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Post by rvm45 on Nov 12, 2011 11:16:00 GMT -6
Tomatoes are good, and fairly good for you. No, a diet of nothing but Tomatoes wouldn't be that healthy, but what single food would? I am convinced that the man with nothing to eat but Tomatoes--whether all he can eat, or just a rationed amount, will out survive the fellow who has nothing at all to eat. I also believe that if you're on a very spartan diet, the extra calories from 3 or 4 Tomatoes per day would contribute noticeably to one's well-being. Anyway, here is a story my friend told: He had some Cherry Tomatoes that were spoiled. His Dogs were barking frantically, about nothing. He stood on his back porch throwing Cherry Tomatoes at the Dog pen, and at the Dogs--trying to get them to cease barking. Some of the Small Tomatoes hit the Fence of the Dog's pin, and scattered seeds far and near. He said that there were Volunteer Stands of Cherry Tomatoes for six or seven years--that was long time ago--and for all I know, the Little Tomatoes may still be growing freely in his back yard. I would definitely try to grow a standard Garden Tomatoes--but establishing a few wild stands of Cherry Tomatoes might be prudent. Also black berries, grapes, plum trees--etc. .....RVM45
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Post by shannaredwind on Nov 12, 2011 11:33:07 GMT -6
*shudders at the thought of living on tomatoes*
You're probably right, and I'm sure if I was in a dire situation, I'd be glad of them. Give me snap beans or cucumbers or broccoli or cabbage....but tomatoes? A slice of them on a burger is about all I can take.
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Post by patience on Nov 12, 2011 14:02:04 GMT -6
We had bad luck with our tomato crop this year. NONE of the regular tomatoes (4 varieties) ever ripened. Something about the dry late season, extra hot weather, I think. But the 3 cherry tomato plants were bearing like crazy! We eat a lot of tomatoes in season, so this was a blessing for us. Might be a good idea to grow some to assure a crop, since they seemed to be so hardy for us.
I tried every source I could find for tomatoes to can this year, and they were really scarce around here. We did find enough to make a couple dozen quarts of juice,, but that was it. Never saw this happen before.
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Post by shannaredwind on Nov 12, 2011 21:51:58 GMT -6
We had a lot of problems with ours too. Late blight was rampant in them this year. We got a few pickings, then there was nothing left but crud.
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Post by mnn2300 on Dec 2, 2011 16:30:46 GMT -6
Living in Texas, I have just put my summer garden to bed, last weekend we pulled the last 40 or so tomatoes and about 100 peppers. Not quite enough tomatoes to make sauce with, but...... and the peppers we have cut and froze, with what we got earlier in the year, we should last till next harvest on peppers.
Lettuce and broccoli are coming in very well now, turnips, collards and beets are in the ground, I really love the year round gardening in Texas --- took me years to figure it out (when to plant what) but I've got it down pretty good now barring any unexpected weather.
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Post by papaof2 on Apr 24, 2014 13:15:53 GMT -6
I remember a "volunteer" peach tree at my grandfather's house. It came up near the garbage can (in those days, a 55 gallon barrel with no top) which sat by the alley that ran behind the houses. The city garbage truck used that alley and the work of lifting the 55 gallon barrel and dumping it was all done by hand. That's a far cry from our current garbage service (private, no city services here) which has the truck with a hydraulic arm that picks up the big hinged-lid container, dumps it in the front bucket, then sets the container back down. When the front bucket is full, it gets dumped into the rear ram section of the truck for compacting. The driver does it all without getting out of his seat.
I've wondered if one of the brown paper grocery sacks (used for garbage by many at that time) dropped its load when the person carrying it was almost to the garbage can and the mess just got a hit-or-miss cleanup - leaving some peach pits which took the opportunity to grow...
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Post by minitruck83 on May 7, 2014 0:24:11 GMT -6
About three years ago I tossed some overripe what is called locally 'Everglades Cherry' tomatos into an overgrown corner of my property. They have since taken over that corner, killed out the weeds, somehow crossed the canal, and are growing on the other bank. I haven't done a thing to help them along' except harvest them. Small but delicious. They are a current type of tomato that has become indigenous to FL, possibly the original South American wild tomato. They reseed themselves and set blooms in 95 degree temps, nothing seems to bother them.
(Maybe same as 'Matt's wild cherry' IDK)
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Post by papaof2 on May 7, 2014 11:05:41 GMT -6
Anything that tenacious probably should be called "Kudzu tomatoes" ;-)
I'd like to have some that survived well on neglect...
Sent from my IdeaTabA2109A using proboards
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Post by minitruck83 on May 8, 2014 9:40:48 GMT -6
Anything that tenacious probably should be called "Kudzu tomatoes" ;-) I'd like to have some that survived well on neglect... Sent from my IdeaTabA2109A using proboards I'd classify them as invasive. They even grow in the swamps. I suspect it's because they have a high germination rate, and drop hundreds of fruit. I got most of a 5 gal bucketful and left many on the vine the first time I picked, but I only rake off what I'll use that day now, can't make a decent sammich with em, no sense wasting them. More like s raisin than a cherry in size. BTW: I've started neglecting my regular tomato's a bit, didn't seem to harm them much last season, and they set fruit this spring. Just make sure they're watered. Beginning to think fussing with them is overrated, and may actually be harmful. I had always thought of tomatoes as annuals cause they died as it got cooler, that ain't true in FL. They're definitely perennials. They set fruit till the temps get too high, then again when nighttime drops in Oct. I don't get the ones that stay green here. It did take me a few years to acclimate though, I still get the urge in may... that's too late here!
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Post by papaof2 on May 12, 2014 14:24:58 GMT -6
Out cutting the yard and saw that the squirrels had uprooted the one tomato plant in the raised bed, along with the drip irrigation tubing. My next project will re-installing the electric fence charger that connects to the bare wires running along and 1 1/2 inches above the edge of the bed (too high to go over and an almost guaranteed zap if they go between). That was very effective a couple of years ago, so it seems to be time to use it again.
No, I'm not starving the squirrels, although I might have the opportunity to skin and cook one (they don't always survive the shock from the electric fence). There are oak trees (among others) out back. The tree rats can have all the acorns they want. If food were in short supply, I'd set out traps (have several) for the rabbits that wander out back - there's a little more meat to reward your work.
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Post by mnn2300 on May 13, 2014 13:25:05 GMT -6
I ordered some Everglades Tomato seeds after reading here about them. It would be nice to get tomatoes during the summer here in Texas, usually I am just trying to keep my plants going until the cooler weather hits.
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Post by papaof2 on May 13, 2014 18:08:45 GMT -6
I started collecting rainwater about 7 years ago when there was a "no outside watering" edict (except food gardens). My wife had some day lilies from her late mother's garden and I wanted a way to keep them alive.
We currently have two 55 gallon barrels set up under downspouts, plus another 55 gallon barrel that's configured to be connected to the overflow of one of the downspout barrels and there's a 250 gallon tank that can be connected the same way. All the inter-barrel/tank connections use 3/4" hose thread connectors, so a washing machine or garden hose can be used for inter-barrel connections or to fill a watering can or whatever. In a SHTF scenario, there's 45 watts worth of solar panels and several gel cell batteries that could be used to power a 12 volt pump to move the water where needed, as most of the containers are at the low point of the lot. I have several filters (generic ceramic, LifeStraw Family, etc) to clean the water if needed for drinking, and there's always the option of boiling...
If there was a place to put it, the average yearly rainfall here would fill a 15,000 gallon tank, based on the roof area. Unless the tank could be buried, I think there'd probably be "leakage" going to some of the neighbors.
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Post by millwright on May 22, 2014 13:22:53 GMT -6
Volunteer tomatoes, how cool is that. Throw some zuchinni, acorn squash & watermelon seeds in the same corner and you would be giving away produce. Every time I read "5000 lbs of food from 100sq ft garden, my first though is......they have 4 zuchinni plants. By the end of the summer, neighbors run and hide when they see you coming down the road with zuchs & yellow squash in a grocery bag.
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Post by kaijafon on Jun 3, 2014 19:03:18 GMT -6
I remember the day I began to like tomatoes. Up to this point, I HATED them. I must give a bit of perspective though. Back when I was a kid, I found myself in a unique position where I could "go visit adults". I don't know why I was the only kid in my gang that did this but I did so frequently. One such lady I would visit would feed me a snack sometimes (I never went hungry at home) and one day she put a small plate in front of me and said she wanted me to try it. It was a nice slice of tomato with a thin layer of mayo on it. I ate it all and ended up eating another slice. I remember I couldn't wait to go home and tell my mom that I now liked tomatoes. lol!
Also my granny use to keep one of the drawers in her fridge FULL of cherry tomatoes in the summer and my cousin and I would go in and grab a handful for a snack.
So now my name is Kellie and I am a tomato junkie.
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Post by papaof2 on Jun 3, 2014 20:13:06 GMT -6
When one of our daughters was young, she loved catsup (or ketchup, depending on the brand) but hated tomatoes. Don't remember exactly when the change in taste occurred, but it was that same "instant" event.
Sent from my IdeaTabA2109A using proboards
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Post by hamrad on Jun 4, 2014 4:46:03 GMT -6
I have just bought a small planter of cherry tomatoes, which I hope will produce well for our summer salads and Barbecues. I have some cucumber plants to plant out again in a container. Not a big gardener as the soil is London clay and a real pain to work. I will also plant some salad leaves again in a container.
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