STAKING TOMATOES 05/29/2010
 Today I want to show you what I have done about staking my tomatoes. As you can see above, I have taken the frames for the shed floors, screwed them together, and drove them into the ground, in-between the plants. That way I can tie the plants to the frames from both sides. When I planted the tomatoes, I kept the root ball out of the center so I could stake it there. Also, I staggered the plants a little so they wouldn't shade each other too much. The black cloth on the ground in the left-hand corner will be moving to the other side of this row. I plan on shading the plants a little in the afternoon so they don't crack. They will still get the heat, so they will do well, I believe. The next step is to tie the plants to this frame. Then I can trim off all the leaves that we don't need. That way the plants can put their energy into the tomatoes, instead of plant. Hopefully, I will be able to document that procedure this weekend. But, I am wanting to have a few people over for ribs and strawberry shortcake...so that my keep me busy. I found some nice strawberries yesterday, so I plan on making jam, too. They smell perfect! That is how I pick strawberries...by the smell. They have to smell real strong, or they won't have much flavor. Plus...when choosing berries, pick the green cap up so you can see the center of the berry. Does the red go all the way to the cap, or is there white? White means they are not ripe all the way through. When you make jam, it needs to be 3/4 of the recipe, ripe fruit, and 1/4 under ripe fruit to make it set right. I am very picky about my strawberry jam. My school of thought on Jams and Jellies are the fruit needs to be over ripe, but not spoiled. It makes the sweetest jams. Fruit that is good-ripe for eating is not ripe enough for really good jam. Also, how I chop up the fruit is important. I cut strawberries with a knife into a small dice. After the jam has cooked a bit, I take a potato masher to the prepared fruit. It makes a better texture, and easier to spread. On other fruits and veggies I use an old fashioned meat grinder. That is what I use to make my hot pepper relish, apricot jam, peach jam, and plum jam. The texture is perfect. At least in my not-so-humble opinion it is. Hope this info works for you. Pictures to follow. ********************* CommentsLeave a Reply | ArchivesAugust 2010 CategoriesAll |
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