Dawn, would you be willing to share your salsa recipe or is it a family secret? :)

If you do share, please be specifc, that is - what variety of tomatoes you use (paste only or mix), what variety of Jalepeno to you use, white onion, yellow?

Thanks in advance.

Dawn, Funny you should post that today, because yesterday when I read the "Survey: Ideas for Future Gatherings", I really wanted to put, "Let's have a Christmas party and have Dawn bring us all pepper jelly and salsa,". I probably would have written it except that I knew I was seeing you at the swap and I didn't want to get bopped on the head. LOL

I don't need the sugar in the jam and jelly, but I am now hooked on jalapeno jelly and creme cheese. I have to really spread out my consumption, but it is wonderful. I bought two jars at two different places and the one I prefer is made from red peppers and I bought it at the Amish Cheese House. (Maybe it is psychological since I rarely get to eat anything red.)

You sent me four little bags of peas and I think they are all different. When I look at my unplanted garden, it looks so big, but when I start planting, it seems to shrink and I can think of a million more things I would like to tuck in.

Boomer,
I'll be waiting to see her recipe also. When you asked for specific varieties ect. I have a hunch I know her answer. But then could be way wrong. I've made salsa for years. Mine is a combination of recipes and ingredients I've tried. A few years ago shortly after I started browsing forums I believe on the GW toamto site I saw everyone raving about Annie's salsa recipe. Surprising when I finally found it it was almost identical to mine. I've had coworkers try to buy salsa and also want the recipe. First I learned to cook from my Dad(chuck wagon cook) and grand mother. And that is by taste. She always made the best homemade dumplings I just loved. I asked for the recipe. It said a pinch of this, a dash of that, add this to taste, enough flour to make the amount wanted. So needless to say I still can't make dumplings like hers. I know the ingredients but not the amounts. LOL. Back to the salsa. Basically I use what I have on hand. Peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes( mix what I have), cilantro, cumin, salt, pepper and other veggies and spices if I have them on hand. I sometimes add parsley, have used celery when I grew it, tomatillo's, shallots and anything else I have that I think adds to the taste. I always put a small amount in a cup and add to it first to see what it does before I add to the whole pot. If I make 5 batches a year no too will be alike. With onions ect I use what I have at that time. Could be a sweet onion and might be more pungent. You can temper the pungent ones with how much you add. Same goes with garlic. Now will wait for Dawn's "Elite Salsa" recipe. Jay

Boomer Sooner, "My" recipe is only mine when I make it. It is "Annie's Salsa" and if it is not famous world-wide yet, it will be one of these days. I'll go to the Harvest Forum and find it and then come back here and link it below. Over the years, I've made many salsa recipes, but this is the only one I've ever made where everyone keeps saying "That is the best salsa I've ever had. You ought to sell it." The credit for it belongs to Annie. All I do is follow the recipe precisely, which is important because the extension service DID test the recipe for safety and approved it as safe for canning. Making any changes can make it unsafe, so I don't change a thing. Annie's Salsa recipe is so special to us that I have written it on a notecard and it is posted on the fridge with a refrigerator magnet just in case, you know, the internet ever implodes and I can't remember the recipe. I never want to be without this recipe.

I use any and every tomato I get my hands on. Paste tomatoes are preferred but not required. My favorite batches have a blend of heirloom slicers and pastes. I use whatever onions and peppers I have (even, gasp!, store-bought or frozen). (I do grow all kinds of onions and peppers and it is good no matter what kind you use.)

If you like other 'peppery' things, go to the Harvest Forum and find the recipe for Habanero Gold Pepper Jelly. It is so delicious you just will not believe it. I grow habaneros just so I'll have an endless supply of peppers for Habanero Gold, but since I am a wimp, I also make Jalapeno Gold by substituting an equal amount of Jalapenos for the Habaneros. If you really want to hurt someone, decrease the amount of sweet peppers in the recipe and replace with an equal measurement of habaneros. It will make grown, tough, pepper-loving men cry in pain.

Another huge hit among the 200 jars of home-canned goodies we gave as Christmas gifts was candied Jalapenos, which are just pickled peppers using a Bread-and-Butter pickle recipe but substituting jalapeno peppers for the cucumbers. Some of my husband's co-workers and their families love the Candied Jalapenos so much that they shamelessly ask for more year-round. It makes me laugh. ANYONE could make these for themselves, but people think BWB canning is too hard and won't even try to do it.

Carol, You know, I was thinking myself several days ago that if there was a fall or winter swap, I could bring every attendee a 'goodie bag' containing one jar each of Annie's Salsa, Habanero Gold and Candied Jalapenos. Wouldn't that be fun? I'd bring a bunch to this year's Spring Fling, but I gave away so much at Christmas that my supplies are low until another harvest starts rolling in.

I also think you know by now that no matter how big your garden, it is never big enough. Well, if you saw Glenda's thread on her new plot, I do think hers might finally be big enough! (Glenda, if you read this....do YOU think your garden is going to be big enough...

Do you have to can it or can it be eatin after it is cooked?

I will let Dawn answer about hers. But will give my view on salsa, Pico De Gallo, ect. If eating fresh there is no need for vinegar and no need to cook it. . You can keep it in the fridge for a day or so. In fact I like to put mine in the fridge for 6 hours or so after mixing either up to let marinade. Has better flavor I feel. If you cook it yes you could eat it. You would need to put it back in the fridge or can it if you didn't eat all in a reasonable time. Jay

I agree with Jay. The vinegar isn't strictly necessary if you aren't going to can it and if you are going to eat it fresh within a few days. It makes a LOT though and you'd need to eat it in less than a week...maybe in 3 or 4 days? I don't know...I've always canned it. How many days, Jay, would you say it is good for?

You COULD freeze it in those little freezer jars or square plastic freezer boxes. Both can be found at Wal-Mart on the aisle with the canning equipment. Once you take it out of the freezer and thaw it out to eat it, you have to eat it within a few days though.

Or, Boomer Sooner, you can learn how to can your own salsa. It is the EASIEST thing in the world and you don't need very much specialized equipment since you can it using a Boiling Water Bath and not a pressure canner. Honestly, BWB canning is simple, simple, simple and can be used for a few things....jams, jellies, pickles and pickle products like pickle relish, and a few tomato products, including salsa. If you want a quick description of how easy it is to BWB can, let me know. Once you learn how to make your own salsa, jams, jellies, and canned peppers and some canned tomato products, you'll NEVER want to buy the ones from the store again.

Dawn

Dawn,
I err on the safe side. I never keep fresh salsa or Pico de gallo over two days. My sister now only keeps it one day. I've seen coworkers keep it a whole work week in the fridge at my station. I feel that could be pushing it. But a person can cut the recipe down as long as he does it all equally. For easy purposes cut everything in half. But if you cook it some then it should last longer.If I make a fresh batch to take to work it usually I can take two quarts and they will be gone in a day. I like it fresh best. But can some so I can have it in the winter when all the veggies are gone without buying from the store. Jay

I've heard Annie's recipe raved about for years and years here. I think I'll finally get around to trying it this year. I love my fresh salsa so much that I've never bothered making canned before. (And I make a big batch, about 2 gallons, at a time and we munch it out of the fridge for 3 or 4 days until it's gone. We love vinegar and/or lemon juice in it for taste.) I have a "summer salsa" using fresh tomatoes & peppers from the garden and a "winter salsa" version that uses canned tomatoes & pickled peppers -- a close second. Nothing beats fresh, of course.

Diane

Diane,
I'm not real fond of vinegar and slightly allergic to it if consume it in excess. So I try to limit it where I can. Pickled okra and and a few others are where I use vinegar. And then limit the use where I can. Jay

Jay, I love pickled okra from Sam's, but I have never tasted a home canned one that I liked. Do you make a good one? If so, I want you to teach me how. Hopefully I will have some okra this year. I think I have four different kinds, but I don't think I have four spots to try it in.

Oh, poor Jay. I think I'd shrivel up and die if I couldn't have vinegar. I used to drink the stuff straight when I was younger. These days, I just sneak a nip of the pickle juice when no one's looking. Shhh....

Diane

Re: Baker Family Heirloom germination.
Boomer, I usually pre-sprout mine in a damp paper towel, inside a sandwhich bag. Once they sprout, I plant them. This way they don't take as long. Germination, even from 2004 seed, this year, was well over 95%.

Gotta run!

George

Thanks George. I'll try that. I still only have 2 of 13 sprouted but the 2 seem to be doing good. They are approx. 3 inches tall.

Baker Family Heirloom sprouted OK for me. Maybe I'm just not very observant, but I didn't even notice a difference.

Diane,

Well, you know (and I DO mean this is a kind and respectful way), your family is large enough to consume a lot of salsa quickly. (You might not EVER have to can anything, come to think of it.)

Carol, Maybe I'm like you and just didn't notice in Baker Family Heirloom was fast or slow to sprout, but I think it sprouted just fine, and this year I didn't even pre-sprout in paper towels like I often do. I just planted straight into soil.

Y'all, all this salsa talk is making me want to make a batch, and if we get rain and I can't go outside, I just might make salsa this weekend. I think our best chance of rain here is tomorrow....but they keep changing our forecast, so who knows.

The skies are VERY dark to our southwest, so I suspect rain is falling or about to fall in Montague or Cooke County, Texas, or maybe slightly south or west of them.

The cooler temps and very light wind are a most refreshing change!

Dawn

That is certainly true, Dawn. Unless we plant HUGE amounts, there's usually not much to put up for winter. LOL

Rain -- send it over here, please! I'm going to try planting a few things out today and would love the rain to water them in for me. (Please note, Mother Nature, that I did not request flooding. Just a nice drizzle, please.)

Diane

Diane,

Be careful what you wish for.

What's wrong with y'all over there?

Where's your usual spring flood? Where's all the standing water? Where's your rain?

When you aren't getting rain over there, I think we're all in trouble.

Dawn

Is there anyone out there that can stop me???? I must be stopped!!!

So I just got back from K & K Nursery here and I just couldn't help myself. I bought yet another tomato plant! I have no where to put it.

The victim: Black Krim

I wonder if I can plant it in a 5 gallon bucket???

Is there a tomato plants anonymous out there? LOL

PS. They are currently out of Tomato tone, but will have some in a week.

Boomer - what? how's their tomatoe variety???? Peppers? I'm just around the corner from them and was just there last saturday...how did I miss that? Aren't they the nicest place to shop near us??? And just fyi - they have the freshest and most reasonably priced garden seeds of anywhere around.

Oh my....I'm not helping, am I? =)

They had a nice variety of tomatoes and peppers. They also have several varieties of squash plants, herbs, and cantelope.

Some of their tomato plants in 4 inch pots were blooming.

I think veggies are 1.60 per pot.

I really like k&k. Their employees are always nice and willing to help.

Some tomato varieties that I remember seeing there:

Black Krim
Super Fantanstic
Whopper
Roma
yellow pear
Several grape and cherry tomatoes
Arkansas Traveler
Celebrity
Mr. Stripie
Rutgers
Champion
and several more.

Boomer,

No, we cannot stop you and there is no help for you. Appararently you've gone over the edge and fallen into Tomato Growers Addiction Syndrome. We cannot even stop ourselves, and...hee, hee...do you think any of us want to stop? As far as I know there is no Tomato Plants Anonymous group because you have to "want" to stop, and no one with this affliction wants to stop.

Black Krim might produce a few in a five gallon bucket, but it won't produce a lot. It really needs at least a 7 or 10 gallon bucket. Are you coming to the Spring Fling next week? If you are, I'll bring you a couple of GrowLeaves ten-gallon grow bags, and you can try Black Krim in one of them and see what you think. I've been very happy with grow bags. They're shorter than 5-gallon buckets, but wider. I fill them up with potting mix until they're bulging out in every direction. Black Krim is one of my all-time favorite tomatoes so I usually put it in my best raised bed with the best soil.

Paula, Oh good heavens, woman. We are going to have to lock up your car keys and checkbook in a safe until after the Spring Fling! Don't you go running off to K & K and buying a gazillion more plants this weekend when we're bringing hundreds of plants to your house next weekend. I can see that you and Boomer are bad for each other because you're going to enable one another's addiction. Where does the tomato madness stop????

Boomer, Stop it right now, do you hear me? lol I am trying to stop Paula from sending her DH out back to rototill aother quarter-acre or half-acre and there you go encouraging her again. Can you believe these words are coming from a woman who has over 300 tomato plants in paper cups on her patio? Well, Jay and I both always say "it takes one to know one", and I know a tomato addict when I see one. Now, y'all behave yourselves and stop buying plants until after the Spring Fling. And, after the Spring Fling, you won't need to buy any, because you'll be overloaded.

It is really hard for any tomato plant to temp me to buy it any more, because if we really like it, I'm already growing it. If we don't like it, why buy it? I almost never find an heirloom tomato plant in a store that I haven't tried and either (a)loved it, so I'm already growing it myself or (b) didn't love it, so why buy one?

I get the giggles when a nursery employee or another customer starts telling me I need to give heirlooms a try because they're really wonderful. Sometimes I just nod my head, and other times (esp. if I'm feeling mischievious) I'll say something like "Yes, I like growing heirloom. I have a couple of hundred at home already." They always look at me like they don't really believe me.

I think I'm bringing a bag of Tomato-Tone as a door prize. If a non-tomato grower's name is drawn for that door prize, maybe they can swap it with someone else who got a different door prize and who wants the Tomato-Tone.

Dawn

Speaking of Tomato Tone. I thought I bought a bag of Tomato Tone several years ago, but didn't remember using it. A few weeks ago, I found out why I didn't remember. I found it 'hiding' in my storage shed. Will it still be good or does it lose something with time?

I think it should be OK. Everything in it is natural so it wouldn't go 'bad' although it might have broken down some. If anything, it might be a little less effective but I don't think it will be harmful. When you open it, you should be able to tell if it still smells like Tomato Tone usually smells....unless this will be your first time to use it and you don't know how it usually smells.

Nope. Don't know how it should smell. Guess I'll have to win that door prize so I can compare. LOL

soonergrandmom, I found this on the tomato tone website...

Espoma products are complex blends of natural organics fortified with fast acting in organics. As long as the materials are kept dry they should retain their effectiveness indefinitely.

Thanks Boomer. It's dry.

Here are six of my tomatoes in one of my raised beds. The tomatoes are in the back with the trellis, in front are peppers and on the end is sage(which is growing like crazy this year). The tomatoes are about 15 inches tall.

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Booner - They must be wearing camouflage, I can't see them.

Those peppers are growing so good they are blocking the tomatoes in the picture.

Here is a close up of one of the tomatoes...

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I can see them now and they look really pretty. Nice looking raised bed there as well.

The raised beds are made from Trex decking. Therefore they should never rot, never fade, never require staining, never have to worry about termites.

Trex composite products are made of a unique combination of wood and plastic fibers. Trex gets its plastic and wood fibers from reclaimed or recycled resources. Including sawdust and used pallets from woodworking operations, and recycled plastic grocery bags from all over the country.

It will not rot or deteriorate due to harsh weather or insects. Trex is splinter-free and has excellent traction, even when wet. It contains no toxic chemicals or preservatives.

Here is a link that might be useful: Trex

Just wanted to give an update on the Baker Family Heirloom Tomatoes. I got about 80-85% Germination. Yay! Thanks again George.

I've got one planted in a SIP system. Heres a pic of it. It's the small one on the right The one on the left is Black Krim.
{{gwi:2103139}}

So now I know where to go swipe tomatoes in the dark of night if mine don't make it! LOL!

LOOKS GREAT!!! Where'd you get those fancy buckets?

I made those buckets. Below is the website where I got the info on how to build them. They are a Sub Irrigation Planters or SIP.

Here is a link that might be useful: Global Buckets

Boomer,
It looks like your tomato plants are one foot apart. Have you grown them that close before and if so, did they produce well? I'm excited...please tell me it works great for you!
Also, what method do you use to keep the tomatoes against the trellis?
Cindy

Yes, I had them that close last year (I practice "Square Foot Gardening" in my raised beds). As long as you have really good soil in your raised bed, you can have them that close. I also prune my tomatoes. I had great production last year.

I tie them to the trellises using stretch plant ties.

{{gwi:2103140}}

Here is a link that might be useful: Square Foot Gardening

I was home at lunch and was checking my tomato plants and what did I see????

{{gwi:2103141}}

This is on my Taxi Yellow

YEA!!! Congrats! I'm sure our Tomatoe Queen probably already has tomatoes on the ones she started from seed, but you must be the second to have one! Anyone else got any green tomatoes yet?

Boomer,
Thanks for the information...I'll have to try planting some one foot apart! Do you prune all of the suckers?
Cindy

I do prune all of my suckers. I do simply pruning not Missouri pruning. But you can do whatever you want. You might experiment and see what works best for you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pruning tomatoes

p-mac, my Washington Cherry has set some already.

I live in the same general area as bs (heh, heh), I mean boomer and also plant about a foot apart with similar pruning. Last year my indeterminates trellised up the south wall of my house and several of the Parks Whoppers and Super Fantastics went clear up onto the roof and produced really well.

So how do I get the Sour Cream Walnuts recipe, does anyone have it handy?

Charlie

Charlie,

The Sour Cream Walnut recipe is on the linked thread. After you click on the link to go to the recipe thread, I think it is about the 4th recipe from the top. The sour cream walnuts are so yummy!

Dawn

Here is a link that might be useful: Greatest Hits Recipes From Harvest Forum

Jleroi - you GO! Heck, I'm just excited I've got some blooms...so I won't be far behind you guys that live over there in that area of the Almeda Royalty! LOL!

If I still lived in a suburban area as I did for almost 50 years, I too would be working the square foot planting method. I have friends in Tuttle that still use this method, although they live on 1 and 1/2 acre. I can see DEFINITE benefits, but I'm in a different spot in life. I delight in my nightly strolls between the garden areas! I didn't live rural until 4 years ago, and I absolutely LOVE having the space. They'll have to drag my old, feeble, crazy mind in my body back to the city some day...but I won't care because I won't know! Until then, I'm lovin' my space. But if life had dealt me different cards, I'd still garden..in whatever space I had. It's good for the soul..and the body.

Last night I counted 11 tomatoes on 9 different varieties. YAY!

Boomer - Thanks, I'm definitely going to try some planted one foot apart on a trellis. Cindy

24 tomatoes now. They are setting very good now. I'm very excited.

I wish we would get a nice spring rain. I'm tired of watering already and its not even June yet.

Me too! If you're dry, I'm dry....maybe this cool front will bring some? Have you thought about an irrigation system? I'm going tomorrow eve to see what I can find. DH keeps trying to water the salsa bed with the "rainmaker" and I just don't how I'll word that in divorce papers if he doesn't stop! LOL!

24? Then you surely won't notice when a few go missing...hehe!

Half of my tomatoes I'm using a soaker hose. Thats helped. The ones in my raised bed, I usualy hand water using watering cans that are filled a day or two before, so that all the city chemicals are gone (hopefully) and so that the water is air temperature. Yes, I tend to baby the raised bed tomatoes. :)