Wild Boar Farms (Brad Gates) showcases their award winning tomatoes. True eye candy.
Start Your Tomato Seeds
If you plan to plant your tomatoes in late March or early April, now is the time to start tomatoes from seed indoors.
The finished product is deliciously crunchy and tender at the same time.
Recipe: Tomato Crouton Casserole
If you are up to your eyeballs in tomatoes, now is the time to make this Tomato Crouton Casserole. To be honest, the croutons make this dish. Don't skimp on that step. The finished casserole is delicious over rice, or as a side dish to just about anything during summer. I had the pleasure of meeting Lisa Kivirist at a retreat right after her cookbook, The Farmstead Chef, came out. Our paths crossed during an evening writers circle and I…
Droppings and munching are a clear sign you have tomato hornworms.
YouTube: How to Find Tomato Hornworms
You know it's summer when you see holes in your tomatoes. Tomato hornworms can ruin a perfectly good tomato plant (and experience). We're here to show you how to find them amid the chaos of tomato foliage. There's a trick. Watch below as we demonstrate (or at least try) to hunt for tomato worms in our latest YouTube video: How To Find Tomato Hornworms Finding pests takes diligence. Check your plants regularly to stop critters before they do too much…
Fried Green Tomatoes – in Winter?
Yes, Dorothy, there still are tomatoes in February - if you live in Los Angeles. It's one of the many oddities of living in a warm winter climate. Up until last week, we were
picking tomatoes from a volunteer tomato that had entwined itself through a giant Cecil Brunner rose, but with recent pruning, it all came to a delicious end.
The vine had ...
Tomato seeds being soaked to remove the membrane around them.
Saving Tomato Seeds – Not So Terrifying
It's January, and one might assume that tomato seed-saving should have happened in ...oh...September, but when one puts a couple of tomatoes in
a Snaplock container in the refrigerator, way in the back, and is afraid to attempt to save the seeds for the first time, January is a good time to get over the fear. Thus we begin our
adventure in saving tomato seeds.
It presents itself as a task ...
Tomato Tasting Party – Everybody Wins!
We have a tradition with a longtime friend in which we gather together, bringing our best tomatoes each season, to share in the bounty of the summer harvest. We slice them with care and taste each
variety to determine our favorites. There is olive oil and salt, a little basil, and very good bread on hand. Each time we've done a tasting we have come away with a new favorite. This year was no
exception.
We gathered in the garden with our contributions and began with show and tell. My husband and ...
Growing Tomatoes in Florida
A Florida gardenerd wrote in recently:
"I live in Orlando, Florida and I know that every place has its season to grow vegetables. I am interested in growing tomatoes and green peppers to start. Don't know anything about it, and want
to know how to grow them organically. Thank you for your help."
You're smack in the middle of the ever changing Zone 9 over there in Orlando. According to several sources, that area has been shifting between zone 10, 9a, and 9b for the last 50
years. Sandy soil, tropical heat and sudden frosts, right?
I did some research and ...
Upside-Down Tomatoes
Recently some students in the Gardenerd Organic Gardening Series asked about growing tomatoes upside-down. I can happily say that I've done that without any special equipment -
and it works!
One year, on the patio of our apartment, my husband and I decided to take a regular hanging planter and plant a tomato in it. Instead of staking it up, we let the vines hang
down. It flowered, it set fruit, the fruit ripened and we ate well. There are a couple of caveats, however, to be aware of when using a regular hanging planter:
1) The branches do bend or crease at the ...