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["Lynda" <lurine AT com-pair.net>]

When I sun dry I put two screens together and the fruit/veggies in the
middle.  I sit them on sawhorses with "sticky foot" on the legs and the ants
don't make it to the top.

I need to save the Green Grape seeds this year.  Seems that no one carries 
the "true" Green Grapes anymore.  They carry "little" cherry tomato but not 
the old-fashioned bigger ones.

My tomatoes seldom reach the size they are supposed to.  DH snatches the 
things off the vine the very instant they vaguely resemble red.  I have a 
couple of Cherokee Purple that just might make it to real nice slicing size. 
They are in the middle of the plant and I don't think he's seen them <g>

My tomatoes aren't doing too well this year.  With 17 straight days of 
torrential rains, they were kind of beat into the ground and then we had 3 
weeks of triple digits.  Someone out there was determined that my tomatoes 
would be a sorry bunch this year.

Lynda
The press corp is fact-adverse but very fable friendly.

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "EarthNSky" <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>


> Yes, I can sun dry them, but I have to pick my time carefully and I may
> have to finish them off in the house.  I have multiple window screens
> that I can use.  Birds, squirrels, and ants can be a real problem
> though.  I will have to constantly be moving them around.  Since this
> week has a 30% chance of rain or better every day, I may wait a week or
> just do it in the truck.  I like dried tomatoes so much that I like them
> both ways, but you are right, the sun maybe caramelizes the sugars or
> something and they are definitely sweeter if they are sun dried.  I
> usually, half them, save as much seed as possible, make a slit so that
> it will lie down flat and toss the tom in a bowl of lemon juice.  When I
> get enough, I load up the screen or dehydrator, sprinkle the toms with a
> dash of salt, and wait for what seems like an eternity.<g>  I'm not
> sure, but I think my Amish Paste and Romas have crossed.  I grow them
> together, and they are looking more and more similar as the years go on.
>  Shape wise they are very close now, but the Amish paste retains the
> little point on the blossom end, a very handy little point to grab and
> pull when you are skinning tomatoes.  I don't think I've ever dried the
> sausage toms, but they are so meaty that I am going to try it this year.
>  I think I will cut them into strips, specifically quarters.  I get
> hungry just thinking about it.
>
> I started the fermenting process for saving tomato seed.  I have
> multiple jars on the table, each with a different variety of tomato.
> I've been able to save a good bit of seed so far this year.  The
> combination of varieties (Abe Lincoln, Mr. Stripey, Brandywine, Roma,
> Amish Paste, Red German Strawberry, Caspian Pink and Sausage) make a
> nice sauce, not too acid, and I'm real pleased with the taste of just
> the plain sauce.
> I'm not putting some of the toms in the sauce.  Cherokee Purple, some of
> the larger, prettier Brandywines, and the cherry toms are just for eating.