Harvest

Vine ripe tomatoes and fried okra..what more could a man want....

Pho

Tastes like chicken! No you roll it in corn meal then deep fat fry it- little bit of seasoning (I like Garlic Pepper) and eat it HOT- It is also pretty good in a veggie soup or fried up with Zuchccini (sprinkle a bit of Oregano on it while its frying- then top off with some Mozzerrella cheese)

I believe you Tweetiepy when you say your mom's tomatoes are bigger, I have seen bigger ones, and yes compost make all the difference in the world. I would use compost, but we really don't have a place to put a compost pile and the stuff you buy can get a little expensive.
Cher, the only way I have found I like okra is cut in about 1/4" rings rolled in cornmeal and fried in vegetable oil, followed by some salt and pepper. We also cut up the extra we have roll it in cornmeal lay it flat in a sheet cake pan and freeze it and after it is frozen we put it in quart size ziploc bags and put it back in the freezer. I fried some okra up that was about 2 years old (frozen) and it tasted just as good as the freshly frozen okra, but nothing beats fresh cut and fried okra.
Tami

Wow, I forgot how good okra is. I pulled off a crop a few years back which is amazing for this climate (the blossoms drop off when the cold snaps come around). I remember they have some pretty flowers too.

Tomatoes ... I have a tomato problem ... over planted .. again(15 large type and 6 cherry/grape type). The canning is done and I'm giving them away in 5 gallon buckets. I think many of the neighbors don't plant gardens anymore, because of all the stuff I dump off on them.

I have canned and pickled Okra, fried it, made Gumbo, even boiled it, also have used in stir frys. I used to grow a lot, but because of time constraints stopped about 5 years ago. I had a 1/4 acre garden, grew peppers, tomatoes, Okra, and more, spend a lot of time on it.
Terry

Nice tomatoes! Mine didn't do very well this year for some reason. I have to grow mine in pots, and they just never quite developed this year. I think my soil was bad.

Tami, if you want to try a couple of alternatives to piled compost, look into the French row method... basically you dig a trench and throw your scraps in there all summer, then the next spring you till that in as compost and plant there, and use you old bed as the new trench. Automatic crop rotation and the benefits of composting. A friend did this, using paving stone tiles to cover over the trench so you could walk on it between the rows.

In some tropical countries, they grow tomatoes around a large basket set in the ground. Compost and weeds go in the basket, then the plants get watered through the basket. The water seeps out to the tomatoes roots, carrying with it compost tea form all that stuff you put in. Works like a charm, and you can use hardware cloth or chicken wire in a simple hoop instead of a basket if you like, then tie up the vines to this as they grow up instead of having to use cages and such.

I Love tomatoes and okra! Nothing better, 'cept for maybe fried okra. My husbands little garden yeilds about one tomato a week, but he has one out there that is still green and going on the size of a small cantalope.
He's so proud.
Those pear tomatoes are interesting, never seen them before. How do They taste? I have a feeling they would be good fried when they are still firm.

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