Mine got a couple of bags of horse manure worked into the soil and then some pelleted chicken manure before I planted and have had granules of dry tomato feed scattered about since.
We eat them fresh or cooked in sauces as they start to come ripe and I semi-dry some of the smaller varieties for serving on bruschetta in autumn and winter. Never any space for freezing tomatoes but when I have enough to fill my 15 litre preserving pan I start making passata with added herbs and garlic to store in jars. We need at least one jar a week for bolognese sauce on dance class night - quick, easy dinner - and then for some of my curries and casseroles and soups so I do a lot.
Just used the last jar of red passata last week and have a few of the yellow to go. I also make chilli jam with some of the tomatoes and home grown chillies. Yum yum.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
That's impressive. I only freeze stuff to not waste it, not to see us through winter. But I remember my gran bottling all summer (fruit and veg)and her lovely Kilner jars all lined up on shelves in the cellar. And she cured and made salamis and bottled pates off a whole pig in autumn. But I don't much like gluts, too much like hard work!
I throw mine loose into the freezer. When they're marbles, i put them in a bag. If you run a marble under the tap, you can rub the skin off easily. Chop them up before they thaw and the juice doesnt go everywhere.
@strelitzia32 I had 14 plants one year. But they were all outside, some in too much shade, some didn't produce much, some got damaged... I had approx. 8 kg out of them.
I now have a small greenhouse and not much space outside (and outside toms get blighted here too soon anyway). So I only have 7 plants but better yields from them. Still, nothing close to having enough for cooking or freezing. All get eaten and we are only two. I want to grow more of bigger varieties but they rarely ripen well and I haven't yet found a reliable one (quick to ripen, not having problems with blossom end rot or other rotting, not having green shoulders etc.). This year, I am trying Ukrainian Purple but they are nowhere near to ripening yet. Other than that, I have 3 Sungold plants but that's just for snacking.
I throw mine loose into the freezer. When they're marbles, i put them in a bag. If you run a marble under the tap, you can rub the skin off easily. Chop them up before they thaw and the juice doesnt go everywhere.
So you don't need to blanch or other hassle to preserve tomatoes? Just chuck them in the freezer and they will defrost ok in future?
If so, that's great news. I tried just straight freezing with French beans one year, they were absolutely disgusting when defrosted. Don't understand why. Never again, and never bothered with other veg.
Storing the hundreds of apples I get in September/October is the bigger problem....
Definitely😊 if you freeze them loose, you can just take what you want because theyre not stuck together. I don't wash them first as I will be rubbing the skin off anyway.
@edhelka that's interesting, I understand the space challenge. I'm fortunate that all my plants are in a greenhouse just with chillies (and basil), so I reliably get ripe toms from start of August most years.
I'll need to go double check what varieties I'm growing. Crimson blush for beef, some gardeners delight, some black ones but can't remember the varieties for the rest. And it's torrential rain, so I'm not going out to look!
That is great @B3, thank you. I've not grown tomatoes before and I was wondering what I could do if they ripen as and when. We already eat several a day but it gets too much.
@strelitzia32 I've still got litres of apple sauce in the freezer from last year so I sympathise. I can't give them away, family friends and neighbours all have their own trees.
I’m following this thread.. I fertilise my plants lots as I find it rather therapeutic.. with tomatoes.. I find that the tomato feed just makes their leaves grow huge but I haven’t noticed any significant difference in terms of fruit production...
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We eat them fresh or cooked in sauces as they start to come ripe and I semi-dry some of the smaller varieties for serving on bruschetta in autumn and winter. Never any space for freezing tomatoes but when I have enough to fill my 15 litre preserving pan I start making passata with added herbs and garlic to store in jars. We need at least one jar a week for bolognese sauce on dance class night - quick, easy dinner - and then for some of my curries and casseroles and soups so I do a lot.
Just used the last jar of red passata last week and have a few of the yellow to go. I also make chilli jam with some of the tomatoes and home grown chillies. Yum yum.
If so, that's great news. I tried just straight freezing with French beans one year, they were absolutely disgusting when defrosted. Don't understand why. Never again, and never bothered with other veg.
Storing the hundreds of apples I get in September/October is the bigger problem....
I'll need to go double check what varieties I'm growing. Crimson blush for beef, some gardeners delight, some black ones but can't remember the varieties for the rest. And it's torrential rain, so I'm not going out to look!
I'd go out and stand in it, face to the sky with my arms wide open😊