Tomatoes in my garden have always been a great success. I start them way too early in February as the long winter days seem to keep me inside more.

With Covid I have got a little more enthusiastic and had grow lights and heat pads everywhere. Next year I will start them in March. I had too many plants as usual but many friends ready to take them off my hands.

Last year I stuck to just the Caimans. They were rich both in colour and flavour. But I missed the early tomatoes and cherries. This year I will do 4 varieties instead. The early tomato for hanging baskets, the Amish Paste for canning, the Caiman for salads and the Sungold cherry for eating off the vine.

Harvesting more of my Amish paste my husband decided he wanted to try out ketchup. After I got up off the floor I realized he was serious and he set out finding the perfect receipt. Nothing like Canadian tomatoes for our Canadian ketchup.

Canning and freezing seem to be my go to way of preserving. Although I had dehydrated tomatoes, and their flavour is so rich, I didn’t seem to use as many as I thought. I kept them in jars in the freezer and would add them to sauces and soups.

The frozen roast tomatoes with my home grown garlic and basil seem to be the favourite. I would store them in baggies in the freezer and find the roasting brings out more favour for my sauces.