Pruning Tomatos



I noticed as I do more and more research that no one can agree about whether or not to prune or pinch back tomato plants of useless branches and/or "suckers". Personally I think it is a good idea to get rid of the branches that are not going to produce in order to save the nutrients for the branches that are going to produce. Suckers are called that because they suck nutrients from the plant before they can get to the fruits.

Suckers are like little branches that begin to grow between the main stem and a branch stem. These little defective branches will not give you any added fruit and can actually take away from the rest of the plant. I would recommend getting rid of these suckers to offer more nutrients for the fruit bearing branches.

Do not go overboard and take off a ton of branches, but if they look "sick" and are not growing any larger, remove them. Do this by using either your finger nails or a sharp knife, and pinching or cutting the useless branches at the base. The plants will heal relatively fast and grow even better than before. There is no need to be too picky. If you miss a couple here and there don't worry, the plants should continue to grow, just maybe not quite as well.

Remember, Mother Earth smiles when you garden!

Canning Green Beans

About 1/4 of one day of harvest.

The green beans are growing like crazy and I find myself harvesting more every 2-3 days. I am already canning them even though it is only July. I will have to do this now for the next month or maybe more. I will pickle some and can some plain so we can enjoy them later just as if they were fresh. Much better home canned than factory canned. Here is a guideline of how I go about canning my beans.

First get lids into warm water, sterilize jars, and all the other fun preparations for canning. Cut and clean beans then follow below. (I do not use a pressure canner, ever.)

To Pickle About 4 quarts:

Pack beans into jar, adding spices of your choice. ( I do red pepper flakes, garlic, and dill or any combination of them)

Boil 5 cups of water with 5 cups of vinegar and 2-3tablespoons of canning/pickling salt.

Fill jars with hot liquid leaving an inch of head space (to the bottom of the ring threads)

Cover and finger tighten the ring.

As long as the liquid was at/near boiling temp when cover is added, the jars should seal without hot water bathing, but you can hot water bath for 15minutes if you want to be sure.

Let sit for at least 2 weeks and then enjoy. Sealed they will last 1 year plus in the cupboard.


To Can Plain:

Prepare jars and lids as normal.
Mix 6 cups of water to 1 cup vinegar and 2 tablespoons canning/pickling salt.

Bring mix to a boil and add beans. Boil beans just for 2-4 minutes.

While the liquid is still boiling, add the beans to the jar, and fill with brine you boiled them in leaving the 1 inch again.

Put lid on jar and fingertip tighten.

As long as the beans and brine are very hot when adding to jar there is no need to water bath, or you can hot water bath for 15 minutes just to be certain.


Make sure not to mess with the hot jars for at least 12 hours to prevent a bad seal. Then store them for up to year in a dark cool place. Always be sure to start with clean and sterile jars. Check seal after 12-24 hours by pushing down slightly on cover. If it doesn't move up and down it is good.