Holy tomatoes Batman! With the 100% certainty that frost/freezing temps are hitting tonight (24 degrees F forecasted), I ditched out of school shortly after gathering up my girls directly after the ending bell in order to get home and into the garden. With the girls' help, we picked a whopping load of tomatoes! Bag upon bag upon bag was emptied onto the tables (see the little one in the background?).
It was Cassie's idea to get this angle to show that we simply didn't have enough table to lay the tomatoes in one layer; many have been doubled up. And we STILL have tomatoes outside on the vines.
I have been going like the energizer bunny; pushing tomatoes through the food strainer, with MUCH assistance from the girls! A true assembly line; Cassie washing the tomatoes, me cutting them into the hopper, Candace mushing them down in the hopper, and Caitlyn turning the crank. BOY! Did that save ME some time tonight while I made another 11 quarts of juice; just straight tomato juice tonight. And sadly, barely a dent was made in the tomato population on the tables! This weekend, the game plan will be to tackle canning whole tomatoes.
While we were doing that, Paul was outside covering up much of the garden and picking basil.
After hanging the basil up on our kitchen over-hang, he snapped this picture.You really CAN say a picture is worth a 1000 words. There's so much going on in this picture! (That's better than saying the kitchen is a total disaster, right????):0)
Holy Moley!!!!! That is a TON of tomatoes. Your garden did great this year. My tomatoes flopped on me. Only had a few plants though. Just got way too hot again this summer In florida. Need to move north to get a great garden going.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I have seen so many tomatoes in one kitchen. You have a great little team to help
ReplyDeleteGood Grief. I hope you don't dream about tomatoes tonight. Well done on a bumper crop. So now share your secrets on getting such a huge crop. I need all the help I can get.
ReplyDeleteMy word that's a lot of tomatoes. Well done on keeping going on dealing with them. I'm afraid I've come to the end of my enthusiasm for preparing and freezing runner beans and the rest are going to be left. We've already got enough to last us until next year's crop arrives.
ReplyDeleteNice kitchen, lovely quilt hanging there.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see I'm not the only one that has bisque color appliances.
Happy canning. I did lots of this in one of my previous lives.
That's a yotta tomaters!!! I am quite envious really. We have been getting a few here and there but not oodles like you. I have 14 plants and yesterday picked 5 tomatoes! That's a good day. :)
ReplyDeleteYou will be so happy when you are drinking your juice and opening your jars!
That's a lotta tomatoes!! There were patches of frost on the yard & garage roof here in NE Nebr. this morning. I was out picking tomatoes & peppers too last night. The tomatoes were about done anyway. Still some peppers green on the plant that hadn't turned enough to pick. I don't like the green ones. About it for another garden year.
ReplyDeletenot even my local grocery store has that many tomatoes. :) Good luck getting them all processed.
ReplyDeleteDid you end up with frost last night? I so was hoping we'd get some here, but it "only" got down to 36. Maybe tonight.
ReplyDeleteI know the post is about tomatoes - but I kind like seeing your quilt hanging there - what a great spot!!
ReplyDeleteThe kitchen looks so cozy with the basil hanging so decorativle3y under the quilt (orange crush?). The addition of you working away just adds to the ambiance.
ReplyDeleteLove this picture of your kitchen, I wouldn't call it total disaster, more like total progress. I love wood, so your kitchen is beautiful to me.
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