Green Tomato Experiments

Well we harvested the garden as I wrote before ... We harvested very bit of veg that was down there (save some of the plants which still lived)

We did leave the bigger corn field standing for the critters to munch on over the winter if it is as hard as last years was ... Kind of ironic when you think about how much we DON'T want the deer and crow to eat the corn when it's growing ... Different post for that one - honest

What did wind up with was a wide array of ripeness to my tomatoes ... From deep green to deep red to black (this got pitched - they weren't supposed to be black)

So the issue became what the heck to do with all those tomatoes? I have a lot of windows in the house but not THAT many windows.

So time for an experiment ... Or four

First is ine my mother-in-law recommended ...

From Gargoyle Gardens

Pull the entire plant and hang upside down. The theory is that the energy from the plant will flow to the tomatoes and they will continue to ripen ... Not sure if I was supposed to pull it roots and all and put it in some sort of lanter, but we will give this a try.

Next was an old standby ... Window sill ripening with a twist

From Gargoyle Gardens

I put them on the black tray used for starting plants ... The theory being that the darker color will warm the tomatoes up and help them ripen quicker ... Or cook them where they sit.

A variant on this theme is also being put to the test

From Gargoyle Gardens

Here the tomatoes were placed on the clear lids for the seed starter trays - theory being that it will allow for more light to reach the tomato and lend to a more even coloring all around.

Finally - and the last one hubby would allow (he killed two others ... More at the bottom)

From Gargoyle Gardens

We put several trays into the portable greenhouse inside of the permanent greenhouse ... I know it's redundant ... The theory here is that the excessive amount of heat will help to ripen the very green ones before they spoil as well as protect the fruit/veg frm the chipmunks which seem to have taken to popping in for the shelter at night.

Just so long as the deer don't make theirselves at home - I won't fret too mch ... Well unless they get into my late-autumn experiments of .. Well later on that too.

It has been a f4 days since I set things up and my youngest daughter has already brought in a load of ripened ones ... Bt she didn't pay attention to which trays or experiments she took them from. It is supposed to rain later today, so I will probably take a gander out there so I can have some more tomatoes for canning.

So more photos to come!

Stay tuned