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Post by cheerypeabrain on Feb 3, 2011 17:48:26 GMT
I have started chitting my seed potatoes in the conservatory ;D always a sign that spring is on the way.. All of them will be grown in large pots about the garden. We only have a small plot but I do like to cram as much in as possible....
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Post by tod2 on May 19, 2011 12:52:25 GMT
Here are my Bok Choy or also known as Pak Choi! I am certainly givings lots away to friends!
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Post by mickthecactus on May 19, 2011 13:10:29 GMT
They look in beautiful condition Tod2.
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Post by tod2 on May 19, 2011 14:06:17 GMT
Before I went on holiday two weeks ago, I gave them a good dose of snail bait as the young leaves were being shredded. On Monday when I went down into the garden this is the site that met my eyes! I have a few young plants coming along but as usual it is always feast or famine in my veg garden! The amazing thing is they were grown from seed bought in Singapore years and years ago.
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Post by rikita on May 20, 2011 19:22:48 GMT
i always try growing lots of vegetables but usually only the tomatoes are succesful. wait, are tomatoes even officially vegetables?
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Post by mich64 on May 20, 2011 19:38:24 GMT
I am not sure Rikita, I have heard some say it is a member of the Citrus family of fruit? Mich
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Post by rikita on May 20, 2011 20:38:02 GMT
yeah i have this vague memory of reading there is something odd about tomatoes, but not really sure. could be citrus.
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Post by bixaorellana on May 21, 2011 14:50:44 GMT
I don't think they're citrus, but they are definitely classed as fruit, although I don't know the scientific reason why.
Perhaps it's because the seed capsule of any plant, edible or not, is technically its "fruit"?
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Post by rikita on May 21, 2011 16:28:32 GMT
could be. i could google it, obviously. but might be too lazy.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 8, 2011 5:19:08 GMT
One thing that they keep saying more and more about tomatoes is that cooked tomatoes, even tinned ones, are more nutritious than fresh ones.
That's fine and all, but since I am not lacking in nutrition, I will continue to eat fresh tomatoes also.
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Post by rikita on Jun 10, 2011 20:53:03 GMT
why are fresh ones not nutricious? that somehow seems strange to me.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2011 5:08:26 GMT
Tomatoes are full of lycopene, an antioxydant, anti-cancer thing. Cooking tomatoes frees the lycopene so that the body can absorb it. When we eat raw tomatoes, we don't have access to the lycopene.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 14, 2011 6:13:26 GMT
Hmmmm. You made me go off & do a bunch of reading about this! One source said that merely pureeing tomatoes would release the lycopene as effectively as cooking. However, this was Yahoo.answers, which is hardly reliable. Wikipedia quotes the USFDA, another source that I don't completely trust, as having determined that eating tomatoes does not reduce the risk of prostate cancer. This report, however, suggests otherwise. It also contains this interesting item: ...a British case-control study did not find an appreciable association between reported tomato intake and prostate cancer risk but found high consumption of baked beans associated with about half the risk of prostate cancer. The authors noted that, in Britain, the tomato sauce that usually immerses tinned baked beans may be an effective source of highly bioavailable lycopene.Apparently tomato sauce, with its combination of cooked tomatoes and olive oil is the the best way of delivering lycopene to your body. It's kind of a win-win situation. If you cook tomatoes, you get the benefit of the lycopene. And raw tomatoes are "a good source of Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Thiamin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Magnesium, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Potassium and Manganese." Source: nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2682/2#ixzz1PECcPxumSince most of us incorporate both raw and cooked tomatoes in our diets, we should be getting all they have to offer.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jun 14, 2011 7:40:21 GMT
I grow tomatoes...but I have never eaten one raw or cooked if it is recognisable as a tomato!.....I will eat them if they are in a sauce or soup (preferably puree...I wish I could find out how to use accents!) I just can't bring myself to bite into a raw one.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 14, 2011 9:29:51 GMT
When tomatoes were first discovered, they weren't considered edible, because their cold juiciness was considered unnatural compared to the existing vegetables.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 14, 2011 14:15:21 GMT
Mmmm..... I don't think that's the reason why, Kerouac. The Spaniards introduced tomatoes, widely eaten in the New World, to the Old World. Apparently it was the northern part of Europe that was most resistant to the idea of tomatoes as food. Since tomatoes belong to the nightshade family, it was more prudence than superstition. Cheery, really?! Have you ever tasted a raw tomato in your whole life? Three ways to make accents: 1) If you're copying a word here, you can paste it & the accent will still be there. 2) Memorize the options for making the accent. (<-- options for Spanish -- surely there are some for French & others, though) 3) Install a foreign language on your computer. Same link as #2, showing how to install.
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jun 14, 2011 20:21:06 GMT
cheers medears....
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Post by spindrift on Jun 14, 2011 20:26:29 GMT
I am growing some superb tomatoes from seed this year. They are doing so well.
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Post by rikita on Jun 19, 2011 21:06:26 GMT
the first few of my tomatoes are starting to get red. soon i can eat them!
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Post by spindrift on Jun 19, 2011 21:59:29 GMT
gosh, Rikita, your tomatoes must be indoors? mine are outdoors and still have no flowers on them although the buds are just appearing. Are you in Germany or India?
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Post by cheerypeabrain on Jun 20, 2011 5:47:10 GMT
Mine are in a Greenhouse and have lots of fruit on them but none are going red yet...I was in the GH yesterday nipping out the axil growth and trying to tie them to a cane. Got flowers on my pepper and chilli...but the strawberries aren't doing very well (expect more from them next year as they're young plants) The cucumbers have been fruiting for a couple of weeks and are lovely and sweet.
My shallots will be ready soon, the carrots are doing nicely as are the leeks...and we've started eating the potatoes.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 20, 2011 14:52:38 GMT
Cheery do you keep the tomatoes in the greenhouse for the extra warmth &/or jump on the season? Would tomatoes fruit in your area if grown outside? Are the other things you mention in the 1st paragraph in the greenhouse or outdoors? Rikita, your tomatoes are on a balcony, right? I guess they must like the protection & reflected heat from the house wall. Spindrift, tomatoes from seed ~~ good for you! They should be glorious in July and August. I had a huge volunteer tomato plant that I pulled out because it was so big & not doing much. Tomatoes are extremely cheap and available here, but it's still much nicer to be able to harvest only one or two as needed. I have chile plants all over the place, since I fling the seeds hither & yon. They're coals to Newcastle, as well, but I love to grow them for the same reason as I like having tomato plants, plus they're so ornamental.
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Post by tod2 on Jun 20, 2011 15:32:11 GMT
Yes Bixa, the bountiful chillie! What would we do without this marvellous little plant? What surprises me is that restaurants are buying in ready chopped, pureed, or whatever, chillies. My DH like fresh raw chillie in his sambal that accompanies a good curry but we always end up taking our own as they never have it!
Your pics are lovely and colourful BTW!
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Post by rikita on Jun 25, 2011 9:51:19 GMT
gosh, Rikita, your tomatoes must be indoors? mine are outdoors and still have no flowers on them although the buds are just appearing. Are you in Germany or India? they are outdoors (balcony), and i am in germany - but this is about the normal time for me to get the first ones, though... though admittedly, i don't grow them from seeds (did that once to prove i could, but now am too lazy) but buy plants... the one that has red tomatoes had already some flowers when i bought it (is a very small plant, bread specifically for balconies), the other plants had no flowers yet when i bought them, but quite a few already carry green tomatoes now...
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Post by rikita on Jun 25, 2011 9:55:08 GMT
Rikita, your tomatoes are on a balcony, right? I guess they must like the protection & reflected heat from the house wall. true, that might be the reason... didn't think of that. my balcony is kind of windy so the plants stay small, but it is quite sunny and of course there is warmth from the house wall... my dad's balcony is even sunnier though (mine is south-east, so i get sun until noon, his is south), and very well protected from wind - his tomato plants grow huge and have amazing amounts of tomatoes... i always get jealous...
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 4, 2011 3:48:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jul 6, 2011 10:07:39 GMT
I abandon the idea of a springtime/summer garden this year for various reasons and actually am glad I did because of the 12 week drought we ended up enduring. I did however,plant some heat loving,fairly pestilent free eggplant,2 varieties,ichiban and 'Rosa Bianca' (an all time favorite of mine,very beautiful, worthy of a watercolor). I also planted some okra although,I 'm not a big fan of the vegetable,I love the flower (it's a gorgeous mallow),and,my husband quite loves it and uses it in one or two of his gumbos.
My herbs continue to thrive.
I am prepping for an outrageous fall/winter vegetable potager as we speak. For me,it's a much more 'civilized' time of year to be outside and there is far less pestilence to be sure.
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Post by imec on Jul 30, 2011 14:42:21 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 31, 2011 12:06:26 GMT
You grew those perfect specimens the first time out?! They're so fresh & tasty looking. Are they planted in separate rows of different greens, or was that from a packet of mixed seeds?
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Post by tod2 on Jul 31, 2011 12:49:21 GMT
You keep the salad greens - I want some of that chicken?? My it looks good
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