Jersey Bites

A press release courtesy of the NJ Department of Agriculture. What ever happened to “knee high by the fourth of July?”

Have a great 4th everyone. I’ve included my tip for cooking fresh corn on the cob the easy, no fail way (hint, no water needed.)

(TRENTON) – Agriculture Secretary Charles M. Kuperus today announced that Jersey Fresh tomatoes and sweet corn is available at some community farmers markets and farm stands in time for the holiday weekend.

Lack of early frost, cooler than normal May temperatures and cool nights had corn and tomato crops off to a slow start, but warmer June nights helped put the crops back on track and the crop is harvesting at the normal time.

Sweet corn is set to begin harvesting this week with good quality and will be available in light to fair quantities for July 4^th. It will be available throughout the summer and into September. Harvesting of tomatoes has been in light quantities last week and volume is expected to increase early next week with availability through early October.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has listed Jersey Fresh tomatoes as safe for consumption.

Tomatoes are ready to eat when they are slightly soft. An extremely firm tomato is not yet fully ripe, even though it may be completely red. Never refrigerate Jersey tomatoes. This destroys the natural, vine-ripened taste. Avoid placing them on windowsills, which are usually too hot. Store tomatoes at room temperature in a cool dark place. A sliced tomato loses its vine-ripened flavor quickly so choose tomatoes that are small enough to consume in one meal.

When choosing corn, look for ears with bright green, snugly fitting husks, and golden brown silk. Inside, the kernels should come all the way to the ear’s tip, with tightly spaced rows, and appear plump and milky. If pricked, a kernel should spurt milky white juice. Choose ears with medium-sized kernels. Very small kernels are immature, and large kernels could have a starchy taste.

For best flavor, eat sweet corn as soon as possible. Leaving husks on when storing corn helps preserves the flavor. At room temperature, the glucose in corn will convert to starch in as little as 24 hours, so refrigeration is critical for maintaining freshness. Corn absorbs odors from foods such as green onions, so avoid storing with other produce. Keep unshucked fresh corn in the refrigerator until ready to use, wrapped in damp paper towels and placed in a plastic bag. Refrigerate for no more than three days.
For preparing corn without the mess, just shuck and microwave on high 2 minutes per ear. If you don’t have a rotating plate, stop half way and rotate 90 degrees. I swear this method turns out perfect corn every time.

For the location of farm markets, pick-your-own farms, or other information about Jersey Fresh, visit the Jersey Fresh website at www.jerseyfresh.nj.gov. For farm visit information, go to www.visitnjfarms.org.

Following recipes are found on the Jersey Fresh website at: www.jerseyfresh.nj.gov/recipes/recipefile.htm.

Classic Greek Tomato Salad

4 ripe tomatoes, cored and diced
1 cucumber, peeled (if waxed) and sliced
2 green peppers, cut into thin, round slices
15-20 Kalamata olives
1 large red onion, cut into thin slices

1/2 pound feta cheese
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients but reserve a portion of onions and feta cheese to toss on top after dousing with olive oil. Serves 4-6.

Recipe from Giamarese Farms, East Brunswick

Corn Chowder

2 lbs. white potatoes, diced
4 celery ribs, diced
1 bay leaf
3/4 lbs. onions, finely diced
3 Tbsp. butter
1 green bell pepper, finely diced
2 tsp. cumin seeds

3 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. sage
1/2 tsp. white pepper
2 cups milk
3 ears of Jersey Fresh corn, blanched,
& cut from cobs
parsley, finely chopped

Boil potatoes with bay leaf, until just tender in one quart of water. Saute onions, peppers, celery, and cumin in butter until onions are transparent. Add sage, pepper and flour to the onion mixture with some of the potato water and stir to make a paste. Add potatoes and the rest of the potato water and heat. Add the milk and the corn. Heat thoroughly and garnish with parsley. Serves 14.

The article is all about my father’s famous tomato plants and his use of a Japanese Tomato Ring back in the early 70’s. If you’ve never heard of a Japanese Tomato Ring, you’re not alone. For quite a while, I was convinced that my 7 year old mind had just concocted the whole idea. But, thanks to the Internet, I was able to confirm that there is such a thing as a Japanese Tomato Ring and much to my surprise, it has nothing to do with Japan. It was developed by a Southern postman in the late 60’s.

In honor of my father who passed away in 2001 and to test my own ability to recreate his fabulous tomato plants, I have constructed my own tomato ring as you can see in these pictures. (scroll down for the latest pictures from Aug. My now 8′ tomato plants with my 6′ 1″ boyfriend). What I thought was going to be a fairly simple project was actually a back-breaker and took an entire day to complete. After one trip to Home Depot, one trip to the local hardware store and two trips to the local nursery, I had all the supplies I needed. Then the real work began. This “fun” “little” project required 6 bags of Humus and 12 bags of top soil in addition to a 10 lb. bag of fertilizer. These tomatoes better be unbelievable. Actually, according to the articles I’ve been reading, each plant is supposed to render 600 tomatoes EACH. Man, get ready for an avalanche of tomato recipes.

In searching for the “recipe” for the Japanese Tomato Ring on the Internet, I found several variations. Some insist you must have a ring that is 5 or 6 feet in diameter, some say 4 feet. Since I had just enough room for a 4 foot ring, the 4 foot ring philosophy won. I used the following recipe. Since I didn’t have compost and couldn’t find Cyprus Mulch, I used Humus. I hope it was a suitable substitution. I guess we’ll see. You can run a search on Google for “Japanese Tomato Ring” and find several “recipes.” Some recipes call for laying compost/leaves/compost. Others call for top soil instead of leaves. I think the basic idea is to create a very nutrient rich compost pile. The theory is that the tomato roots will search out the rich soil and grow up into the ring. You plant the tomato plants on the outside of the ring, right up against the fencing. As the plants grow, tie the plants right to the fencing.

Here’s My Recipe

5 metal garden stakes (5 feet in length)

10 feet of garden fencing 48” high. There were many choices at home depot and, shockingly, the man in the orange apron had never heard of a Japanese Tomato Ring and looked at me like I had three heads. I selected a plastic version because it was light and easy to carry. Original recipes called for “Farm” fencing. Couldn’t find this at Home Depot and I’m not sure what they mean by Farm fencing, chicken wire perhaps?

6 bags of humus (should add up to about 5 inches in depth.

12 bags of top soils (2 layers of 5 inches)

(1) 5 inch layer of leaves

(1) 10lb. bag of fertilizer. I purchased the organic garden fertilizer. A lot of recipes call for 10-10-10.

Measure out a four foot circle.Break up the soil within the circle.Plant stakes an equal distance from each other around the 4 foot circle. Attach the fencing, leaving one section open for access.

Start with a 5 inch layer of Humus, then a 5 inch layer of top soil.Sprinkle half of the bag of fertilizer on top of the soil.Layer a 5 inch layer of leaves on top of the fertilizer and finish with another 5 inches of top soil.Sprinkle 2/3 of the rest of the fertilizer on the top of the soil.Create a well in the middle of the soil pile to retain water.

Break up another 1 foot of earth on the outside of the ring.This is where you will plant your tomato plants.Plant only 4 plants. Water the young plants directly as well as water from the inside of the ring.As the plants mature, you should only need to water the inside of the ring.

There is a lot of information on the internet about Japanese Tomato rings. I even located a string on one of IVillages Message boards which had some good information from gardeners who have tried this technique. Some say it works great, others say it’s not worth the effort. Of course, I had to find out for myself. In the interest of science, I also planted one tomato plant the old fashion way in a different section of the garden. I’ll keep you posted with pictures as the season progresses. It’s going to be a long 60 days until the Early Girls show up.

Update: 6/16/08
These pictures were taken last week. So far, it looks like the Tomato Ring plants are in the lead. The Beefsteak tomatoes that you see here measured in at 20″ (Ringside) and 15″ (away from ring). You can also see the difference in color and overall health of the two plants.

I’ll keep you posted. The true test will be how many tomatoes each plant yields.

Update June 30. One month in the ground and our babies are going gangbusters. The Tomato Ring crop is huge and healthy. The plant we are tracking measures at approximately 45″. The “non ring” plant is 40″. In two weeks, both plants have grown 25″. It’s not really the height that shows the difference but the overall size of the plants. I think the picture below makes the point. But, take a look at the last picture for the results as of Aug. 7th.

These plants are now over 8 feet tall and covered with tomatoes. Very few red ones yet, but they’re starting.