Comments on: Tomatoes Like Milk http://www.yougrowgirl.com/2007/06/12/tomatoes-like-milk/ Gardening for the People. Sat, 11 Feb 2012 12:16:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Gayla http://www.yougrowgirl.com/2007/06/12/tomatoes-like-milk/#comment-16034 Gayla Wed, 11 Jul 2007 17:07:28 +0000 http://www.yougrowgirl.com/thedirt/2007/06/12/tomatoes-like-milk/#comment-16034 Thanks Anne Marie! Seriously I would not expect anything called "Patio" to reach 6 feet. False advertising. Either that or mis-identification. Thanks Anne Marie! Seriously I would not expect anything called “Patio” to reach 6 feet. False advertising. Either that or mis-identification.

]]> By: Anne Marie http://www.yougrowgirl.com/2007/06/12/tomatoes-like-milk/#comment-16009 Anne Marie Sun, 08 Jul 2007 00:55:44 +0000 http://www.yougrowgirl.com/thedirt/2007/06/12/tomatoes-like-milk/#comment-16009 No actually they are indeterminates according to the tag. On the tag when I bought them, it said they were called "Patio Tomatoes". I bought them because I am growing them on my patio, and I figured they would be small and not hard to maintain. They were tiny little things when I planted them, and now they are 6 feet tall! They should be called green-giant tomatoes. My boyfriend said the same thing about just giving them time. I want to pick them and put them in a brown bag to help them to ripen. Either that or make a green tomato salad :p. I'm dying to eat them!! Thanks for the response! I love your book. I made my two best friends read it :)) We love dirt too :)))) No actually they are indeterminates according to the tag. On the tag when I bought them, it said they were called “Patio Tomatoes”. I bought them because I am growing them on my patio, and I figured they would be small and not hard to maintain. They were tiny little things when I planted them, and now they are 6 feet tall! They should be called green-giant tomatoes.
My boyfriend said the same thing about just giving them time. I want to pick them and put them in a brown bag to help them to ripen. Either that or make a green tomato salad :p. I’m dying to eat them!! Thanks for the response! I love your book. I made my two best friends read it :)) We love dirt too :))))

]]> By: Gayla http://www.yougrowgirl.com/2007/06/12/tomatoes-like-milk/#comment-16008 Gayla Sat, 07 Jul 2007 20:41:22 +0000 http://www.yougrowgirl.com/thedirt/2007/06/12/tomatoes-like-milk/#comment-16008 Anne Marie: I don't know about the Ultra High Temp. milks. I don't know what is killed off when milk is pasteurized at high temperatures. Your tomatoes may just take a long time to ripen. Some varieties take longer than others. You're calling your tomatoes "patio" so I'm assuming they are determinates. It is normal for determinate varieties to put out their fruit and then ripen around the same time. I don't think you're doing anything wrong. Just give it some time. Anne Marie: I don’t know about the Ultra High Temp. milks. I don’t know what is killed off when milk is pasteurized at high temperatures.

Your tomatoes may just take a long time to ripen. Some varieties take longer than others. You’re calling your tomatoes “patio” so I’m assuming they are determinates. It is normal for determinate varieties to put out their fruit and then ripen around the same time. I don’t think you’re doing anything wrong. Just give it some time.

]]> By: Anne Marie http://www.yougrowgirl.com/2007/06/12/tomatoes-like-milk/#comment-16004 Anne Marie Fri, 06 Jul 2007 21:08:31 +0000 http://www.yougrowgirl.com/thedirt/2007/06/12/tomatoes-like-milk/#comment-16004 Can I use Parmalat UHT skim-milk? My tomatoes are green and wont turn red. Will the milk help them ripen? What am I doing wrong? I have 3 patio tomato plants in a huge pot. They are all green! Can I use Parmalat UHT skim-milk? My tomatoes are green and wont turn red. Will the milk help them ripen? What am I doing wrong? I have 3 patio tomato plants in a huge pot. They are all green!

]]> By: Gayla http://www.yougrowgirl.com/2007/06/12/tomatoes-like-milk/#comment-15626 Gayla Thu, 28 Jun 2007 14:46:58 +0000 http://www.yougrowgirl.com/thedirt/2007/06/12/tomatoes-like-milk/#comment-15626 Jo: Strange about the smell. It just seems to evaporate and doesn't leave a bad smell lingering on my plants. Sandia: No idea about cream. I would need to understand more about milk to know how it might be different chemically. Why not give it a go and see what happens? Robin: Thanks so much for the recipe. I will definitely try it. Susan: I don't see why the milk wouldn't work on all kinds of mildew/fungus/viral issues on different plants. I just specifically like it for my tomatoes and cucumbers. Emy: I am guessing different brands date their cartons differently accounting for the discrepency. Jody: I also just crush my eggshells and work them into the soil or scatter them on the surface to deter slugs. No eggshell goes to waste around here! Jo: Strange about the smell. It just seems to evaporate and doesn’t leave a bad smell lingering on my plants.

Sandia: No idea about cream. I would need to understand more about milk to know how it might be different chemically. Why not give it a go and see what happens?

Robin: Thanks so much for the recipe. I will definitely try it.

Susan: I don’t see why the milk wouldn’t work on all kinds of mildew/fungus/viral issues on different plants. I just specifically like it for my tomatoes and cucumbers.

Emy: I am guessing different brands date their cartons differently accounting for the discrepency.

Jody: I also just crush my eggshells and work them into the soil or scatter them on the surface to deter slugs. No eggshell goes to waste around here!

]]> By: JODY http://www.yougrowgirl.com/2007/06/12/tomatoes-like-milk/#comment-15382 JODY Fri, 22 Jun 2007 17:59:49 +0000 http://www.yougrowgirl.com/thedirt/2007/06/12/tomatoes-like-milk/#comment-15382 I didn't know about the milk treatment. Water saved from boiling eggs makes a great fertilizer too. A great pick-me-up for houseplants. They turn bright green practically overnight. I didn’t know about the milk treatment. Water saved from boiling eggs makes a great fertilizer too. A great pick-me-up for houseplants. They turn bright green practically overnight.

]]> By: Emy http://www.yougrowgirl.com/2007/06/12/tomatoes-like-milk/#comment-15381 Emy Fri, 22 Jun 2007 17:07:01 +0000 http://www.yougrowgirl.com/thedirt/2007/06/12/tomatoes-like-milk/#comment-15381 Odd - I started buying organic milk because it seemed to last longer in the frig for me. Non-organic goes bad within a week, *long* before its expiration date, while the organic stuff seems to last much longer. Odd – I started buying organic milk because it seemed to last longer in the frig for me. Non-organic goes bad within a week, *long* before its expiration date, while the organic stuff seems to last much longer.

]]> By: Ingrid http://www.yougrowgirl.com/2007/06/12/tomatoes-like-milk/#comment-15380 Ingrid Fri, 22 Jun 2007 16:06:17 +0000 http://www.yougrowgirl.com/thedirt/2007/06/12/tomatoes-like-milk/#comment-15380 A diluted-milk spray works to prevent black spot on roses, too. You need to reapply it after every rain. In general, watering plants at the soil level does a great deal to prevent fungal diseases on plants. The key is to keep the leaves as dry as possible. Eggshell-water is also great for watering africal violets. A diluted-milk spray works to prevent black spot on roses, too. You need to reapply it after every rain. In general, watering plants at the soil level does a great deal to prevent fungal diseases on plants. The key is to keep the leaves as dry as possible.

Eggshell-water is also great for watering africal violets.

]]> By: Susan http://www.yougrowgirl.com/2007/06/12/tomatoes-like-milk/#comment-15363 Susan Fri, 22 Jun 2007 01:47:58 +0000 http://www.yougrowgirl.com/thedirt/2007/06/12/tomatoes-like-milk/#comment-15363 Great information for the tomato plants. I see the milk plus water helped Robin's peppermint plant. So...can the milk/water mixture be used on all herbs? Great information for the tomato plants. I see the milk plus water helped Robin’s peppermint plant. So…can the milk/water mixture be used on all herbs?

]]> By: Robin http://www.yougrowgirl.com/2007/06/12/tomatoes-like-milk/#comment-15296 Robin Thu, 21 Jun 2007 02:42:06 +0000 http://www.yougrowgirl.com/thedirt/2007/06/12/tomatoes-like-milk/#comment-15296 Yes, ricotta is absurdly easy - you just heat the milk (various recipes say 120F to 190F, I personally find that "just before it boils" is best), add 1/3 cup of white vinegar for each gallon of milk, stir gently until it's all separated into white ricotta and yellow whey, and then drain into a colander lined with paper towels. (If you want to save the whey for use in plants or baking, put the colander over a glass or metal container before draining the pot.) Allow to drain for a couple hours. It's so easy that often I'll find myself making a little fresh ricotta when I'm making spaghetti, to top the spaghetti with. :) And it's great for use in Italian-style cheesecake, blintzes, etc. I must say, milk plus water did wonders when powdery mildew attacked my poor peppermint plant. Hmm, I wonder if strawberries would like milk? On the days when I do extra treatments, most of my plants get a fish emulsion treatment, and my tomato plants and strawberry plants get a treatment of liquid tomato fertilizer. It would be easy to add powdered milk to the mix. I suppose I could always water my strawberries first, then add the powdered milk, then water my tomatoes. (I use a lot of boiled-then-ground-up eggshells in the pots as well.) Yes, ricotta is absurdly easy – you just heat the milk (various recipes say 120F to 190F, I personally find that “just before it boils” is best), add 1/3 cup of white vinegar for each gallon of milk, stir gently until it’s all separated into white ricotta and yellow whey, and then drain into a colander lined with paper towels. (If you want to save the whey for use in plants or baking, put the colander over a glass or metal container before draining the pot.) Allow to drain for a couple hours. It’s so easy that often I’ll find myself making a little fresh ricotta when I’m making spaghetti, to top the spaghetti with. :) And it’s great for use in Italian-style cheesecake, blintzes, etc.

I must say, milk plus water did wonders when powdery mildew attacked my poor peppermint plant.

Hmm, I wonder if strawberries would like milk? On the days when I do extra treatments, most of my plants get a fish emulsion treatment, and my tomato plants and strawberry plants get a treatment of liquid tomato fertilizer. It would be easy to add powdered milk to the mix. I suppose I could always water my strawberries first, then add the powdered milk, then water my tomatoes. (I use a lot of boiled-then-ground-up eggshells in the pots as well.)

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