This may seem like an unusual time to blog about gardening since late September is when most of our gardens have seen better days; however don’t be hasty to just yank out all your plants as there are still plenty of valuable goodies to be had.
Right now my tomato & pepper plants are producing; although the tomato production has slowed considerably. As the summer rolls into fall my garden gets less direct sunlight here in northwest Georgia, so my tomatoes end up with very “leggy” vines and less fruit. My peppers, however, will keep producing right up until the first frost.
We try not to waste anything but more importantly we have found that the fruit our garden produces can be enjoyed and used in creative ways, regardless of when it is picked.
For instance, just the other day we harvested some "remnant" tomatoes which weren't going to ripen on the vine. The resulting yield was a mix of very green to somewhat ripened tomatoes.
No problem! In recent years we discovered though online research and experimenting that this "mix" of late season tomatoes can be made into a delicious sauce just as we do with our sun ripened fruit through the summer. In fact, we found that when simmered long and slow with our usual seasonings ( fresh onion, garlic, basil, oregano, etc) the result was an incredibly flavorful sauce.
(Tip: Simmer for hours allowing to cook down, then use an immersion blender to "smooth" your sauce. We like using skin and all to capture all the nutritional goodness)
So now we never discard any green tomatoes!
Skeptical? We were too, at first. But it really is delicious.
We've also made a "mean" salsa verde utilizing the green tomatoes.
So as the season here winds down I begin to pull out my tomato plants one by one, but first I pick off all the fruit including the unripened green ones.
Bottom line, the late season yield produces a variety of colorful and tasty options to round out the gardening season.
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