Official Hogville Annual Home Grown Mater Thread.

[PharmacistHog]

My cherry tomatoes look great. Others look like hell. Im replanting tomorrow.

[Boarcephus]

I made my own cages from the wire they use in concrete,
5 foot wide roll, cut off what you want for a circle.
Then cut the bottom strand off so you have 4 inch spikes around the circumference
Of the bottom to jab down into the ground.

Better than any I have bought or seen for sale.

Just looked on Lowes website, 150X5 foot roll for $107.00.
Probably about 4 feet per cage, depending on how big you want

That's exactly what I use.  Some of mine are 25 years old and still fine.  Nitron Industries in Johnson sells those things already made.

[DeltaBoy]

Yep the 4x4 inch wire baskets I have are all made back in the 1980's.

[HawgWild]

First tomato of the season, a German Johnson. Eaten a few cherry maters already but I'm not counting those. The others are fixing to roll in!

[Boarcephus]

First tomato of the season, a German Johnson. Eaten a few cherry maters already but I'm not counting those. The others are fixing to roll in!

You obviously don't live in nw Arkansas     What part of the country are you in?  My goal has always been to have tomatoes by the 4th of July and by the looks of things, that should be the case again this year.   I'm still waiting to see if my using newspapers as a disease barrier will work and stop that blight I get every year.  So far so good but it's way too early to tell.

[HawgWild]

Central Arkansas, Conway. I started my seeds the weekend after Super Bowl Sunday. Looks like the Black Krim will be the next ones off the vine.

[LSUFan]

First tomato of the season, a German Johnson. Eaten a few cherry maters already but I'm not counting those. The others are fixing to roll in!

Mine are starting to release the hormones to ripen.

[PharmacistHog]

I've got some black cherry tomatoes that are starting to ripen.  My squash and zucchini plants have blooms all over.  My pink girls are almost dead.  Guess I'll be pulling those and going for a re-do. 

[woodrow hog call]

I think I have a brand new strain of tomatoes, I call them "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree Tomatoes".
The most pitiful looking little plants with a few withering leaves, and one miserable little tomato, hanging from one little limb.

[HawgWild]

Oaxacan Jewel, Cherokee Purple and Black Krim.

[LSUFan]

Oaxacan Jewel, Cherokee Purple and Black Krim.

Headed your way!

In other news, one of my plants has the mites/bugs the burrow into the leaves and they look like little white tracks in the leaf.

[HawgWild]

Amana Orange

[DeltaBoy]

Keep them coming.

[LSUFan]

Amana Orange

[Boarcephus]

Mine are getting there.  My goal has always been to have some ripe by the 4th of July and looks like that will happen this year.  So far so good and my newspaper trick has so far kept the blight down.  Jury is still out but looking decent so far. 

[HawgWild]

1st Tomato Pie of the season (Paula Deen's recipe, with slight alterations by HawgWild)

[Boarcephus]

1st Tomato Pie of the season (Paula Deen's recipe, with slight alterations by HawgWild)

I like the looks of that.  How did you make it?

[HawgWild]

Tomato Pie
Recipe courtesy of Paula Deen

Ingredients
•   4 tomatoes, peeled and sliced (I use more. I used a lot of cherry tomatoes in this pie)
•   10 fresh basil leaves, chopped
•   1/2 cup chopped green onion (I use more.)
•   1 (9-inch) prebaked deep dish pie shell (Don't forget to bake the crust first.)
•   1 cup grated mozzarella
•   1 cup grated cheddar (I used Wal-Mart's shredded Colby/Monterey Jack cheese for this pie.)
•   1 cup mayonnaise
•   Salt and pepper
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the tomatoes in a colander in the sink in 1 layer. Sprinkle with salt and allow to drain for 10 minutes.
Layer the tomato slices, basil, and onion in pie shell. Season with salt and pepper. Combine the grated cheeses and mayonnaise together. Spread mixture on top of the tomatoes and bake for 30 minutes or until lightly browned.

To serve, cut into slices and serve warm. I add in some diced jalapeno or Serrano pepper to the tomatoes and the cheese to jack it up a little. Don't be shy in salting the tomatoes. It draws out a lot of juice, along with most of the salt, and keeps the pie from getting too runny. I let them drain closer to 20 minutes. I also dribble some balsamic reduction over the pie slice.

[Boarcephus]

Appreciate it.  When mine come in I like to take four or five of them, blanch and take skin off, quarter them throw them in a bowl with sliced red onions and pour olive oil and balsamic vinegar or just  drench them in Paul Newman's Family recipe Italian dressing and let them marinade for a day.  It's a cool refreshing addition to lunch.

[HawgWild]

First White Beauty of the season. These are my wife's favorite. About time for some BLTs!

[LSUFan]

First White Beauty of the season. These are my wife's favorite. About time for some BLTs!

yum

[HawgWild]

First Garden Peach tomato. Originally from Peru. It's small and meaty and covered in a soft fuzz.

[HawgWild]

Vintage Wine

[LSUFan]

Vintage Wine

That's a butt or some bewbs 

[NotoRioUsHOG]

Get em piggies!!!

[LSUFan]

Get em piggies!!!

What?

WTH does that have to do with maters?

[BR]

My Garden looking great... This week we had some sunshine......

[Hog_Swanson]

My Garden looking great... This week we had some sunshine......

So you don't make mounds or raised rows?  I was always told to do that, but to be honest, I'm a little tired of making them. 

P.S. - I planted 18 maters and the squirrels got the few that actually set on.  Bad year for my garden.  Here's to 2016.

[PorkRinds]

I don't know anyone that had a great garden this year.

[Wildhog]

I gorged myself on home-grown maters last night.  Delicious.

[Boarcephus]

I actually had a pretty good garden this year. My tomato plants caught the usual blight and I pulled about half of them but left the other half because they weren't totally dead and have actually gotten a late crop.  I've pulled 15-20 the last couple days and had my first bacon and tomato sandwich the other day.  I planted a Better Boy in a pot and will try to grow it in my sunroom this winter.  I've had it outside but will move it inside any day now to see what happens.

[DeltaBoy]

Dad Spring Garden got washed out but his fall one had done well.

[PorkRinds]

I just had a batch of fresh green beans from the garden.  They were fantastic.

[Hog_Swanson]

I guess I gave up on my garden too early.  I pulled mine up in early September.

[DeltaBoy]

I guess I gave up on my garden too early.  I pulled mine up in early September.

My Folks trim the back a bit and most years you get a late Oct crop on till it Frost.