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Post by Mumsey on Aug 6, 2020 17:59:26 GMT -5
The blue jays and crows are quite noisy now. Sitting on the deck reading and something in my peripheral vision caused me to turn my head. Hummingbird about 2 feet away staring at me. They like zinnias on the deck.
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Post by davidjp on Aug 6, 2020 18:29:41 GMT -5
weedkicker , I wonder if one thing you could try is to pick them just as they turn colour. I'm sure part of it is they are attracted to the red colour. I saw somewhere , I think it was Joe lampl's site that he recommends picking tomatoes just at the sign of the first blush of colour. I was a bit skeptical but thought I'd try it this season and its worked pretty well. As soon as you notice a colour change, if you pick then they will reliably continue that change off the plant and cant say as I've noticed any worse flavour as a result. Might be worth a try in your situation. Here's a short video that he published describing that www.instagram.com/tv/CCi3frMnAVT/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_linkJust noticed that tom π had already suggested that so my apologies for a repeat
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Post by tom π on Aug 6, 2020 19:02:27 GMT -5
Just noticed that tom had already suggested that so my apologies for a repeat Two voices are more persuasive than one, so thanks. My opinion is that birds find ripening fruit by smell, not sight. They have a nose for ethylene gas -- the fruity odor that tomatoes and other fruits emit. Tomatoes ripen from the inside out and from the bottom up, so once color shows at the blossom end, the tomato is sealed off at the stem and will ripen better on the kitchen counter than on the vine.
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weedkicker
Blooming
The Utah high desert, zone 1-6 (it's a %$# crap shoot)
Posts: 179
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Post by weedkicker on Aug 6, 2020 22:32:32 GMT -5
davidjp, tom π, thanks for the suggestion, but ripening tomatoes indoors and having them turn out just as well as if they had ripened on the vine is definitely not my experience. Were that the case, I'd just buy tomatoes from the store and save myself a whole lot of time, money, and aggravation. I don't mind sharing, but right now it's way too one-sided in favor of the birds. I'm hoping that as more and more fruit sets and comes ripe I'll be able to pick enough to satisfy me. And if not, there's always the pellet gun.
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weedkicker
Blooming
The Utah high desert, zone 1-6 (it's a %$# crap shoot)
Posts: 179
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Post by weedkicker on Aug 6, 2020 22:36:37 GMT -5
Do the birds have access to water. Many thirsty animals turn to fruit to get the liquid they need. Setting up a bird bath may help. Yes, they have plenty of water. I have a large fountain/bird bath that the birds use constantly. They drink between tomatoes.
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Post by gardendmpls on Aug 7, 2020 0:14:45 GMT -5
Maybe I can send you some of my squirrels. Perhaps they will fight it out with the birds and kill each other off.
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Post by tom π on Aug 7, 2020 6:34:16 GMT -5
but ripening tomatoes indoors and having them turn out just as well as if they had ripened on the vine is definitely not my experience. Were that the case, I'd just buy tomatoes from the store and save myself a whole lot of time, money, and aggravation. Like me, you have fallen for "the vine-ripened tomato" myth. It was hard for me to get over it. Tests show that it is impossible to tell the difference between a vine-ripened tomato and a tomato picked at breaker stage and ripened without sunlight and refrigeration, and other things people do to tomatoes. Tomato farmers lie. Their tomatoes are NOT picked at breaker stage. They are picked green and ripened with ethylene gas. I use a 410 when I have to.
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Post by desertwoman on Aug 7, 2020 11:23:53 GMT -5
Tests show that it is impossible to tell the difference between a vine-ripened tomato and a tomato picked at breaker stage and ripened without sunlight and refrigeration, Not at our house! there is a definite difference and we taste it!
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Post by tom π on Aug 7, 2020 12:02:39 GMT -5
Not at our house! there is a definite difference and we taste it! Then you are psychic according to internet sources I read years ago. I didn't believe it at first either, probably because of the beauty of ripening tomatoes hanging on the vine. Picking at breaker stage loses that beauty, but tests show that a person cannot tell the difference between vine ripened and countertop ripened. The problem with countertop ripening is that I tend to used the tomato before it is fully ripe. It may take a week or longer for a tomato picked at breaker stage to reach peak ripeness. The tomatoes I had for lunch today were not at peak ripeness, but I wanted tomatoes.
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Post by desertwoman on Aug 7, 2020 12:39:02 GMT -5
haha-I've been called worse! and this isn't the first time I've been called that ;) But seriously, I suspect a reason many (most?) people don't taste a difference is that they lack refined taste buds, which can be caused by meds, smoking and other things. I agree that counter ripen tomatoes are very tasty and far better than any store bought. But that sun ripened tomato goes beyond, from my experiences. Same with other fruit. We had a small commercial organic orchard for years and can attest to the superiority of a tree ripened fruit to those that got picked earlier. We were famous for our peaches, nectarines, plums and cherries which got picked just about completely ripe the morning they went to the market and had only a day or two shelf life.
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Post by tom π on Aug 7, 2020 13:25:04 GMT -5
But seriously, I suspect a reason many (most?) people don't taste a difference is that they lack refined taste buds, which can be caused by meds, smoking and other things. That's true. I have a somewhat defective sense of taste because of anaphylaxis, but my opinion is that the reason the tomatoes do not taste the same to you is because you know which tomatoes are which. I just got out some old dried lima beans to discard. I hate wasting them, but I know how old they are and would not enjoy them however they actually taste. I'd be thinking of how old they were. Indirect, subtle ideas influence taste. From what I read in the past, unless subjective factors intrude, vine ripened and countertop ripened tomatoes cannot be distinguished.
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Post by desertwoman on Aug 7, 2020 13:55:18 GMT -5
ah- you'd don't know me/us! ;) We are food nerds at times We actually did a taste test one year. Labeled tomatoes and blind tasted them. There were 5 of us. The vine ripe won everytime!
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Post by Wheelgarden on Aug 7, 2020 14:37:36 GMT -5
Concerning tomatoes, we've found a subtle difference between vine ripened and indoor ripened. The vine ripes are a bit more fully-flavored. Just the same, I've gone to mostly picking at "blush" or break, which seems to encourage more fruiting as the season progresses. Concerning birds, I do know that the turkeys sample the ripeys, and leave the others alone. More water content, and I'm sure they taste better . My vegetable-loving dog has been known to sample ripe tomatoes on the vine, too. Helps herself to a bit of what is all around her, silly girl.
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weedkicker
Blooming
The Utah high desert, zone 1-6 (it's a %$# crap shoot)
Posts: 179
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Post by weedkicker on Aug 7, 2020 22:00:16 GMT -5
Like me, you have fallen for "the vine-ripened tomato" myth. It was hard for me to get over it. Tests show that it is impossible to tell the difference between a vine-ripened tomato and a tomato picked at breaker stage and ripened without sunlight and refrigeration, and other things people do to tomatoes. Tomato farmers lie. Their tomatoes are NOT picked at breaker stage. They are picked green and ripened with ethylene gas. I use a 410 when I have to. I havenβt βfallenβ for anything, Tom. I understand the argument (the membrane seal, no nutrients transferred, ethylene rate, yada, yada, yada), and Iβve read about all the taste tests. To me, however, psychological or not, a tomato that remains on the vine until ready to eat has a more pleasing taste and texture than one ripened indoors. You said the tests show that βit is impossible to tell the differenceβ, but one of the tests I read about stated that a small minority of testers were "consistently" able to tell the difference. Granted, it was a small minority, but it clearly isnβt impossible. As for tomato farmers NOT picking at breaker stage and ripening green tomatoes using ethylene, I totally agree. Iβd go without before I bought one of those. But when I mentioned store bought tomatoes I wasnβt referring to those kind; I was referring to locally grown (year round) greenhouse tomatoes using geothermal energy to heat the houses. Those tomatoes really arenβt too bad, but they still donβt compare to mine (assuming I get any). Another point is that my cherry tomatoes are also getting hammered, and I think youβd be hard pressed to find ANYONE who would prefer one of those picked at breaker stage and ripened indoors. As for the .410, I would only be shooting the birds while they are actually in the tomatoes. Using a shotgun would be problematic to say the least.
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weedkicker
Blooming
The Utah high desert, zone 1-6 (it's a %$# crap shoot)
Posts: 179
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Post by weedkicker on Aug 7, 2020 22:08:41 GMT -5
Maybe I can send you some of my squirrels. Perhaps they will fight it out with the birds and kill each other off. Thanks, but you go ahead and keep your squirrels. A couple of years ago I had a Rock squirrel take up residence in my wood shed. I enjoyed seeing him running around and he pretty much treated me as a non-threat---walking right up to investigate me sometimes. Then one day I noticed that he had started to gnaw on my melons and that ended our relationship.
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