What To Do With Green Tomatoes?

Lots of Green Tomatoes

Due to the unfortunate progress of the fungal wilt affecting several of the tomato plants this year, we've had plenty of tomatoes, but most of them have been green tomatoes taken off the plants Cindy has had to tear out.

According to other Master Gardeners, their tomatoes are not doing well this year, either.  One friend has already ripped out three of her plants.

We're guessing that because San Diego, unlike most of the rest of the country, had a very mild winter so the temperature never got cold enough to kill off the pathogens in the soil.  Those pathogens are now having a roaring old time destroying our tomato plants, but fortunately don't seem to be affecting the rest of the garden.

So what do you do with that many green tomatoes?

So far we've had Green Tomato Pasta, Green Tomato Soup and Green Tomato Bread.

We've had the pasta and the soup in previous years, but I was a little skeptical of the bread, at least until I tasted it.  The taste and texture were very similar to Zucchini Bread, so I guess it shouldn't have been much of a surprise that it was as good as it was.  It could have used some nuts, though, so Cindy has added them to the recipe.

So here's the recipe Cindy used:

Green Tomato Bread
Ingredients
1/2 cup canola oil
8 ounces nonfat yogurt, plain
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup Splenda (or use all sugar--Cindy used sugar)
2 cups green tomatoes, pureed, juice drained and discarded
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (scant)
1/2 cup nuts  (optional)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour two loaf pans.

Combine oil, yogurt, eggs, sugar, Splenda, nuts and green tomatoes in a large bowl and mix well.  Sift together all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices and add to wet ingredients along with the whole wheat flour.  Stir together just until combined.
Divide evenly between two prepared pans and bake just until a toothpick comes clean from the center of the bread, about 45 minutes.  Let cool in pans, then remove.

Not Good News

Not Winning First Prize This Year

More bad news about the tomato plants.  Two weeks ago Cindy ripped out the Sweet Seedless tomato plant because it was showing clear signs of some kind of bacterial wilt.

Yesterday, she also ripped out the First Prize tomato plant for the same reason.  As you can see from this photograph, the plant was showing many yellowing leaves and the whole plant had begun to droop over the protective panels.

It had plenty of tomatoes on the vines, but, since the plant was dying rapidly, there was no chance the tomatoes would be able to ripen before the plant collapsed completely.

When Cindy took the plant down, she cut a cross section from the biggest part of the stem, that clearly showed the progress of the fungal wilt, which gradually plugs the xylem tissue and eventually cuts off the supply of water to the plant.

Plant Cross Section

Without a microscopic analysis, we won't know whether this is  Fusarium Wilt or Verticillium Wilt, but in either case, it's not good news for the tomato plant.

Other Side of the Cross Section