The Last Crop Of Summer
By Anna
@LadyDuck (471356)
Switzerland
September 16, 2016 8:58am CST
This is the second morning that the temperature drops below 59 F (15 Celsius).
The summer is saying farewell, the next Thursday autumn officially starts.
Rain was announced for the afternoon, so, this morning, I decided to pick up the last ripe tomatoes.
Those in my photo are San Marzano tomatoes, the ones that we use to make tomato sauce for pasta.
They are less acid and more plump than other tomatoes, I like them also added to salads.
I have noticed that there are still many green tomatoes on the stalks.
They will not be wasted, I will prepare some fried green tomatoes, tomatoes jam and a chutney.
What do you do with unripe tomatoes?
69 people like this
79 responses
@vandana7 (100255)
• India
16 Sep 16
I wait for them to ripen. Usually, somewhat half ripe ones are used to with coarsely ground peanuts..a little salt, and finely chopped green chillies. I like it that way...lol. Anna, I bookmarked some posts in which you had mentioned how to keep bugs but the other day cache was cleared, and I am unable to get those posts back. Can you give what I need to do organically ...so that I can keep white aphids away...sorry to be a bother...dad cleared cache without asking me. Sorry.
7 people like this
@LadyDuck (471356)
• Switzerland
16 Sep 16
Use water and soap for the aphids. Dilute a few tablespoons of dish soap in a small bucket of lukewarm water. Pour in a spray bottle and apply the mixture to the plants where there are aphids. The soap dissolve the waxy protective coating from the aphids’ bodies killing the insects without harming the plant. Remember to treat the undersides of leaves also, they usually lay the eggs there.
4 people like this
@silvermist (19702)
• India
16 Sep 16
@LadyDuck How do you make fried green tomatoes?(Have you seen the movie Fried Green Tomatoes?).
5 people like this
@LadyDuck (471356)
• Switzerland
17 Sep 16
Yes I have seen the movie years ago while we were on a plane from Europe to New York. I make my fried green tomatoes breaded. You slice the tomatoes about 1 cm thick. In a dish mix breadcrumbs and cornmeal (half cup of each for 4 large tomatoes). First I coat the tomatoes with white flour, then in whisked eggs, finally in the breadcrumbs mix and I fry .
1 person likes this
@Fishmomma (11377)
• United States
16 Sep 16
I don't have any unripe tomatoes this year, as I picked the last tomatoes about a month ago. This year has been chilly in my area and its not normal. Sure hope its not a hard winter, as this area grows a lot of lemons.
4 people like this
@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
16 Sep 16
We pulled out the plants a few weeks ago - I put the green tomatoes in a dark room in a cool spot and they are just turning red now. They say to wrap them in newspaper and then put in a paper bag in the basement. We don't have newspaper so I did the best I could.
4 people like this
@LadyDuck (471356)
• Switzerland
16 Sep 16
@AbbyGreenhill My plants are not that tall, they are mainly around 6 to 7 feet.
1 person likes this
@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
16 Sep 16
@LadyDuck Our plant was way too big to do that - if it was standing up straight it was probably close to ten feet tall.....
2 people like this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
17 Sep 16
I want to learn to can.
Also, that is such an odd shape of tomato! not sure I have ever seen that kind before.
4 people like this
@LadyDuck (471356)
• Switzerland
18 Sep 16
@Jessicalynnt There are things that are pretty easy and safe to can, others are more tricky. I prefer to dry stuff, I feel more sure.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (471356)
• Switzerland
18 Sep 16
If you buy whole Italian canned tomatoes, if they are good quality, you should find this kind of tomatoes inside. I do not can tomatoes, my grandmother did, it takes time because you have to sterilize the jars before and after the tomatoes are canned. In my opinion, it's not worth the effort, it's too easy that they spoil and if you eat them they are very dangerous (risk of botuline).
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
18 Sep 16
@LadyDuck mom used to can all kinds of things, I'd like to learn, or maybe I can dry some stuff if canning isnt safe
3 people like this
I would never dare, they are really made for the purpose to be served with cheese.
@crossbones27 (49432)
• Mojave, California
16 Sep 16
Look tasty and can never have to many tomatoes. We pretty much use them in everything.
3 people like this
@Ceerios (4698)
• Goodfellow, Texas
16 Sep 16
@LadyDuck - Ms Anna - In our area it gets so hot during the summer months that tomatoes here are really a crop for picking only in the late springtime. The plants all expire from the summer's heat. Your tomatoes surely look like they would be real winners on the eating-table. Nice work. -Gus-
3 people like this
You are so right, now I have a good use also for old and rotten tomatoes. Do you need some there?
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Sep 16
Fried green tomatoes! Definitely my number one choice for unripened tomatoes!
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (471356)
• Switzerland
19 Sep 16
@moffittjc There are many different kinds of chutney, you can make it mild, or spicy, but it's also sweet, because sugar is also used to preserve the ingredients. I like it spicy.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121548)
• Gainesville, Florida
19 Sep 16
@LadyDuck I've always wanted to try chutney. Is it really good? Is it more sweet, or more spicy?
1 person likes this
@jillybean1222 (6407)
•
17 Sep 16
I did not do a garden this year, sadly. I have a friend who swears you can pick the tomatoes & bring them in to ripen on your countertop. I've never tried.
3 people like this
Sometimes doing nothing is the best, but I hate to waste food.
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
16 Sep 16
I heard that if you keep the green ones in a lighted place, but cool, they will redden and be quite good. Once the weather cools, they produce more starch than sugar so leaving them on does not really improve them. This was from some gardening site.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (471356)
• Switzerland
16 Sep 16
@JamesHxstatic We are down to 50 now, it's time to pick up all the summer vegetables now.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
16 Sep 16
@LadyDuck I brought some in the other day, and it is 46 here this morning so will pick the rest.
1 person likes this
@nanette64 (20364)
• Fairfield, Texas
16 Sep 16
I use to add them to the salsa that I made @LadyDuck .
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (471356)
• Switzerland
17 Sep 16
@nanette64 My husband also love the last one, if it's not (too) spicy, he does not like.
1 person likes this
@nanette64 (20364)
• Fairfield, Texas
16 Sep 16
@LadyDuck Yup, I dice the green toms into the salsa. I use to make 3 different kinds of salsa that I sold. Mild, Spicy and Take the Hair Off Your Feet. The Mexicans loved the last one.
2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
17 Sep 16
I don't buy them. Ha Ha. Stopped growing veg when the weather became unreliable. It was 59F here is morning too. Brrr.
2 people like this
@ElizabethWallace (12074)
• United States
17 Sep 16
@LadyDuck Sorry about the garden. Too bad they don't survive the winter.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (471356)
• Switzerland
18 Sep 16
@ElizabethWallace I am going through my seeds and see if I can plant something for the winter, this prevents the weeds to invade the vegetable garden.
1 person likes this
@RubyHawk (99405)
• Atlanta, Georgia
18 Sep 16
@LadyDuck I never find any green tomatoes since I don't have a garden. They don't sell green tomatoes in groceries. We used to have fried green tomatoes just before the frost got the last of the crop. You can prepare your green tomatoes, and coat with a little olive oil, then bake in the oven. I sometimes did that. They are just as good as fried.
2 people like this
