Gardens vegetable, flower or other?

[Geiamama]

Geiamama - I've never had a big enough crop to trade, but I try to preserve what I can. I made ketchup last year which worked beautifully and actually tasted of tomatoes!

I've never mastered ketchup, which is why we end up giving most of them away. Could I have the recipe? I promise not to divulge any secret ingredients...

 

[Lokar]

Yeah, the long waits meant that as a child, when we moved house, one of my mum's top priorities was a big garden for growing as she knew that she'd never get an allotment.

It'll be a high priority for me when I move back, too.

 

[Missy Hellfire]

Geiamama - Of course! It's a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall recipe so nothing tip top secret. I have copied it from the River Cottage Cookbook:

6kg/13lb ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
8 medium onions, peeled, halved and sliced
2 large red peppers, seeds and white filament removed, chopped
150g/5oz soft brown sugar
500ml/17fl oz cider vinegar
½ tsp large piece of cinnamon stick
1 tbsp whole allspice
1 tbsp whole cloves
1 tbsp ground mace
1 tbsp celery seeds
1 tbsp black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 garlic clove, peeled and bruised
salt
paprika, to taste (optional)



Method
1. Combine the tomatoes, onion and peppers in a large heavy pan over a medium heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until very soft. Push through a coarse-mesh sieve and return to the pot with the sugar, vinegar and mustard. Tie the cinnamon, allspice, cloves, mace, celery seeds, black peppercorns, bay leaves and garlic in a square of muslin and drop it into the stew. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce to a slow simmer. Continue to cook, allowing it to bubble gently, stirring often and carefully, for at least 10-20 minutes, until thoroughly blended and quite thick.
2. Leave to cool, remove the muslin bag of spices, then pour the mixture through a funnel into suitable bottles. Stored in the fridge this ketchup will keep for a month. If you follow the prescribed procedure for preserves and bottle in properly sterilised jars, it should keep for a year.

Use it as you would any commercial tomato ketchup, to accompany burgers, sausages, and plain grilled fish and chicken, but always with enormous self-satisfaction bordering on smugness.

(Missy's note: I twiddled with the spice ratios to taste and it still worked out really lovely!)

 

[rue]

You are wonderful for sharing that Missy. Thank you

 

[Geiamama]

Oooo thank you Missy. I'll let you know how it turns out!

 

[jamespowers]

I probably jumped the gun here but I went to the nursery to pick up some supplies and walked out with 7 tomato plants. [huh] My son and I put them in a few hours ago. I watered them in with some Superthrive(invented in 1940). The corn looked fairly good but I don't really have the room or a prepared place for them. [huh]

 

[Missy Hellfire]

Lovely stuff James and 7 plants should give you a beautiful crop, especially with the California sun shining on them! What manner of tomatoes do you have? I've got beefsteak tomatoes and just the regular multipurpose variety. We can't get Superthrive over here but I always do as my grandmother and mother told me and mix a handful of blood, fish and bonemeal into the soil before I plant which the plants seem to like very much. I'm slightly stunned that the little bit of sun that we've had recently is starting to bring out flowers on my strawberry plants so I think I had best move them into the greenhouse before I lose them to the early morning frost.

Here's to a good summer and a plentiful crop!

 

[RBH]

If all goes well I plan to put out a few tomatoes and peppers today.

 

[PADDY]

My Homeguard tatties go in this week - yay!!

 

[jamespowers]

Lovely stuff James and 7 plants should give you a beautiful crop, especially with the California sun shining on them! What manner of tomatoes do you have? I've got beefsteak tomatoes and just the regular multipurpose variety. We can't get Superthrive over here but I always do as my grandmother and mother told me and mix a handful of blood, fish and bonemeal into the soil before I plant which the plants seem to like very much. I'm slightly stunned that the little bit of sun that we've had recently is starting to bring out flowers on my strawberry plants so I think I had best move them into the greenhouse before I lose them to the early morning frost.

Here's to a good summer and a plentiful crop!

The tomatoes I planted were Jubilee, two Cherokee Purple, Black Krim, Kentucky Beefsteak(yellow), Brandywine and Green Zebra. I thought I had only one Cherokee Purple but that is what happens when you take you young sons with you. I have heard some stories of people losing tomato plants out here to crows, cold and a few other things but so far I am ok. I have seen a few white flies around but Captain Jack's Bug Juice(spinosad) fixes them.
I was actually surprised to find seedlings coming up in the spot where my son had a cherry tomato last year-----in a spot that is getting taken over by the strawberries this year. If I can get both that would be good but I prefer the strawberries as I have plenty on the opther side of the yard already.
One thing I heard today is that the grapevines in Napa Valley are just leafing out now. That is late for that area but is no surprise to me as mine just started leafing out here. The neighbor's did too. I hope it is a variety that I don't already have.

 

[Missy Hellfire]

I've put the beefsteak tomatoes into the greenhouse and my cucumbers and runner beans are really sprouting up beautifully. The tomatoes that I have propagating are the Moneymaker variety (not ideal but easily available and a 1950s variety, I believe). My courgettes (zucchini) remain stubborn and are refusing to germinate but my onions and garlic are in and I am trying to protect them from the dog!

 

[jamespowers]

I've put the beefsteak tomatoes into the greenhouse and my cucumbers and runner beans are really sprouting up beautifully. The tomatoes that I have propagating are the Moneymaker variety (not ideal but easily available and a 1950s variety, I believe). My courgettes (zucchini) remain stubborn and are refusing to germinate but my onions and garlic are in and I am trying to protect them from the dog!

The dog bothers garlic?! My dog won't touch it. She goes around it. lol

 

[Missy Hellfire]

The dog bothers garlic?! My dog won't touch it. She goes around it. lol

She likes to dig the onions up and hurl them around the garden! then again, I always knew she was a wierdo

 

[jamespowers]

She likes to dig the onions up and hurl them around the garden! then again, I always knew she was a wierdo

:rofl: I would figure the smell alone would be off-putting. I mean you plant onions and garlic in your garden to ward off bugs that might be interested in the other plants.

 

[Missy Hellfire]

She's half staffordshire bull terrier, quarter whippet and a quarter jack russell, it's combination that makes for an eccentric dog!

My runner beans are turning into triffids on the dining room windowsill and it's stilll too early to plant them out, eek!

 

[jamespowers]

She's half staffordshire bull terrier, quarter whippet and a quarter jack russell, it's combination that makes for an eccentric dog!

My runner beans are turning into triffids on the dining room windowsill and it's stilll too early to plant them out, eek!

Jack Russell's have plenty of energy.

That is why I plant Bush beans. The temperature has to be going up within the next two weeks though.

 

[Colonel]

May I brag on my garden a bit? Here are some photos that I took this morning. We had fresh squash and zucchini from the garden for supper this evening. The tomatoes will be ready pretty soon (the photo shows a group of 4 tomato plants).

 

[RBH]

Thanks Col... for bringing it back to topic. {way cool photos!}

I planted a couple of rows of okra this afternoon.
Hope the storms they are calling for tonight dont wash my rows away !!!!!!!

 

[Colonel]

I have a good bit of okra planted already. There was one corner of the okra that, for some reason, didn't sprout. I replanted the empty spaces and just noticed them peeking out of the soil this afternoon. The rest of the plants are about 4" tall. Not many things tastier than crispy-fried okra or okra gumbo.

By the way, here is part of today's harvest (not including the squash that we had for supper). There are 11 eggs in the egg basket.

 

[jamespowers]

May I brag on my garden a bit? Here are some photos that I took this morning. We had fresh squash and zucchini from the garden for supper this evening. The tomatoes will be ready pretty soon (the photo shows a group of 4 tomato plants).

The weather there has been very kind to you. My tomato plants here are still quite small. The lousy weather we have had here is not kind to warm weather crops.:eusa_doh: You have done very well. :eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap