Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Greenhouse Tomatoes and Beef Wellington

Hiding in the grass.
(I don't really want a name or to have my picture taken!)

First, I've decided to call our new Beef calf Wellington. Classy, subtle, but to the point. I'm sure that he will mostly be called Sir Loin as that was the most popular name in the family, and "Hey, Stupid!!" by me (other things too as time goes on. My dad, who never swore, told me it was OK to swear at cows and tractors. I wouldn't want to let him down.)

Wellington, trying out his new name.


THANK YOU for participating in our very informal, "Name the Calf" challenge. There were no prizes to be awarded, but I got a good laugh out of all the submissions. (If I was a serious blogger, interested in attracting people to my blog and making money (I'm still not sure how that works), I would have had a formal contest and given the winner something, like a beef calf. Maybe next time.)

Now, back to the rest of life.

Before the calf, we were finishing up the apple sauce. We put up 28 quarts of apple sauce. We like apple sauce, but not every day, so that is enough for a year. We still had apples left, so we offered them to our friend M, who took them to make pie and sauce. Saturday we are going swimming in her pond, and maybe, if we are really lucky, there will be pie. I'll bring a pint of cream from May, Wellington's mom, (we will have milk from her by then and it's to die for) to whip for a topping just in case.


Apple sauce to see us through the year

I've also been battling with leaf curl on my greenhouse tomatoes. I've tried everything. Nothing has worked. Since I don't see any sign of leaf curl in the cherry tomatoes, growing two feet away in the same dirt, I have to assume that it isn't a nutritional or water deficiency, and that it is something more sinister. Next year I will opt for a different kind of tomato. The leaf curl is causing other problems. In combination with my trellising and pruning techniques, it is exposing the fruit to a lot of sun and heat. The result, GREEN SHOULDERS. Not too bad to look at, but it really compromises the shelf life. If I shade it, the basil and everything else will suffer. Again, the cherry tomatoes, without the leaf curl, are doing just fine. So are all the other things in the nightshade family(peppers, and egg plant in my case). Well, there is always next year (or this fall in the case of the green house.)

Green Shoulders
Happy Peppers
and Egg Plant thriving in the green house.

13 comments:

Lucy Corrander said...

Oh! What a gruesome title!

Do you make pastes or preserve your tomatoes in any other ways?

Lucy
Isn't this a reason for not naming it at all?

But, if you do - I'll go for 'Blob'.

(Don't know why. Just like the sound of it.)

Lucy
PICTURES JUST PICTURES

Lucy Corrander said...

Oh no! There's something odd going on with my computer.

It keeps adding bits from previous comments onto the next one.

I do apologise.

(The weather here in Dorset is particularly heavy and humid. A good old storm would be welcome to clear the air. Do computers respond to atmospherics? I don't know - but that's what I'll blame it on!)

Lucy

(I'm now quite nervous about pressing the 'publish comment' button - anything could happen!)

Danni said...

Awwww, B.W. is adorable! Maybe he will shatter all expectations and impress and charm everyone with his vast intelligence and great wit! :-)
Jeez, that's a lot of applesauce...it looks yummy!

Vincent said...

Looking forward to when we have some calves. C likes to preserve as well - should exchange apple chutney recipes. Incidentally, (relating to your comment), I pass a solar dam pump on the way to work each day, I'd be interested to see how it works out for you.

CoilsRus said...

I love how google knows what you're blogging about...recipes for Beef Wellington in the ads! Crazy...love the name btw. My tomatoes are still GREEN...perhaps it's all this cool new england weather!

jack-of-all-thumbs said...

I know that you are one busy guy.

I hope that Wellington and the rest of your 'flock' are doing well.

Alan said...

Thanks for all the comments.

Lucy,
Most of our tomatoes get eaten fresh. We do make some sauce, some salsa, and some green tomato pickles. I'd like to try sun drying some, but it's too humid here. (I like Jack-of-all-thumb's solar dryer with the electric light assist. Hope to try that soon.)

Naming is for the children, not for the calf. We all need to be reminded of where our food comes from and honor the lives given that we might live, be they animal or vegetable. BTW, I've enjoyed your picts and stories.

The applesauce is getting eaten already. Don't know if it will last the year. Somehow home made is better...

I'm hoping that B.W. can find a home as a breeding bull somewhere. There is a good chance of that, but if not he will make some really good steaks.

Vincent, before it gets cold we will be putting in a pond with a solar pump. I'll be posting about that later. Jack's post about roofing materials convinced me to slow down on my rain catchment plans a bit. Adding roofing in breaks the budget.

Joan, did you look up the beef wellington ad? I get paid if you do (not getting rich on this project as it is, so ...)

Jack,

I find, as a juggler, that I can only keep six balls in the air at a time. (I know I'm not a very good juggler, but that's my problem.) So right now I have three people who want all my attention (that's 3), goats and cows (another 1 making 4), chickens (makes 5) and everything else. If I devote time to the garden then I don't blog. If I devote time to the house then I don't blog. If I blog...

I am signed up for juggling lessons, so maybe things will get better.

Barbee' said...

I never knew what caused those green areas on top of tomatoes. Thank you for passing along that info. The mystery is solved.

Barbee' said...

Alan, you might find this interesting. They were featured in the Lexington newspaper this morning. They are 21st Century farmers, but they practice easy on the land ways to do things that appear to be 'old fashioned' to many. Here is a link to the article. It is free to read on line for a day or two, then they cut it off and one has to pay to read :( If you check your comments today, maybe it will still be there. Don't know otherwise. CLICK HERE

If you miss it, here is the page of their web site showing the solar panel they have installed for energy to pump water from the pond.
CLICK HERE

Anonymous said...

Wellington is a most distinguished name; I like it.

Your gardening appears to be going well in spite of the leaf curl. Fresh tomatoes are always a delight. My sister and her husband have a garden that I raid for tomatoes and squash quite often. I grow roses and you can't eat them.

jack-of-all-thumbs said...

Alan,

Understood completely. I hope you can get back to the blog after a productive end to the summer.

Take good care/

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