Seed Saving - Tomatoes

Generally seeds saved from open-pollinated or heirloom Tomato varieties breed true to type. Which means you get the same variety from the seed as the one you collected from. But although Tomato flowers are usually self-pollinated, occasionally they may be cross pollinated by insects about 2% of the time. If you want to prevent cross pollination completely 100% you should keep the different varieties about 10' apart. Flowers of older varieties, like some Heirloom Tomatoes, are said to often have longer styles then more modern cultivars. Because it protrudes more it is more accessible to bees and other insects so these varieties have a higher chance of getting cross pollinated.

                                         
But what is a typical backyard gardener to do, most of us don't have the garden space to isolate our Tomatoes for 10 feet apart? You could plant either tall barrier plants between the Tomato plants or put another pollen producing crop between the different varieties. Or you just do it as I do, chance it.
After all it is only a small chance of cross pollination and who knows maybe you get a cool, new tomato variety out of the deal.
For seed saving, pick the best looking fruits, from your healthiest looking, best producing plants, when they are fully ripe. It is a good idea to save seeds from several fruits to maintain a larger gene pool. No need to waste a tomato just for saving seeds. When you are ready to process a tomato for eating or cooking, just scratch some of the seed containing pulp into a small glass jar (old jam jars work really great), I usually add just a splash of water and then let it ferment at room temperature.

 Don't put it in an especially warm place. At 80° F the fermentation takes about 2 days, at 70° F about 3 days. If you leave the seeds in the pulp for a longer period you get a better control of bacterial canker, which is a seed borne disease, but you should not let them ferment longer then 5 days or they might start to sprout. Stir the mixture each day and when it's ready, carefully pour most of the liquid with the pulp out, without loosing your seeds. You might have to keep adding water frequently to free the seeds from the pulp. Just add some more water, swirl, pour and do it until the water looks almost clean and there is no more pulp. Now you can strain it all over in a sieve, maybe rinse them some more and drop the seeds into a paper towel. Fold it over and let them dry for 3 to 7 days. After they are dry you can put the seeds in small zip lock bags or jars.

If you are saving seeds of many different cultivars it is advisable to label your jars with the name of the varieties you have. It is easy to get mixed up. Since I ferment several batches, after I am drying the first batch I put the jar with the label with the next batch on top of the corresponding Tomato variety drying in the paper towel.

Plum Cobbler recipe - in English and German

I love anything made with Italian Prune Plums or Zwetschgen as we call them in Germany. I look forward to September every year when they are in Season. I actually really enjoy not to have everything available all year round. I like to eat with the seasons. It is not just much more flavor full when it finally comes around it also makes you really appreciate the food and the seasons.

             Here is the Fruit Cobbler recipe made with Plums

Comments: This can be made with any fruit really, with denser Fruit like Apple, Plums...etc. I put the fruit in the baking dish and bake it for 20-30minutes before I add the cobbler mix on top and then bake it some more to finish. But most fruit you just add to baking dish, add the cobbler dough on top and then bake.

Recipe By     :Isabell Norman
Serving Size  : 6     Preparation Time: 0:15 min. Baking time: 0:20 and 0:30 min.                  
 Ingredients:
24                 Plums, pitted - Zwetschgen, entkernt, -- or more if you like
2   Tbsp        sugar-Zucker, I used Rapadura Sugar from Rapunzel  --
                    (this can be reduced or omitted if you wish)
1   tl              fresh Orange peel, grated - Orangenschale, gerieben
2   tbsp         Butter cut into small flakes- flockig geschnitten                  
For Dough - Teig
125  g           Flour, I used 1/2 white whole wheat  and whole wheat -
                     1/2 Weisses Vollweizen und  1/2 Vollkornmehl
1   Tsp           baking powder - Backpulver
2  Tbsp          Sugar - Zucker, Rapadura Sugar
50   g             Butter cut into small pieces - Butter, kleingeschnitten
1                    egg, lightly beaten - Ei, leicht geschlagen
2-3  Tbsp       Milk - Milch
1   Tbsp         Turbinado sugar - grober Brauner Zucker

Use a 1 1/2 liter baking dish, I use my Anchor Ware glass containers, I think it's 2 liter
-Du brauchst eine 1-1/2 liter grosse Auflaufform. Ich benutze meine Anchor Ware glass container in
denen man auch backen kann ungefaehr 2 liter Groesse.

Grease your baking form with some butter, pit the plums and cut them open flat and layer them upright into the pan
-Auflaufform mit etwas Butter einfetten, Plaumen entsteinen und wie bei Zwetschgenkuchen in die Form einlegen.

If you like it a bit sweeter now sprinkle the 2 tablespoon Sugar or as much you like over the plum, then also the Orange peel and add little butterflakes all over the plums
-Jetzt kann der Zucker nach belieben ueber die Plaumen gestreut werden, die Orangenschale darueber gestreut und die Butter in Floeckchen auf diePflaumen gesetzt

Preheat Oven to 350° F  or if convection to 325° F and put the baking form with the plums inside while it preheats. Let it bake for 20 minutes
-Ofen zu 180° C vorheizen, oder bei Convection Ofen auf 170° C und die Auflaufform mit den Pflaumen in den Ofen tun waehrend der Ofen vorheizt. Backe die Pflaumen vor, fuer ungefaehr 20 minuten.

In the meantime measure your flour, baking powder, sugar and mix altogether in a mixing bowl. Add the Butter pieces and work the butter with your fingers in until it looks like fine Bread crumbs.
-In der Zwischenzeit wiege das Mehl, Backpulver, Zucker ab und misch es miteinander in einer Ruehrschuessel. Gebe die Butterstueckchen dazu und arbeite die Butter mit den Fingern ein bis es wie feine Brotkruemel aussieht.

Make a indention in the flour mix and with a knife, mix in the lightly beaten egg and just enough milk so it makes a soft dough.
-In die Mitte der Mehlmischung eine Mulde druecken. Mit einem Messer das leicht geschlagene Ei und soviel Milch einruehren, dass eine weiche Masse entsteht.

Spread the dough in spoonfuls all over the Plums, until it is all  covered. Then sprinkle the Turbinado sugar all over it and put back in Oven. Bake for 30 more minutes or until it is golden brown and baked through.
-Teig loeffelweise auf der Oberflaeche verteilen, bis sie vollstaendig bedeckt ist. Mit dem Turbinado Zucker bestreuen und zurueck in den Backofen geben. 30 Minuten mehr backen bis alles gold braun gebacken ist und durchgebacken ist. Mit staebchenprobe testen.

Best served while still warm. You can serve whipped cream, Vanilla ice cream or Egg cream with it. I just like it as is
-Am besten serviert wenn es noch warm ist. Man kann den Cobbler mit Schlagsahne, Vanilleeis oder Eiercreme servieren. Ich mag es einfach nur so, pur.

Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)----------------------------------------------
Calories: 345 Calories   From Fat: 112   Total Fat: 12.7g   Cholesterol: 63.8mg   Sodium: 80.4mg   Potassium: 546.1mg
Carbohydrates: 57g   Fiber: 6.3g   Sugar: 37.7g   Protein: 6g

Cooking Tip: This is really very versatile. Use any fruit you like, mix the fruit. Use different spicing, flavorings. Cinnamon is good in it, or Coriander, Cardamom, Lemon, Vanilla. Just experiment. Don't reduce the sugar or butter in the dough or it will not come out properly, But you always can reduce the sugar, butter or even omit them on the fruit if you like less sugar. Most fruits are sweet enough you don't need it.
-Das ist ein sehr leicht veraenderbares Rezept. Benutze was immer eine Frucht du hast, mische verschiedene Fruechte miteinander. Benutze andere Gewuerze, Aromas. Zimt ist sehr gut, oder Koriander, Kardamom,Zitrone, Vanille. Experiment damit. Tu nicht den Zucker oder die Butter imTeig verringern oder es wird nicht richtig herauskommen. Aber du kannst immer den Zucker, die Butter auf der Frucht verringern oder sogar weglassen. Die meisten Fruechte sind suess genug, dass man es nicht braucht.

Enjoy!

disclaimer: Not to be shared with the Dervaes Family of Path to Freedom Website. Thank You 




Growing troubles

In the last two years I slowly changed my vegetable garden into a raised bed garden. The first few beds I had enough garden compost and 'garden rich planting soil' I got from our local commercial composting business, which was sitting in a pile for more then a year. Everything seemed to grow nicely that year. 

Last year I added a few more beds, last year I also had trouble growing some vegetables. Even I fertilized everything frequently with Steve Solomon's Fertilizer mix, in the new beds the plants seemed to grow really slow, didn't thrive and did not produce as well. The top surface would constantly dry out to the point that seeds, especially the small, fine seeds wouldn't sprout. Even with my drip irrigation the top 2 inches were always dry. I blamed it on the weather, we had a few more warmer days and cool nights last year. I kept playing with my irrigation, 'maybe I am not watering enough' I was thinking, but nothing I did improved anything.

This spring I added more raised garden beds, but I didn't have enough soil to fill everything, I also needed to fill some of the last years beds more up, since I didn't have enough dirt to fill them to the top last year. So we got some more 'Garden Rich planting soil' plus some mint straw and garden compost, which now included chicken manure, you would think everything is growing great with this. 
Unfortunately I have a real bad garden season so far. Partly it is the weather, many hot days, while the nights are too cool for the warm season vegetables, then it still rained in June this year, a lot, enough that my first plantings of beans, Squash and Cucumbers just rotted in the dirt and I had to replant seeds a few times. There were also a lot of slugs and snails eating everything in site. 
But I think the major reason for my growing pains is this 'Rich garden planting soil'. Which I now think is anything but rich.


My self seeding Lettuce and Arugula grew great, they come up all over my garden paths all I do is dig the small plants up and move them to a raised bed. The cool season vegetables seemed to thrive, but everything I planted later is struggling. I only realized later, everything which was growing nice, I had planted in the beds I filled a season or two ago, the ones I only added some garden compost to, the newly filled beds, the ones I had to top up with the planting soil, those were the ones which were struggling. Those beds also couldn't hold the moisture very well, even with my drip irrigation all the water just seemed to run out on the bottom, did not wet the whole area of the beds, like it was going straight down from the dripper to the bottom and then leaking out. All my water was running down the hill, making my paths in the vegetable garden like sponges, but starving my vegetables from moisture.

I think the planting soil they sell at this place has too much wood pulp in it, when you stick your hand in the dirt you can feel tiny slivers all over your hand . That would explain the fertility issues since I seem to have a bad nutrient imbalance and also that it can not hold water. It is not composted completely and it is to fine, maybe to much sand in it. We live in a wood producing state, so logically the composting facilities get a lot of wood. They are also in the business of selling, so it makes sense that they don't take the time to let everything compost until it is perfect. They rush it through to make more sales. At least that's my theory.
Unfortunate to the unsuspecting customer.

I tried to deal with the drainage issue by having my irrigation set to water for shorter amounts 3 times in a row, about 20 minutes apart, so the water might be able to soak in rather just drain, everything just looked like not getting enough water. I probably made the situation worse, by encouraging the Tomatoes to grow shallow roots, instead of going into the lower garden soil and also leaching out more nutrients.
For the first time since I garden my Tomatoes are having Blossom End Rot issues and some Phosphorus deficiency, they have been growing very slowly and not setting fruits very well. They look dry all the time. My peppers are doing a bit better but still show distress and not setting fruit. My Summer squashes, even though it got started a bit late in the season, due to the rain in June, should be producing lot's of Zucchini by now, but the plants are still a bit small and are growing slow, although they look otherwise healthy I think I should be eating Zucchini right now, lot's of them. Same with the cucumbers, I have not harvested one so far. 
I have been feeding everything with Fish fertilizer a few times, some kelp meal and a little bone meal to the tomatoes, I hope at least it will stop the issue with the rot. 
Unless I get a soil test done, I don't really know what is going on fertility wise, not knowing I could inadvertently make it worse by giving the wrong fertilizer or adding to much of one thing. I will have to wait with the soil test until I have my beds cleared of vegetables, but plan to get one in fall.
I definitely think I need to add some moisture holding capacity to my raised beds, more fertile compost. 

So as the season ends I am planning to just get some nice loam and some Rabbit manure or goat manure, growing some cover crops of Field peas also should help add fertile, moisture holding matter to my soil. 
I have never had that many fertility issues in any of my former vegetable gardens. These gardens I used the soil which was there and amended it with compost and horse manure, I hardly ever fertilized after planting. These were very productive gardens and aside having to deal with the disease issues for the tomatoes which came with living in the South we didn't have a lot of bug and deficiency problems. 

I was a big mistake to use this 'Ready made planting soil' as the main ingredient for my beds.  I sure won't make that mistake again. Whatever you do, you are much better off to start out with some loam, or good topsoil and amend it with the good stuff like Compost, Manure, cover crops and let the soil improve over time.
I am lucky to have grown a wide variety of vegetables, so even my main crop is doing poorly we still have been eating Lettuce, Chard, Cabbage, Kale and other Greens, Radishes and Peas for a long season.


Hopefully the next season will be a better growing season. Hopefully we will be eating lot's of Tomatoes and Zucchini in September and October.
If not, my new Lettuce is growing already, my fall and winter garden is planted, ready to grow and to feed us.

     Hope you are having a better growing season, if not there is always another season coming.