Preserving Your Harvest

[pennyJo1960]

5 cases of roma tomato is now processed all tomato sauce for pasta or pizza 42 quarts
64 pints.

 

[Sally PB]

I also have had purchased seed packs not be the correct variety. It take a while with tomatoes to realize it and is then usually too late to start more. Once I had 3 obviously different varieties come from one packet!

That's insane! Where did you get these seeds? What company?

 

[Sally PB]

Oh, my what I would give to be able to go back in time and snip (snap) beans with my grandma...

 

[tripletfeb]

30 Quart bags of sliced peaches in the freezer so far...
View attachment 3615054

I bought peaches today to can them. Have to wait a few days, they are pretty hard yet. I did 6 half pints of tomato paste earlier. Peeled, seeded and chopped 60 tomatoes by hand. I need an electric food mill

 

[NanaK]

That's insane! Where did you get these seeds? What company?

Lowes. Ferry Morris.

 

[NanaK]

Peeled, seeded and chopped 60 tomatoes by hand. I need an electric food mill

I feel your pain. I did 56. My thumbs are sore!

 

[Sally PB]

Ferry Morris.

Wow. Nationally known company.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I have a ninja blender make short work of 4 cases of tomato top off blend.
seeds and skins.

 

[NanaK]

Wow. Nationally known company.

It's actually happened more than once! Tomatoes and yellow squash.
I'm going back to ordering from companies I've used in the past or saving my own. I have one mom and pop hardware in town that still sells bulk seed by the scoop (1/4 c or 1/2 c). They are great but limited variety. I think Wyatt Quarles.

This year I picked up a pack of FM zucchini, it was spineless something or other. There were only 7 seeds in the pack and only 3 germinated. 2 of them looked bad out of the pack but planted anyway. This makes no sense! I plant certain varieties because that's what I want to grow. Seeds have gone up like everything else so I expect them to do better than this!

 

[Sally PB]

Seeds have gone up like everything else so I expect them to do better than this!

Really! I do too.

I'm trying to become as seed self sufficient as I can. I save my own tomato seed from the ones that impress me. I buy a few new varieties, looking for another one that will impress me.

Varieties that have NOT made me say wow include: Mortgage Lifter (3rd year, won't grow it again), Brandywine, Cherokee Purple.

I'm giving up on butternut squash for a few years. Maybe I'll grow an acorn type next year.

I hope the spaghetti squash that is in the freezer is good for something.

I have a 6 foot table with not-quite-ripe tomatoes in the mudroom, covered with a sheet. We'll see if I have enough to can tomorrow. I need to can at least another 25 quarts, and I'd prefer 30. Then it's on to salsa, and hubby wants a lot of that. He's rationing the last of last years to make it through to this season's harvest.