It's Saucing Day!

It's not the first time I've made sauce this year, but today is the first day I've made a full roaster batch.

Last year I was able to freeze enough sauce and dehydrate enough slices & crumbles to last us for the entire year. I'm hopeful we will have at least that much again this year.

When I make sauce, I use EVERY kind of tomato: Pastes, Cherries, Grapes, Plums, Saladettes, and Slicers in every shape and color. In the roaster today I have more than 25 different kinds of tomatoes. I have discovered over the years that the more different kinds of tomatoes I use, the BETTER the sauce is. The depth of flavor can't be beat by anything that could be bought in stores.

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A Look at Dwarf Northern Elan Tomato

Dwarf Northern Elan - right side up

Dwarf Northern Elan - upside down

Dwarf Northern Elan - sliced

My heart is still heavy, recovering from the recent attack on my laying hens but I know keeping focused and busy bringing in the harvest and preserving it will help heal my mind and heart. So I am keeping very busy this week and keeping vigilant watch over my remaining girls. 

Pictured is Dwarf Northern Elan Tomato. This is our first year growing this variety and I am extremely impressed so far. In our high tunnel the plants are getting 5 - 6+ feet tall and they are very solid producers. Even though the plant is a dwarf, it is an INDETERMINATE variety that produces very nice size, delicious slicing tomatoes. Northern Elan features a deep reddish brown skin with excellent, rich, balanced flavor. As you can see, it is quite juicy too. We *will* be growing this variety next year.

While I had planned to sell seeds from our tomatoes this year, I have since reconsidered. I want to spend a couple years growing out the seeds I save selecting the best of each generation before I begin selling the seed. While nothing is absolutely guaranteed, that process should help produce seed for plants that have the best potential to be naturally accustomed to our local soil type and weather conditions.