Assorted and Sundry for 09/08/17

7 Comments
Gayla Trail
Gayla is a writer, photographer, and former graphic designer with a background in the Fine Arts, cultural criticism, and ecology. She is the author, photographer, and designer of best-selling books on gardening, cooking, and preserving.

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7 thoughts on “Assorted and Sundry for 09/08/17”

  1. hmmm…I did pick some tomatoes last night(Italian Costoluto Genovese Heirlooms) that were not quite ready. I set them on the counter to finish ripening. I’ll have to put this ripening conundrum to my own test.

    I had always thought they would taste better if vine ripened…in my mind it just makes sense. We shall see…

  2. I’ve been letting my Romas ripen on the counter because they have a really weak stem. So once they get close to ripe, they tend to fall off and become squirrel food.

    To avoid that, I pick them even though they’re not really, really ripe, and put them in the veg bowl. A couple of days later, they’re great. So…I believe him that it’s possible, and that with some tomatoes ripening on the vine is quite a challenge.

  3. it’s an interesting conundrum: ripen ‘naturally’ & risk loosing it, or pluck a little early & hope it tastes the same.

    I am an unsuccessful tomato grower, but use this strategy when picking certain berries – such as blueberries or currants. I pick them a few days before they are ripe & let them sit on the counter for a day or two (small batches mind you) & that way I’m guaranteed berries that the birds, or as the case is this year, the deer would have gotten!

  4. I have had experience with this- last fall I picked several baskets worth of just blushing and green tomatoes before our frost started. Most ripened and tasted great, because they were all tasty breeds to begin with.

    I grow one especially delicate tomato, the Oaxacan Pink, which I ALWAYS have to pick at the pink stage (they will turn red despite the name). They have such thin skin, it cracks and soften shortly after turning pink, especially here where we have irregular, unpredictable but heavy summer rains. The little devils taste so good, though, I keep growing them! They ripen within just a couple of days, and have a very short ripe life.

    Anyway, yes, they will ripen and be tasty, but I do agree nothing tastes like a sun-warmed tomato, and you can’t buy that at any store or market! Unless you are shopping IN a garden!!

    But in reality, I try to avoid critter attacks (while getting the most from the sun) and pick everything as soon as they go red (or pink in the Oaxacan’s case). So many do crack form rain, etc, that if they are not being eaten right away or made into salsa, I slice and roast them for the freezer.

  5. Rustic Summer Dessert- Can I just say WOW!
    I’m not sure I can wait for amazon.com to deliver that cookbook to my door.

    Gayla – I am assuming your new book will be available on amazon.com…am I wrong?

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