How to peel a tomato
I always settled on making salsa leaving the skins on, knowing there had to be a better way I did a little research and learned a simple way to get those pesky skins off with minimal effort.
The process is very simple, get a pot of boiling water, drop in your tomato for 10-15 seconds ad immediately remove and drop in a bowl of ice water.
This submersion not only stops the tomato from cooking but this blanching process reduces the bond of the tomato skin. It was so easy to remove the skins my 6 year old also helped me and removed the skins without any issues.
The great part of this method it is very easy and given you only lose the thin skin with almost no waste to the tomato.
I used these tomatoes to make a modified version of my garden salsa which was my best batch yet.
Tags: tomato
Tomato thief in the garden
Given our 7 foot fence around the yard, have to rule out deer…my best guess is a raccoon scaling the fence for a snack.
Probably the same one who decided that my first tomato looked too good to ripen to save for seeds and pulled the branch off. It was nice enough to leave the green ones on the fine which I have hung up on my garage where they are turning orange last time I checked them.
Tags: tomato
First Tomato 2010
14.4 years ago tomato, upside down planter
This is an unfortunately record, being the latest I have gotten my first ripe tomato. In case if anyone was wondering, this was on the 1 gallon milk carton upside down garden planter.
Still no tomatoes…
14.5 years ago tomato
Lots of blossoms, still waiting for that first fruit, hopefully our warmer weather coming this week helps out…
Tags: tomato
Why don’t you grow tomatoes in the ground?
14.6 years ago tomato, upside down planter
When I mention I grow tomatoes upside down many people ask me, “Why don’t you grow tomatoes in the ground?” The surprise answer is, I do grow both in the ground and in the air.
The picture above shows my current tomato plants I am growing in the one location with sufficient sunlight to grow them, which might explain the reason why I look alternate options for adding more yields each season.
1 Gallon Milk carton upside down tomato planter
14.6 years ago cheap, peppers, tomato, upside down planter, water
I wanted to see if (how much) my yields varied by allowing more volume of dirt in my homemade tomato planter, so I made this variation with the same type and size “Husky Cherry” seedling I am using in my 2-liter planter version.
The build for this one is also very simple:
- I started with an organic milk carton given it was already opaque, but if you have the non-organic variety you will want to paint or cover the outside with duct tape.
- Next cut or drill a 1/2 inch hole on the bottom of the milk carton, this will be where the stem of the plant will fit through.
- Cut four slits out from the center of the 1/2 inch hole to make it easier to insert the plant into the planter.
- Insert plant through the bottom.
- Fill with soil (mix of 1 part peat moss/coconut coir)
- Finally drill a hole and feed though eyelet secured with a nut from the back side
Now here is where you can stop or you can go with the advanced auto-watering option.
Materials Needed:
- 20 ounce water bottle
- plastic straw
- sponge
Build Instructions:
- Drill hole just large enough to barely be able to pull the straw through
- Cut a 1 inch long piece of sponge just wide enough to be able to slip inside the straw.
- Fill with water and screw on cap and insert into top of planter
As the dirt dries it will also dry out the sponge which will release water and repeat as necessary. This works in a very similar concept as a Aqua Globe
Tags: cheap, garden seeds, organic vegetables, outdoor plants, tomato plants, upside down tomato planter, vegetables
