I picked the last of the tomatoes before the hard frost. I was unsure how I was going to ripen most of them. I left a number of very small tomatoes on the plant and it was continuing to flower.
I left them mostly on the vine and then...
Using an old sherbet container and some clothespins I made it work!
The ones that fell off the vines are on the window ledge.
So we will have fresh tomatoes a few more days. We both enjoy the Yellow Pear tomatoes for their great flavor. This year one plant gave us tomatoes from the end of July through mid October. We also share with my other baby brother and she who sees robins first and my baby brothers bride...my baby brother doesn't like tomatoes....he could never get over the huge hunks of tomato with macaroni that we had to eat as children. The other two plants we had were just OK...a heirloom variety and Rutgers which was a cherry tomato that was real seedy.
Our sheep tank worked out great for a planting container. Far Guy pulled up the tomato plants after the frost and took them into the woods. Our dog fence kennel enclosure worked great too...no deer damage.
Here are the tomatoes plants last July!
So it was a success!
Far Side
That is so neat! We actually had tomatoes too from those tomatoes that reseeded. I still had so much from my canning last year, that I didn't grow any this year. But walking out in the pasture and finding a ripe tomato was surprising. My mules left them alone!
ReplyDeleteThings are starting to look like late October here also....and we even had a doe and her fawn eating in the yard over next to the woods east of us two nights in a row.
Great tomato success!! I don’t like big chunks of tomato’s in my cooked food either. I eat a lot of tomato’s fresh off the vine (fresh cucumber, tomato & onion salad ~ yum!!) not many during the rest of the year. Purchased tomato’s just don’t taste the same.
ReplyDeleteLast year we had a number of tomatoes that hadn't ripened when the weather turned cold. A lady we knew said wrap them in newspaper & put them in a dark closet. I checked ever so often. When they turned red, hubs said they tasted great. I don't know if they did because I don't eat tomatoes. Maybe worth a try with one or two.
ReplyDeleteYes years ago we did that and it worked well!
DeleteWell done. I find it sad, the 'last of' at this time of year!
ReplyDeleteThat comment about macaroni and tomatoes brought back memories of my Dad's Mac n Cheese topped with tomatoe slices and ritz crackers... something I never understood as a child. Just give me plain ol' mac n' cheese please.
ReplyDeleteI recall there being boxes of unripened tomatoes in our house when I was a kid. Mom would use them up as they ripened and eventually any that didn't were tossed.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of Yellow Pear tomatoes. I'll have to look for them next spring.
Take care, stay well.
the huge hunks of tomato with macaroni that we had to eat as children. Oh! My! Terry and I remember that nasty stuff too. I never ever cooked it ever as an adult/mom
ReplyDeleteGood job on your tomatoes. I have a couple ripening in the kitchen and maybe a couple more that are getting orange still on the vine, but the many that are still green on the vine will probably just rot now.
ReplyDeleteConnie, you had a mighty successful tomato season this year, that's for doggone sure! I love those little Yellow Pear tomatoes too. There's nothing like a vine-ripe fresh tomato in my book. ~Andrea xoxoxo
ReplyDeleteThat's a very creative way to hang your tomatoes to ripen. The ones on the winddow ledge make a lovely still life pic.
ReplyDeleteNothing like homegrown tomaters! We have the last few in a brown bag on my pantry shelf ripening.
ReplyDeleteThis was certainly a good year for tomatoes. We had a great crop of slicers, sauce tomatoes and cherry tomatoes. Sure am going to miss those tomato sandwiches this winter!
ReplyDeleteSo many tomatoes
ReplyDeleteYou've had a great tomato season and I love how you grew them. You saved your back with the raised platform and saved the tomatoes with the dog kennel! Smart!
ReplyDeleteWe sill have tomatoes coming. We dodged the frost bullet this week, but I know it will hit us eventually. As it is, I have all the tomatoes I want at the moment. I'm more worried about my cardinal creeper seeds for next year.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of yellow pear tomatoes. I must look for them.
ReplyDeleteI sure do enjoy the tomatoes from the garden. We had a moderately good tomato year. :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a creative and perfect way to get every last tomato - I'm like you, I don't like a single one to go to waste, and how nice that you get to enjoy every one. I didn't plant any this year, and didn't have one single BLT -- A true crime! Enjoy and have a good week too!
ReplyDeleteYour yellow pear tomatoes look wonderful. I'd love to taste one of those! I'd say your tomatoes were a big success this year. They look so cute hanging on your sherbet container! You think of everything!
ReplyDeleteHome grown tomatoes are so yummy, much better than store bought ones. I've grown the yellow pear tomato, and the plant was so prolific :)
ReplyDeleteSuch pretty pictures of the tomatoes. Especially the window sill. But it was pretty ingenious of you to clothespin them to the bowl. Brilliant idea!
ReplyDeleteBlessingsl
Betsy
I'll have to try the yellow pear tomatoes. Glad you had a good season!
ReplyDeleteThose look like good healthy plants. I love those little yellow pear tomatoes and hope you got a good crop. I saw them at the fancy grocery store here this summer on their fancy “tomato bar” for $5 something s lb. Yikes!
ReplyDeleteNever tried yellow pear tomatoes. They kinda look like yellow romas.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how the food we eat as a child affects what we eat now. My husband loved macaroni and tomatoes, but he will now eat raw tomatoes. I hated spanish rice and turnips- still won't eat either of them.