Here's a little update on my pumpkin growing adventure. After a few days of non-growth the boys are back on track. Spike has taken over the lead in the growth department. Stats: Circ. 44' OTT 30' & 30.5' 104.5 OTT= 32# weight. Not earth shattering, but for a twenty-day old pumpkin, not too shabby. The others, Pancho and Lefty are a little behind. The image shows Spike with some of the foliage pruned away. In the foreground are giant sunflowers, about 9' tall now with no heads yet. I have switched to foliar feeding every other day using 'Monty's Joy Juice' (yep that's the name.) I couldn't find the Neptunes Harvest. Monty's seems to be working pretty good as well. It is a late season feed that comes in at 2-2-15. I also blend in a little molasses for added calcium and micronutrients. Here is a link that might be useful: Monty's Joy Juice

it's likely temperature or nutrient/fertilizer related.. the plant may also abort them if it already has several fruits established. I like think of it as the plant having a finite carrying capacity for reproduction.. if it's already carrying several fruit that load capability can be maxed out depending on the plant's environmental conditions. Likewise, if the environment changes radically (the temperatures shoot up or down, or nutrient levels drop) then the carrying capacity is reduced and it is forced to abort to maintain the core system. I have no idea if that's accurate but being an engineer it helps me wrap my brain around it.

Newer version of Annie's Salsa - BWB only Annie's Salsa 8 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained 2 1/2 cups chopped onion 1 1/2 cups chopped green pepper 3 to 5 chopped jalapenos (for milder leave out seeds and ribs) 6 cloves minced garlic 2 tsp cumin (optional) 2 tsp pepper 1/8 cup canning salt 1/4 c fresh cilantro (optional) 1/3 c sugar (optional) 1 cup cider vinegar (see note on subbing lemon or lime juice option) 16 oz canned tomato sauce (to adjust density) 8-16 oz canned tomato paste (to adjust density) Mix all ingredients, bring to a boil, boil 10 minutes. Pour into hot jars, process pints for 15 minutes in BWB. Makes 6 pints. _________ A lot of changes have been made to this recipe over the years. Some people like lemon or lime juice in place of some or all of the vinegar, that's fine. (Note from Sheila - I like half lemon half lime.) Some people leave out the cilantro, that's fine too. Do not increase! Some people add more hot peppers or fewer onions, fine as long as you keep the same total measurements. (Note this is what NCHFP does in their new Choice Salsa recipe.) Some people leave out the sugar, that's fine. You can scoop out the goo in the middle of the tomatoes with your thumbs when I'm peeling and chopping for a less seedy version, so it's 8 cups of chopped tomatoes without the seeds and goo. Most who make it regularly as well as Annie recommend using a variety of different slicing tomatoes, not paste types, for best flavor and consistency. (Note: use the tomato sauce and paste to adjust the consistency of the final product to a "sloshy" consistency.) According to Annie "My salsa is not as thick as Heinz catsup but it's thicker than taco sauce. If you don't like it quite as thick or sweet, cut down the amount of paste. I would add some, then taste. Reducing that ingredient shouldn't affect the safety of the recipe. I use equal amounts of sauce and paste. You can pull it off the heat at any point and adjust for flavor. Before I cook it I check for salt, sugar, check the consistency. Add more pepper or cumin if I want. When I first started making this salsa, tomato sauce and paste came in 8 and 16 ounce cans. Like everything else, they've now been downsized, so now I have to use partial cans." Does anybody have good versions of the other recipes that have weird symbols in them for measurements?

That's a tough one, as they've already been frozen, so the cellular structure has already started breaking down. About the only thing I can think of doing is cook and puree them, then freeze the puree. You could try dicing them and freeze that - not sure how good the texture would be after thawing, though. You could then make the green pasta sauce from frozen puree, or something like green tomato bread (Deanna's recipe on the Green Tomato thread from a few years back). GREEN TOMATO BREAD FROM ANDREA++**** 3 eggs 1 C. oil 2 C. sugar 2 C. Green Tomato Puree (small amount of water if needed, can be frozen for use later) 1 T Vanilla 3 C. Flour 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1 C. chopped walnuts (optional) 1 C. raisins (optional) Mix eggs, oil, and sugar. Add green tomato puree and vanilla. Sift dry ingredients together and add to other ingredients. Add nuts and /or raisins if desired. Grease and Flour two 9x5 loaf pans. Divide batter evenly and pour into pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes. SOME MIX-IN IDEAS FROM JOY FOR GREEN TOMATO BREAD: Mini choc. chips= a sweet dessert cake Pecans= very nutty flavored Raisins = chewy, great if you like raisins Lime zest = wow, my favorite! I used 1/2 tsp. for a small loaf. Note: I've made this a few times - I cut the oil down to 1/3 cup and use 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce. I thought the full one cup of oil made it too greasy. I add some apple pie or pumpkin pie spice, or just cinnamon. Pretty much like zucchini bread, but a little different. Grandkids liked it with cinnamon chips and raisins, then toasted for breakfast.