13 Do’s & Do Not’s of Growing Tomatoes

http://gardeningjones.com/blog/2013/05/05/dos-donts-of-growing-tomatoes/

5 May 2013, by gj

Don’t
Purchase seedlings that have flowers on them. You may think you are getting a head start, but really what the plants need to do first is establish their roots, not produce babies. Let them get settled in.

Do
If you started your own plants and they are budding, pinch those flowers off. Really, you’ll get more fruit in the long run.

The tomatoes are ready, is the soil?

Don’t
Over fertilize. It’s fine to give your plants some good healthy compost, but take it easy on the fertilizer. Too much will grow wonderful bushy and green, albeit unproductive, plants. Same goes for your peppers by the way.

Do
Give them a bit of Epsom salts. They love that stuff. If they don’t need it, it won’t hurt. It is good to have it as a preventative measure to help grow healthier plants.

Do
Plant your transplants very deep. ‘Up to their necks’ is what the farmers say. This way they will grow a great root system, as mentioned above. The better the roots, the more productive the plants will then be.

Ready to rumble.

Don’t
Water from above, if you can help it. This can cause soil to splash up on the stems, making them more prone to disease. Try to use a soaker hose whenever possible with tomatoes.

Do
Mulch, especially if you are watering from above. This helps prevent that soil splash just mentioned, as well as holds the moisture your tomatoes may need.

Do
Put in the stakes you are going to use for support at the same time you plant. You don’t want to go back later and start damaging those roots you both worked so hard for.

Do
Know what type of tomato you are growing. If it’s a ‘determinate’ type, it may suddenly stop producing. Learn more by following the link at the end of this post.

Don’t
Stress it. Are you feeling over run with tomatoes? Are you concerned about fruit flies in your kitchen? Simply wash some of those tomatoes off and toss them in the freezer. When you have time, thaw to use. A bonus: the skins will slip right off after defrosting.

Happy in their cloched bed.

Do
Enjoy a variety if you have the room. Roma and plum tomatoes are best for preserving, slicing types for fresh eating, and of course cherry tomatoes for snacking. Plant tomatoes based on how you intend to use them.

Don’t
plant them outside before the soil temperature is 50F. How warm the soil has become is a function of how close the sun is, the depth, and how much sunshine the area gets. Surface soil can feel warm but 6 inches down it can still be quite cold. Some gardeners plant their tomatoes out when the overnight lows are consistently above 50F. Not the same thing, but close.

Tomatoes under glass.

Do
speed up the process by covering the area with black plastic, and turning the soil over every so often. If you plant early, keep those heat loving tomatoes warm through the use of cloches.
In a pinch, canning jars will do the trick, just don’t let the plants get fried. That’s for the green fruit.

15 Aluminum Foil Tips to Simplify Your Life

Aluminum foil is one of the most commonly used items to save and store leftover food, but there are a surprising number of uses for foil besides food storage. Here are a few of the most interesting uses.

Fix Electronic Connections

You can fold a piece of foil several times and insert it into the space between a battery and the loose spring in order to hold the battery in place and repair the circuit.

Dryer Sheet

By tossing a ball of wadded-up foil into the dryer with a load of clothes you can avoid static cling.

Polish Silver

You can quickly make your silver look new again by lining a pan with aluminum foil, adding two or three tablespoons of baking soda, adding boiling water and then dropping the tarnished silverware in.

Remove Rust

By crumpling a piece of foil into a ball you can use it rub rust spots off of most surfaces including shower-curtain rods and a car bumper.

Clean Grill

Ball a sheet of aluminum foil up and use it to scrub the accumulated black bits off the cooking grates of your grill.

Create A Funnel

You can shape a sheet of foil into a cone, tape it securely together and stick the foil into a bottle to use as a makeshift funnel.

Enhance Radiator

Take a piece of plywood and wrap it around with a sheet of aluminum foil. Place it carefully behind your radiator and it will reflect heat directly into the middle of the room.

Protect Fruit Trees

Birds will often eat fruit growing from your trees or knock them over. You can protect the trees from this by hanging up strips of twisted foil in the branches. The reflection of light and the sound them make blowing in the breeze will scare of the birds off.

Iron Quickly

Place a piece of aluminum foil under the ironing board cover. This will reflect the iron's heat back up to the bottom of the clothes, allowing you to iron both sides at the same time.

Glue Loose Vinyl Tile

When you have a loose vinyl tile place a sheet of aluminum foil over it and press it down with a hot iron. This will melt the glue which will then stick again and glue the tile back down.

Keep Oven Clean

Place a sheet of foil in the bottom rack to prevent any drips or crumbs falling to the bottom. Make sure to replace regularly to avoid any damage to the oven.

Campfire Cooking

Combine ground beef or chicken in the middle of a sheet of foil and add any vegetables or seasoning you want to them. Wrap the ends and add a second sheet to ensure the food doesn't burn and cook for 20-30 minutes for a delicious BBQ dinner.

Sharpen Scissors

Cut through a folded sheet of aluminum foil several times with a pair of scissors in order to sharpen the dulled blade.

Prevent Sticky Pans

When baking line the pan with a sheet of aluminum foil to prevent the cookies from sticking to the pans and keep them looking brand new.

Save Soap

Place foil on your soap dish to keep the soap from sitting in water and quickly wearing away.

Curling straight hair

Aluminum foil can help keep your curls lasting longer. Wrap the foil around your clump of hair you want curled and place your flat iron on top. The aluminum foil help keep the heat in the hair.

Prevent browning bananas

Wrap aluminum foil around the stems of your bananas to help decrease the bananas from browning quickly.

Pie Crust

Pie baking can be difficult process, especially when trying to bake the middle without burning the crust. To prevent your crust burning, check your pie after 10 - 15 minutes, when the crust is golden, place strips of aluminum foil on top the crust. This will allow the middle to cook perfectly allow also preventing the dreaded crust burn. Place in the strips takes time, so be patient, you'll get the hang of it.

http://www.answers.com/article/1193577/15-aluminum-foil-hacks-to-simplify-your-life?paramt=1&param4=fb-demo&param1=dailydose&param2=27455961

10 Habits you should pick up from your grandmother

Modern life benefits from a few reminders from times gone by. (Photo: iravgustin/Shutterstock)

Some of us romanticize the past, some of us brush it off altogether — but either way, there’s some good wisdom to be gleaned from generations that weren't bombarded with consumerism, surrounded by chemicals and discombobulated by the crazy pace of the digital world. Yes, we’re talking about the “grandma era.” Known for its wealth of practical solutions, clean living and common sense, the women who forged the road before us were smart cookies. Here are some are some of our favorite grandmotherly habits that are too valuable to be lost.

1. Go for a walk

Urban inhabitants and habitual walkers may know this, but for the rest of us it’s good to remember: Walking is fantastic for both body and soul! If you can walk to do your errands, do it. If you live in an area that requires driving, resume the grandmother tradition of taking a walk after dinner. The health benefits from just 40 minutes of walking a day are impressive; from decreasing your risk of stroke, diabetes and breast cancer to sparking up your sex life and saving money at the gym. Whenever you have the opportunity to walk somewhere, take it. 

2. Cook from scratch

Of course we were going to include this on the list; it’s one of the basic rules of grandmotherdom. Even if you get home late from work or you don’t know how to cook or any other number of reasons, we’re telling you, give it a shot. It doesn't have to be labor-intensive (slow cookers and quick recipes abound), it is cheaper (by a lot), it is generally healthier (you can control the ingredients), it can be relaxing and pleasurable (some of us find it quite sensual, actually), it tastes better (once you get the hang of it), and feeding people something you've cooked provides the chef with the profound pleasure of nurturing loved ones. If you’re intimidated, read this: Why do people think cooking is hard?

3. Nurture a garden
And by this, we mean anything from having a giant plot of flowers and vegetables out back to having a pot of basil on your windowsill. The size doesn't matter, the essence is being able to nurture something in the soil and raise it until it can be harvested to eat, make tea, used in a natural remedy or put in a vase on the table. Along the way you will save money, enjoy a therapeutic hobby, have something natural to consume, and revel in the simple joy of self-sufficiency.

• 10 vegetables to grow in your garden
• 5 herbs that belong in every kitchen garden
• 10 amazing healing plants from your garden

And then of course, put things in jars.

4. Don’t eat fake things

Photo: AnikaNes/Shutterstock

OK, for this one we’re going to jump back a few generations of grannies and offer some advice from modern food writer extraordinaire Michael Pollan, who says:

Don’t eat anything your great-great-great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food. Imagine how baffled your ancestors would be in a modern supermarket: the epoxy-like tubes of Go-Gurt, the preternaturally fresh Twinkies, the vaguely pharmaceutical Vitamin Water. Those aren't foods, quite; they’re food products. History suggests you might want to wait a few decades or so before adding such novelties to your diet, the substitution of margarine for butter being the classic case in point.

Right? What would your great-great-great grandmother think of Cheetos or Cheez Whiz? Your reaction should be similar.

5. Write letters

It’s been so long since someone around here (not mentioning any names or anything) took up a pen and wrote more than a few words that their once-precise penmanship is now about as legible as ancient Phoenician. But personal misgivings aside, we should just all write letters on a regular basis. Not emails, not texts, but honest-to-goodness handwritten letters using a pen and stationery and slipped into envelopes and put in the mailbox. This serves many purposes. First of all, think of the poor U.S. Postal Service; it needs letter writers! But also consider how it forces you to slow down, ponder your thoughts, carefully select words you want to commit to paper ... and how the simple act of written communication works as such a good practice of mindfulness. Plus, the recipient of your letter will be grateful to receive something in their mailbox that isn't a bill or a catalog. (It will also ensure that you don’t forget how to form alphabet letters with little strokes of that thing that dispenses ink.)

6. Use natural remedies

If grandpa had a cough in the middle of the night, did grandma get up, get dressed, drive to the 24-hour pharmacy and plunk down $10 for a day-glow concoction of synthetic chemicals? No. She got up and gave grandpa some honey (and in fact, studies show that honey is more effective in treating a cough than cough syrup!). Why would you want to spend a lot of money on questionable chemicals to treat your woes when you have a whole natural medicine cabinet right in your pantry or garden?

For starters refer to the following for basics:

• 10 natural cough remedies
• 10 health benefits of honey
• 13 surprising home remedies for acid reflux
• 12 health benefits of apple cider vinegar

7. Take care of your clothes; mend when needed

Maybe your grandmother didn't actually darn socks but surely she did some mending. In this disposable culture so many things are tossed at the first sign of wear or tear, and that’s sad. And expensive. And just wrong! Paul Dillinger, the head of global product innovation at Levi’s, tells us to treat our clothes like flowers, and he’s got a really good point. With care and nurturing, our clothes will last a lot longer and will love us back. And if they start to flounder a bit, don’t be afraid of a needle and thread or of turning them into something else.

8. Turn off some appliances

Photo: nata-lunata/Shutterstock

We are grateful that laundry day doesn't involve a washboard, but that doesn't mean we have to rely so incessantly on our appliances; they cost money to use and they use power that increases your carbon footprint. Two great places to start are with the clothes dryer and the air conditioner.

• Dry your clothes on the clothesline
• Air conditioning is not the only answer

After that, challenge yourself to figure out what other appliances you can not use from time to time. If you’re feeling brave, try the TV and other electronics. We’re not suggesting you become a Luddite, but being conscious of your appliance use can be liberating.

9. Use your things until they die

Granted, styles changed less frequently and things lasted longer back in the days when our grandmothers bought stuff, but still. Would your grandmother commit a perfectly good white refrigerator to die an ignoble death at the dump just so she could replace it with a trendy stainless steel one? She wouldn’t think of it, and neither should you. Use your things until they die, then try to repurpose or upcycle them; you will save money and you will alleviate a bit of the stress on our overburdened landfills.

Likewise, apply the habit to food as well and reuse your food scraps until they have nothing left to give; see 20 uses for leftover fruit and vegetable peels for ideas.

10. Clean your home with things you can eat

Wise grandmothers did not reach for highly toxic products like corrosive drain products, oven cleaners, and acidic toilet bowl cleaners or things so laden with synthetic fragrance that they cause respiratory irritation and headache. No, they headed to the kitchen and broke out the baking soda and vinegar. These things are cheaper, safer, and better for the environment in oh so many ways. And they clean effectively, too! Start a nontoxic cleaning kit with the following goodies from your pantry, and if you accidentally get some in your mouth, you won’t have to call the poison control hotline.

Read more: http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/responsible-living/stories/10-habits-you-should-pick-up-from-your-grandmother#ixzz3BRQ2xn00

60 AMAZING TIPS FOR FOOD AND THE KITCHEN YOUR MOTHER MAY HAVE FORGOTTEN TO TELL YOU

http://ecosalon.com/60-amazing-tips-for-food-and-the-kitchen-your-mother-may-have-forgotten-to-tell-you/

Helpful tips to make life in the kitchen easier and food taste better. 

Mother knows best! When it comes to the kitchen, this idiom couldn’t hold more true. But it’s not only your female superiors who have so graciously passed on their secrets – with the rise of celebrity chefs and the number of Food Network productions, the general public is increasingly more educated on ways to become the master of mealtime making.

Sometimes however, it’s the information that gets lost between the lines that matters most, so we’ve assembled 60 of the most important kitchen tidbits that have stood the test of time and experience. This guide is packed with essential culinary pointers that will not only help you cook better meals but also navigate the kitchen with even greater ease and effectiveness.

Keep your onions in the refrigerator. A chilled onion is easier to chop, and causes fewer tears.

If you switch out seltzer for tap water or milk, you’ll end up with fluffier pancakes, waffles and scrambled eggs.

Want to boost the antioxidant power of your green tea? Add some lemon to it.

If your bananas are black, spotty and on the verge of turning from ripe to rotten, put them in the freezer so you can keep them on hand for a batch of banana bread on a rainy afternoon.

Put a dash of cinnamon or cardamom in your coffee for an extra spice boost.

Wow your guests when it’s time for dessert by adding cinnamon to your whipped cream.

Make your own vanilla sugar by placing a whole vanilla bean in a small jar and filling it with sugar. Screw on the lid and store until you need sugar with just a little extra flavor.

Not sure if your eggs are still good or not? Test their freshness by dissolving 2 teaspoons of salt in a cup of cold water. Place your egg in the water and if it floats it is an old egg, if it sinks, it’s fresh.

If you’re freezing summer’s bounty, spread berries out over a baking pan. Place pan in freezer until the berries are well frozen, then transfer to freezer bags. This keeps the berries individually frozen instead of in one big mass.

Not sure if spaghetti is fully cooked? Pull a noodle out of a pot of simmering water, let the water drip from it for a few seconds, and then chuck it against the nearest kitchen wall. If it adheres to the wall, it’s al dente!

Always keep dough covered with a moist cloth to avoid a dry crust from forming on it.

Never refrigerate tomatoes and citrus fruits. Refrigeration kills their flavors, nutrients, and textures.

Knock on a watermelon to check for signs of hollowness. It is sounds hollow, its ripe. If it doesn’t sound hollow, it’s unripe.

Pour oil into a pan that has already been preheated. This will prevent sticking later on.

Only add vegetables to a saucepan if they begin to sizzle upon impact. To check if the oil is hot enough to add vegetables, flick a few drops of water into the pan – if the oil makes a sizzling sound, it’s ready.

Oil biochemically changes for the worse when cooked. Enjoy extra-virgin oils in their raw state and benefit in both taste and nutrition.

Want to dehydrate without splurging on an expensive dehydrator? Set your oven on its lowest temperature setting and keep the door slightly ajar.

Squeeze lemon juice over half-eaten fruits and prevent them from rotting or turning brown.

Pour some vinegar over defrosting meat to accelerate the thawing process as well as tenderize the meat.

To keep cookies fresh, toss a piece of bread in the cookie jar. The cookies will extract moisture from the bread and retain their softness.

Keep milk fresher for longer by adding a dash of salt into the carton right after opening it for the first time.

Soak almonds in hot water for 20 minutes to make removing their skins easy.

Place dough in the freezer for a few minutes to prevent it from sticking to the rolling pin.

To smoothen the icing on a cake, use a knife dipped in hot water and gently rub it over the top and the sides.

Cut a cheesecake with a wet knife to ensure that the filling doesn’t stick to the knife’s edges and ruin presentation.

To get the most digestive benefit from bananas, wait until they’re browned and spotted – the more spots, the better.

Under-ripe or just ripe bananas can lead to constipation. Overripe bananas have developed their sugars and induce the complete opposite effect.

Ice-creams set faster and better in aluminum containers.

A pinch of soda in your icing will keep it moist and prevent it from cracking on the cake.

Is the salt in your shaker clumping? Put a few grains of rice into the shaker to absorb excess moisture.

Added just a pinch too many of salt to your soup? A raw potato added to the soup white cooking absorbs the extra sodium. Toss a chunk in the pot and let it linger in there until the soup is appealing to your tastes.

Adding a little bit of baking soda to dish water will help to remove pungent odors from utensils and dishes.

The key to smooth dressings, sauces, and gravy is to put all ingredients into a tightly sealed jar and then shake until all lumps and inconsistencies disappear.

Rub hands with dry salt to remove onion and garlic odor.

Add a tablespoon of butter or olive oil to a pot of boiling pasta to stop the water from boiling over the edge of the pan.

Dip fish into scalding water for a minute to scale more easily.

Another way to spread icing more easily on a cake is to sprinkle the top with flour as soon as the cake is removed from the oven.

To make rice as white and fluffy as possible, add approximately 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar per quart of water while cooking.

If you want to eliminate eggs, try this easy egg replacement: mix one tablespoon ground flaxseeds with three tablespoons warm water. Let sit for a few minutes and substitute for one egg in baking recipes.

Avoid storing onions near potatoes. Doing so will cause the potatoes to spoil sooner.

Forget to bring butter to room temperature for a recipe that calls for it? For a quick fix, fill a glass with hot tap water and let it sit for a few seconds. Empty the water and place the glass upside down over the amount of butter required for the recipe. Wait one minute and the butter should be ready to use!

Don’t have a rolling pin? Use an empty bottle.

In a recipe with both salt and some sort of acid, such as citrus, vinegar, or wine, you can offset one of the flavors by adding more of the other. For example, in a dish with too much vinegar, add salt to balance it out. Likewise, in an over-salted dish, add more vinegar.

Dust raisins, berries, or chocolate chips with flour to prevent them from sinking in while baking in a cake.

Always add sea salt to vegetables before roasting. The salt brings out the juices from the vegetables and gives them a caramelized flavor and deliciously browned appearance.

To prevent egg shells from cracking, add a pinch of salt to the water before hard-boiling.

Place a slice of apple in hardened brown sugar to soften it back up.

When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to the mix to help bring out the corn’s natural sweetness.

Can’t stomach an entire avocado? Mash the remaining flesh and smooth it onto your skin for an impromptu, but highly effective, face and body mask. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes and then wash clean.

To prevent potatoes from budding, place them in a bag with apples.

Brush beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to end up with a deliciously glossy finish.

Store spices in a cool, dark place that is not above the stove. Humidity, light, and heat will cause herbs and spices to lose their flavor.

Boil pasta 1 minute less than the package instructions and cook it the rest of the way in the pan with sauce.

For rich, creamy dressings made healthy, substitute half the mayo with Greek-style yogurt.

For best results when you’re baking, leave butter and eggs at room temperature overnight.

To easily peel a mango, cut a small part of the end off and you will be able to easily stand it up while you peel it.

Don’t like watered down iced coffee? Freeze coffee in an ice cube tray, and use those instead of regular ice cubes.

Put berries on a toothpick or skewer and freeze them for colorful and tasteful additions to spruce up a glass of champagne or sparkling water.

For a milder garlic flavor in dishes, roast garlic in the oven and then freeze the cloves until you are ready to use. Perfect for adding to sauces, mixing with olive oil for a spread and more.

Store bunches of basil in a glass of water so it keeps longer.

Instead of lemon, add cucumber or apple slices to your water.

Image: Sassy Lassies Vintage Life, Aylin Erman