On 3/14/2021 8:02 AM, BryanGSimmons wrote:
> On 3/14/2021 12:33 AM, Michael Trew wrote:
>> On 3/14/2021 12:10 AM, Snag wrote:
>>> On 3/13/2021 10:45 PM, Michael Trew wrote:
>>>> Does anyone still can food in ball jars? I'm thinking about planting
>>>> a lot of tomatoes this year and canning some. I never have before,
>>>> but there's a first time for everything I reckon.
>>>
>>> We still have some tomatoes from last year down in the cellar - and I
>>> have 24 tomato plants started for this year . Got jelly and jams and
>>> pickles and peaches down there too ! Most from home grown or picked wild
>>> on our land . Tomatoes freeze well too , just rinse off , freeze loose
>>> on a cookie sheet then bag in gallon ziplocks . To use , just hold under
>>> hot water for a few seconds and slip the skin off . I'll be using some
>>> of our preserved tomatoes tomorrow for a big batch of spaghetti sauce .
>>
>> I made a tiny batch of homemade tomato sauce for Italian style
>> Margharetta pizza the other day. Do you normally blanch and peel
>> tomatoes before canning them?
>>
>> I don't have a lot of land, and did a few container tomatoes last
>> year. I have a pick and a small rototiller, and I might make a row of
>> tomato and bell pepper plants along the southern side of my house
>> before the hill drops off. I saved quite a few bell pepper and tomato
>> seeds for the occasion! I'm in eastern Ohio, but I probably should
>> start them off pretty soon.
> >
> It's not too late to start from seed outdoors. By the time you actually
> harvest the tomatoes, the direct seeded into the ground ones aren't far
> behind the transplanted ones. The south side of a house before a
> dropoff is the perfect place for a tomato bed.
>

The low was 24 today in Eastern Ohio; I don't think I can plant outside
yet. I figured I'd start them in egg cartons, but they do take off
quickly. That same area is conveniently right next to the garden hose
as well.