I cleaned house all day yesterday. Washed 8 loads of clothes, washed floors, vacuumed, changed bedding, yada yada yada. All those things you do after company leaves you know the drill. Then, I went out to the garden. And that was my mistake.
I thought that I had spied a few red tomatoes when looking out from the bathroom window. I hadn’t been in the garden for 3 days, so I should have known better. What I found was: hoards and hoards of red, ripe tomatoes. Now, let us get this straight first and foremost: I am very grateful for the bountiful garden this year. It is by far the best garden I have ever grown. But I was quite unprepared for the first BIG picking of the year.
We have only 8 tomato plants. We bought one of those little 4-packs, and each little tray had 2 dinky little tomato plants in it. They looked sickly. I caught some carp down at the waterfall in Windom and brought them home. I dug 8 holes for the tomatoes, placing a carp deep in each hole. I planted the little plants, and watered them. I placed a cutout plastic milk carton over each one. Then I did my customary prayer over each individual plant. Well, whatever it was, it must have worked. One tomato plant gave me 40 enormous red, ripe tomatoes. Another plant gave me 32, and yet another gave me 30. In all, I picked 222 huge Beefsteak tomatoes, lugged them in boxes to the trunk of the Toyota, drove them back to the house and then lugged them inside. HOLY COW! They were sure beautiful! No cracks, no rotten spots. Just red, round, firm, HUGE tomatoes. I was so psyched!
Today, I made 6-1/2 gallons of spaghetti sauce. I only used up a little less than half of the tomatoes! I will try and get up early tomorrow and finish the others. I should end up with over 12 gallons of spaghetti sauce and a few more packages of whole tomatoes. Then, I can sit back and relax...
For 3 more days!!!
I thought that I had spied a few red tomatoes when looking out from the bathroom window. I hadn’t been in the garden for 3 days, so I should have known better. What I found was: hoards and hoards of red, ripe tomatoes. Now, let us get this straight first and foremost: I am very grateful for the bountiful garden this year. It is by far the best garden I have ever grown. But I was quite unprepared for the first BIG picking of the year.
We have only 8 tomato plants. We bought one of those little 4-packs, and each little tray had 2 dinky little tomato plants in it. They looked sickly. I caught some carp down at the waterfall in Windom and brought them home. I dug 8 holes for the tomatoes, placing a carp deep in each hole. I planted the little plants, and watered them. I placed a cutout plastic milk carton over each one. Then I did my customary prayer over each individual plant. Well, whatever it was, it must have worked. One tomato plant gave me 40 enormous red, ripe tomatoes. Another plant gave me 32, and yet another gave me 30. In all, I picked 222 huge Beefsteak tomatoes, lugged them in boxes to the trunk of the Toyota, drove them back to the house and then lugged them inside. HOLY COW! They were sure beautiful! No cracks, no rotten spots. Just red, round, firm, HUGE tomatoes. I was so psyched!
Today, I made 6-1/2 gallons of spaghetti sauce. I only used up a little less than half of the tomatoes! I will try and get up early tomorrow and finish the others. I should end up with over 12 gallons of spaghetti sauce and a few more packages of whole tomatoes. Then, I can sit back and relax...
For 3 more days!!!
A sink full of tomatoes
A double batch of spaghetti sauce cooking on the stove
Finished spaghetti sauce cooling, and one of the three boxes of tomatoes
Look at the size of these Beefsteak Tomatoes!
1 comment:
Wow! You SAID you had lots of tomatoes! How did you get such thick sauce? Mine were so runny that I had to make juice.
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