Discover the value in Organic Gardening. A winning magazine that provides easy to understand how-to’s and vital information on planting and nurturing plants. As the essential resource for any gardener, it provides current and authoritative information, with a focus on making the process of gardening fun and easy. Get your copy today!
How did your tomatoes do in your organic vegetable garden this year? Well, our tomatoes did pretty well, but I will have to say not as well as the whopper you’ll see in this video. This video is by Patti Moreno and it was such a delightful video, we thought we would share it with you here. See if your tomatoes can measure up to this one. Enjoy!
If you are new to organic gardening or you would like to learn more, try any one of these two great e courses: Organic Gardening Magic or My Organic Food Garden. Or, try them both! Satisfaction Guaranteed for your Organic Vegetable Garden needs, or your money back.
This organic gardening how to is a terrific tip on what to do with all of those extra tomatoes that you are getting out of your organic garden. Sure, we give many of our extra tomatoes away, but late in the season we like to make them into a tomato powder, then we can use this intense flavor to season sauces, soups, chili, and dressings for the remainder of the year. And, at Christmas time, we like to give jars of this tomato powder to friends, neighbors, and family.
STEP 1
You can use just about any type of tomato. Meaty tomatoes no bigger than an orange work best. But you can use juicier tomatoes if that is what you have – it will just take a little longer. Cherry tomatoes can also be used. First, wash and towel dry the tomatoes. Next, take a serrated knife and slice the tomato into slices, cutting across the “poles” of the tomato. Meaty tomatoes should be cut about 1/2″ thick; juicier tomatoes about 3/4″ thick; cut cherry tomatoes in half.
STEP 2
Place the sliced tomatoes in a food dehydrator. Don’t worry, if you don’t have a food dehydrator, we’ll discuss a different to do it a little further down. Dehydrate the tomatoes until they are dry to the touch and you should be able to “snap” them in half. This process can take 8 hours or more. Juicier tomatoes will take longer and cherry tomatoes will take less time. Depending on what type of tomatoes you put in the dehydrator, keep a check on it.
Don’t have a dehydrator? It’s still easy. Cut the tomatoes into quarters or halves and place on a flat, rimmed cooking pan. Turn your oven on to its lowest setting and place the pan in the oven. Keep an eye on these to make sure you don’t burn them. You may have to turn them once or twice. Cook these tomatoes until they are very dry.
STEP 3
Once dried, place the dried tomatoes into a food processor or blender. Grind them until they are a fine powder. Store the powder in a glass jar with a lid. Place in a cool, dry place such as your cupboard. And, wa-la, another organic gardening how to is complete.
Watch the Video Below for a Little Additional Help on this Organic Gardening How To
If you are new to organic gardening or you would like to learn more, try any one of these two great e courses: Organic Gardening Magic or My Organic Food Garden. Or, try them both! Satisfaction Guaranteed for your Organic Gardening How To needs, or your money back.
Harvesting and eating your own sunflower seeds is another one of those great organic foods. Just one-quarter cup of sunflower seeds will give you 90% of your daily recommended dosage of vitamin E. So, the seeds are great for your skin. But, the seeds are also high in fiber and are healthy for your heart and mind. Sunflower seeds are a great snack if you are on a diet.
Late summer and early fall are the times to harvest sunflower seeds. Let the sun do most of the work for you. The sunflower pod is ready to be harvested when the leaves on the back of the flower have shriveled up and turned brown. If you rub the head of the flower where the seeds are, the seeds should easily come out. If ready, cut the flower off the stalk leaving about 10″ of stem. To remove all the seeds, I find it easiest to rub the seeds out inside of a 3 – 5 gallon bucket while wearing leather gloves. After removing all of the seeds, we now have to prepare the seeds for roasting.
With the seeds still in the bucket, add enough water to cover the seeds with about 1/2″ of extra water. To this, add 1/3 cup of iodized salt per gallon of water, mix thoroughly, and let the seeds sit overnight. The next day, pour the bucket through a find sieve to collect the seeds and to remove the water and fine particles. Look through your seeds and remove particles that you may not want in your seeds (such as bits and pieces of shells or leaves). Now, in a sunny place, lay a couple layers of paper towel down flat and spread your seeds out on top of this. The seeds should not be crowed. From the top, pat these seeds down with a couple more paper towels to help reduce the moisture. Let these seeds remain exposed to the warm sun for about one hour. Now, you are ready for roasting.
Put your seeds in a flat, shallow baking pan. To this, pour about 1 tablespoon of soy oil (if preferred, you could use butter) and a small amount of sea salt. Gently mix with the seeds. Spread the seeds out once again and bake in the oven at 300 degrees for about 1 hour, or until golden brown. Remove the seeds from the oven and let them cool. Now, enjoy!
Oh, by the way, like I have found with most organic foods, if you need to store them, I have found it best to do so in a glass jar.
Sunflower Seeds – Organic Foods
If you are new to organic gardening or you would like to learn more, try either one of these two great eBooks: Organic Gardening Magic or My Organic Food Garden. Or, try them both! Satisfaction Guaranteed for your organic garden needs, or your money back.
Roses are beautiful plants in the organic garden. Besides the colorful flowers, roses have a glossy green foliage. But, for most roses, there is one fungal disease that is notoriously known for quickly damaging this foliage. It is called powdery mildew. This fungus will damage the leaves of the rose bush by turning them a dusty, grayish white – in spots at first that will eventually grow into patches. Powdery mildew is one of the reasons that many gardeners stay away from growing roses.
Stay away from harsh chemicals if you spot this problem. Simply go to your kitchen and grab your milk. Mix a solution containing 50% milk and 50% water and spray your rose bushes. Re-apply on a weekly basis and your problem will be solved. Easy and safe for your organic garden.
There is a new breed of rose on the market that is resistant to powdery mildew. It’s called the Knockout Rose. This bright colored rose is resistant to black spot and most fungal diseases. It will produce beautiful roses all summer long and late into the fall. There is no need to dead-head these rose bushes. We love this new rose! It is easy to care for. Try it, we think you’ll love it in your organic garden, too!
If you are new to organic gardening or you would like to learn more, try either one of these two great eBooks: Organic Gardening Magic or My Organic Food Garden. Or, try them both! Satisfaction Guaranteed for your organic garden needs, or your money back.
