Home Preserving

I know it's a little bit early, but I'm already planning for the end of the season and wanted to share with you the book I bought the other day. 

Just flipping through the pages inspired me to start collecting my canning jars from the garage shelves, along with the fact that my tomato plants are doing so well.

These are Husky Cherry Reds.  I plan on roasting a tray of these tonight.  When deciding which type of tomato you want to grow, besides taste, there is really only one other factor to consider.  Do you want them to grow all season (indeterminate) or to ripen all at once(determinate)?

These Romas are determinate, which means all the fruit will ripen about the same time, and the plants are usually more compact and manageable.  This is the tomato you would use for canning, saucing or drying.  Here's something to think about if you are planning on growing your tomatoes in a container, a determinate is a better choice.

 

Here we have Super Fantastic tomatoes, they are indeterminate, so they will continue to grow and produce during the entire season.  They tend to have longer vines and will need more support in terms of staking or caging over the course of the season.

San Marzano tomatoes are great for sauces.  You may have noticed, that many of the recipes from Gourmet Chefs call for this tomato, because of it's deep rich flavor, they are determinate.

These little Sun Gold tomatoes are indeterminate, and will vine and grow somewhat out of control all through our short Colorado growing season.  They are so sweet.

The small yellow pears are just starting to ripen, and they will continue to produce into early fall.

The tomatillos are the last to fruit, and are just beginning to grow their little paper sheaths.  I'll post a photo of them when they are  closer to ripening.