http://www.tallcloverfarm.com Homeward bound on Puget Sound. Putting in a good day on Vashon Island time. Wed, 16 May 2012 17:03:31 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5913/growing-tomatoes-tips-pics-toms-two-cents http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5913/growing-tomatoes-tips-pics-toms-two-cents#comments Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:00:29 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=5913 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Homegrown tomatoes, there’s nothing quite like them to wake up the palate and slap you with the taste of summer. I’ve compiled all of my favorite posts about this delectable nightshade. Just click on the link below each photo for tips, pics and insights (hopefully) about growing and enjoying tomatoes in your garden and on [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/5913/growing-tomatoes-tips-pics-toms-two-cents/feed 12 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4826/snip-it-the-best-way-to-pick-cherry-tomatoes http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4826/snip-it-the-best-way-to-pick-cherry-tomatoes#comments Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:30:20 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=4826 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } My heart belongs to the big ol’ Daddy tomatoes, the slicers, the small planets that make a BLT (and again, my heart) sing.  Sure  cherry tomatoes deserve some attention, but I treat them less like an entree and more like a snack food, which brings me to my ridiculously simple way of harvesting them. Instead [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/4826/snip-it-the-best-way-to-pick-cherry-tomatoes/feed 11 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/2088/how-to-make-ketchup-blue-ribbon-redemption http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/2088/how-to-make-ketchup-blue-ribbon-redemption#comments Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:59:11 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=2088 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } As good as it gets: homemade ketchup from homegrown tomatoes via some lessons learned. My culinary redemption is complete. As some of you may recall, my last attempt to make ketchup did not end so well; my kitchen looked like Freddy Krueger had stopped by for lunch.  (Witness the tomato carnage in How Not to Make Ketchup.) The good news is confidence has [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/2088/how-to-make-ketchup-blue-ribbon-redemption/feed 36 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/1655/tomato-trellis-a-cagey-alternative http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/1655/tomato-trellis-a-cagey-alternative#comments Thu, 03 Jun 2010 16:52:31 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=1655 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Tomatoes need our support.  (You trying maintaining vertical with 10 pounds of green, red orbs hanging off your branches. ) Some people cage them in, others rely on the stake. As for me, I’m a fan of trellising. I create a vertical plane that the toms can grow up for maximum sun exposure, air circulation and  [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/1655/tomato-trellis-a-cagey-alternative/feed 47 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/1604/growing-tomatoes-when-plants-are-all-legs http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/1604/growing-tomatoes-when-plants-are-all-legs#comments Sat, 29 May 2010 16:28:37 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=1604 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Uh oh Boz, I know that look, the scowl of an unhappy bulldog, judging me for taking too long to plant all of my tomato starts. (Gracie on the other hand, believes a nap can solve any of life’s issues.) Smart dogs.  Indeed, I waited too long, hoping that one day in May the sun would shine on my Puget Sound garden [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/1604/growing-tomatoes-when-plants-are-all-legs/feed 11 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/610/ill-tell-you-what-to-do-with-your-green-tomatoes http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/610/ill-tell-you-what-to-do-with-your-green-tomatoes#comments Sat, 24 Oct 2009 18:04:03 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=610 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } This time of year all conversations lead to the ultimate fall gardening question: what should I do with all of my green tomatoes? That’s easy; compost them. (Did I hear a collective gasp?) Yep, the time is ripe to let go of a fruit we enjoyed all summer when it was at its best for [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/610/ill-tell-you-what-to-do-with-your-green-tomatoes/feed 26 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/428/toms-tomato-tome-my-favorite-heirloom-tomatoes-for-2009 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/428/toms-tomato-tome-my-favorite-heirloom-tomatoes-for-2009#comments Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:13:41 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=428 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; }  Don’t let cool summers keep you from growing the season’s finest garden treat. Of all the tomatoes I planted this year, here are some my favorites, based on taste, robust growth and prolific nature. Northern Exposure tomato is an all around winner: beautiful round deep red baseball-size toms –firm, meaty, flavorful and possessing an impressive shelf life of [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/428/toms-tomato-tome-my-favorite-heirloom-tomatoes-for-2009/feed 19 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/405/summer-harvest-begs-an-extension http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/405/summer-harvest-begs-an-extension#comments Mon, 28 Sep 2009 21:43:25 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=405 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; }   Heirloom tomatoes: Amish Paste, White Beauty, Old German, Pineapple, Hillbilly, Lemon Boy and Sugar Lump. If I left these on the vines, October rains would sauce them for me. Some days show up like a great performance; the key players tune up to bring you a perfect mix of light, breeze and balm. Sunday [...]

]]> http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/405/summer-harvest-begs-an-extension/feed 10 http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/326/tomato-plants-leave-the-poor-little-suckers-alone http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/326/tomato-plants-leave-the-poor-little-suckers-alone#comments Sun, 12 Jul 2009 15:21:52 +0000 Tom http://www.tallcloverfarm.com/?p=326 #leftcontainerBox { float:left; position: fixed; top: 60%; left: 70px; } #leftcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; clear:both; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; padding-bottom:2px; } #bottomcontainerBox { height: 30px; width:50%; padding-top:1px; } #bottomcontainerBox .buttons { float:left; height: 30px; margin:4px 4px 4px 4px; } Pinching tomato suckers: not on my garden to-do list  Step away from the tomato plant and no one gets hurt. Garden myth: you should pinch tomatoes suckers (the growth between main stems and the leaf) for a better tomato crop. I ‘ve been growing tomatoes since I could say spaghetti sauce, and I’ve found that [...]

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