Yesterday was my first "free" day of my vacation, and since the weather was still decent, I thought it would be a good time to tackle my outdoor chores.
I got my little patio oasis packed away for the winter, got a nice warm layer of mulch down around all the roses, as well as on the front and side garden
As you can see, I got the lilies cut back and a nice happy home for the Kale. Theres also some crocus bulbs tucked away under there, and some daffodils in the side garden. Hopefully the squirrels leave me some for spring.
But the big job was getting the tomato jungle out before winter
As you can see, I had a little helper. And I needed it. Admittedly, I messed up with the tomatoes this year. I planted them too close together, and did not stay on top of tying them up as they grew. The result was a tangled mess of tomato limbs that shaded the strawberries, and was starting to take over the roses (poor Popcorn Drift!). It got to the point where it was so dense, I couldn't even see the tomatoes ripening.
But I sat down and started at it. Pulling limb by limb, and removing tomatoes as I went, I finally got it all out of there.
But my poor tomato cages took a beating.
In then end, I got several more ripe ones, and half a tub of green ones
For the past two year, I've made things from the green ones (salsa verde, and pickled green tomatoes) but this year, I'm going to try a little experiment.
I read that it's not the sun that ripens the tomatoes, but warmth. So, I've got these babies in the nice warm kitchen, and we'll see if they turn red. If so, I'm thinking I might make a batch of my Mom's famous sweet chili sauce.
Of course, there's still more to be done outside, but that was enough for one day. For both of us, apparently.
6 comments:
Happy Staycation . They are the BESt.
My green tomatoes will ripen slowly in the house. thEy dont seem as flavorful. I'd roast them If they were mine once they redden.
GOod luck
I love fried green tomatoes so I would pick some green ones and put them on the counter and by the time I was ready to fry them they would be red. Once I put a box of green tomatoes all wrapped in newspaper under the bed to see if I could keep them all winter and they did ripen slowly but surely. I also grew tomato seeds that had been to outer space for NASA.....but that's another story.
You found some really pretty kale plants!
I am tired just reading about that! ;-)
Looks like Tux worked hard!
It's true. They'll ripen. :)
I love that your little orange kitty is still alive and kickin'. :)
What Kathy said- they'll ripen, but won't be as nice as vine-ripened. Roasting is a good idea- it concentrates the sugars and starts the dewatering process so they won't take as long to simmer in a cooked dish.
Post a Comment