing em for years. Some years they do better than others though they are not really fond of hot hot dry times being a more Northern variety I guess. They can be really prolific though and taste about in the midrange of my favorites but they are so easy to peel I still grow em and they make excellent sauce.
DeleteSo now you are Hunts the Tractor Bee King. I don't remember did you or have you added manure to your garden?? I remember my Dad went to the family farm up north and brought home a ton of manure, rotor tilled it in my Grandmas garden and she had tomatoes coming out the wazoo.....
ReplyDeleteRob - I dump wheelbarrow load after wheelbarrow load of barn mulch infused with sheep poop on the garden every Spring. So ya I get a lot of manure. Plus I dump stuff on it all Winter as well.
DeletePP,
ReplyDeleteI believe the tomato plants are poisonous to pigs. Something about them being part of the night shade family??? (not sure). I wouldn't feed them the tomatoes.
Do you dehydrate your tomato skins to make tomato powder?
This tomato powder is great for using in soups or stews.
I read your title to this post and had to laugh.....I figured you had to bathe in tomatoes to get rid of a skunk problem. Then I read your post :P
Sandy - I have heard that Nightshade comment more than a few times but yet there are plenty of recipes out there that use Tomato leaves. Perhaps it might be a matter of scale though in that a few leaves are not harmful? I don't know honestly.
DeleteNo we haven't made any tomato powder. We discussed it once but never actually did it.
There was actually a skunk hit right outside on the road the other night so that smell is still around but thankfully not on me.
I love bakers creek seeds! I went to there place in Mansfield, it's amazing!!! I will be going for a visit at the end of Sept, and plan on buying my seeds for next year,plus it is their last harvest festival. If you get down there you should check it out
ReplyDeleteLW - We might be heading down there for their celebration thing this year again. Maybe...
Delete+1 for Baker's Creek, they only have one downside...trying to pick which variety you want!
ReplyDeleteK - Ain't that the truth.
Deleteoh poor little Sandwich - i sure hope that she wasn't bitten by the giant venomous cobra that bit me! anyway, ask your vet about giving benadryl to your animals. i have been doing some research...and now remember, i am not a doctor nor do i play one on tv, but it appears that you can take a normal sized benadryl and break in half and give it to your animals who are suffering from stings or bites. do you own research, talk to your vet and then make your own informed decision.
ReplyDeletecongrats on all of those beautiful tomatoes! your friend,
kymber
Kymber - The vet never said anything about benedryl so I don't know. Her nose swelling went down a lot over night so I think she will be fine. Still don't know what got her though.
DeleteJamby said he has a lot of video of you playing doctor so I assumed you had played one on TV. Maybe he was talking about something else though :)
You can give benadryl to dogs at 1 mg per lb, up to two tablets. I had a dog w severe allergies and we gave her it every day 2 x a day. I have several severe allergies, so I always have on hand.
DeletePoor sandwich
Jealous Preppy! We got three lovely tomatoes and that was it. Plant is still there, just hasn't come through. I am working out what grows in our neck of the woods, and this recent heating up is culling the herd. Black eyed peas and Okra and Peppers are doing great; corn and onions not so well, potatoes okay. I am going to work towards a much more heat resistant garden next year.
ReplyDelete