We hit critical mass for the amount of tomatoes sitting around in the kitchen so today was destined to be a tomato processing day.
First step, a little soak in the sink with some vinegar as an initial treatment.
They would then be washed by hand and any bad spots cut out of them. A pot of boiling water would be the next destination for the tomatoes before being hopped into a food mill.
I have this terrible habit of filling pots to the brim. Somehow it didn't bubble over...
A few more hours of simmering and then it will be reduced enough for the freezer.
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Timothy Norton
Steward of piddlers
Posts: 8331
Location: Upstate New York, Zone 5b, 43 inch Avg. Rainfall
Recently, I received an order of a thousand tulips (rainbow mix) that I ordered earlier in the year.
Shipment of Tulip Bulbs
Conceptually, I thought I would plant a thousand tulips at a faster rate than I have already done. I have about half-ish in the ground now. Using an auger bit on a battery-powered drill makes quick work as long as there are not many stones in the soil. I might work on putting more a little later today but I need to figure out where to put them.
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Multiple flowers in the gardens are setting seed. My wife and I gathered a good amount of seed pods/seed heads and spent some time sorting through them. We gathered calendula, cosmos and balsam seeds this time around for the next year.
After much contemplation, I decided on purchasing a broadfork from Meadow Creature. I settled on the 14" tine Tall Broadfork model with metal handles knowing that I am going to be putting this thing through some trials. My soil is rich with rocks and stones of many sizes. I expect to be levering on some real big suckers so we will see how this broadfork functions as a pry bar.
Once I get some hours under my belt with it, I plan on writing a review for the review grid. It cost some coin so we will see if it lives up to the hype.
we have one, not the tall one though.
I think they are pretty indistructable.
I use the old one from Johnnies mostly because it's not as heavy and works great where beds have already been forked once.
Steve uses the meadow creature exclusively and really likes it.,
We do not have rocks, but deep dense clay.
I think I see a cross piece in your photo that seems like a good addition instead of pulling just on the handles.
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Timothy Norton
Steward of piddlers
Posts: 8331
Location: Upstate New York, Zone 5b, 43 inch Avg. Rainfall
Judith Browning wrote: I think I see a cross piece in your photo that seems like a good addition instead of pulling just on the handles.
The aluminum pieces appear to be some kind of additional support for the broad fork for shipping. It is rather thin but it does make me think that some kind of pull support for the handles may be beneficial. After I get some initial work in, I might decide to cob up something a little more hand-friendly to try.
I unfortunately think I will be waiting for spring to try out this new tool. Maybe I will be inspired to break some new ground this autumn and make a new garden?