How to Use Up Extra Tomatoes From the Garden

All the hard work of planting, water, weeding, and waiting has finally paid off for the tomato garden. You are now seeing the bounty of your garden and have way more ruby red tomatoes that you ever dreamed of. The first tomato hits the dinner table and tastes amazingly good. The additional tomatoes go out with a bang as well whether stuffed or added to a juicy BLT sandwich. The problem though is what the heck do you do with the excess of tomatoes still waiting to be picked in the grand garden of yours? Well, there are a few ways to preserve the life of your bumper crop without letting these gems decay.

Canning

Moms and grandmothers can tell you that one of the best ways to preserve your seasonal produce is through canning. Canning is a way of keeping your fruits and vegetables well preserved into the winter months when a good fruit or vegetable simply cannot be found at the local grocer. You will need a few things to get started when canning your tomatoes. Make sure to first check out a canning guide from your local library. The book will then mention all the critical tools needed for canning such as jars, lids, and a kettle. Some of these items you may already have. If you do not have them, you will most likely be able to find them at a home goods store or large discount store. Once you purchase them, you should have them for a long time for annual re-use barring any breakage.

Freezing

Tomatoes are an interesting sort. You really cannot freeze them and thaw to slice up and place in a salad or as a sandwich topper. The thawed result would be a mushy mess that is rather unpleasant and not replicating anything of what was picked off the vine. There is a way to preserve the great flavor of the fruit when freezing. Tomatoes can be stewed and pureed to form a starter sauce. This sauce is basically your start for making spaghetti sauce or chili sauce. This will come in handy during the winter months. You can even make the entire sauce in the heat of the summer with the aid of garlic, onions, peppers and herbs and have it ready to go come December. Once you make a large stock pot of sauce and cool it down, you can transfer it to freeze friendly containers that can be labeled, dated and frozen for some good winter meals. This will taste much better than any premade jar sauce purchased at the grocer.

Neighbors

Another great way to unload your bumper crop of tomatoes is by giving them to neighbors. This is a great ice breaker when new neighbors move in and you offer them up a few tomatoes. They will be very appreciative of your home grown gift. Sharing your tomatoes with neighbors will also be a good way to conduct vegetable trading as you may share a few tomatoes with a neighbor and come home with a few cucumbers or bag of green beans or peppers in return. This coop idea is great when you can get every neighbor to plant their own specialized fruit, vegetable, or even herbs.

Vegetable Stand

If you truly have a multitude of excess tomatoes, why not set up a card table in the front sidewalk and have kids sell them? Depending on size, sell each tomato from a quarter up to a dollar. These items will go over probably much better than any lemonade stand. People coming home from work in the late afternoon will easily stop to bring home a homegrown fruit or vegetable for the dinner table.