On 3/14/2021 9:25 AM, jmcquown wrote:
> On 3/14/2021 9:11 AM, Snag 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?
>>
>>
>> The ones we put in jars , yes , they are blanched and peeled . The
>> frozen are just washed and frozen with no further processing .
>>
>>
>>>
>>> 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.
>>
>> If those seeds are from commercial tomatoes , expect to be surprised
>> . They will most likely NOT breed true . Get a good heirloom variety
>> such as Rutgers or Marglobe if you want to save seed for next year .
>> Roma is a good variety for use in sauces and paste . If you aren't
>> going to save seed pretty much any hybrid variety will do .
>>
> The OP did say he "saved quite a few bell pepper and tomato seeds". I
> suspect he's starting off with seeds from what he grew in containers
> last year... at least, that is how I interpreted it when he mentioned
> containers. Whatever they were, they were good enough for him to save
> the seeds and want to grow them again. Just sayin'
>
> Jill

Some of the seeds were saved from the container tomatoes last year. I
did same some commercial roma seeds as well, as I have never tried to do
anything with those. I didn't grow any bell peppers this year; those
seeds were also saved from store bought peppers. Should I dump the
store bought pepper salvaged seeds as well? I'm cheap, but not THAT
cheap... haha