This autumn I planted six tomato plants, each a different variety in the perfect location. I gave them the prescribed amout of organic fertilizer. I did everything right. One week we had a freak storm. It seemed like a tropical storm although the weather man disagrees with me. We had two solid days of torrential rain and strong winds. My poor plants couldn't stand up to the brutal beating. After that they seemed to give up. I puttered and pampered. I fertilized and fussed. Nothing seemed to matter. I think they just gave up. Now I am at the close of the season desperate to make up for lost time. I stand in the garden with scraggly, short plants with tiny tomatoes clinging for a chance. This week I am going to give in and donate them to my compost pile. My chickens who ravage it on a daily basis will love the tasty addition and churn them in for me.
I feel cheated, denied. I had all sorts of plans for a bumper crop of tomatoes that would last me well into the first half of winter. Here I sit with nothing and I wonder, can I grow tomatoes in winter? I go to the modern encyclopedia, aka you tube, and lo and behold. There are about a million videos on tomato growing. I zero in on a few. One shows me how they grow tomatoes in a green house with high tech computerized climate control. It's fascinating but not within my budget and I don't think my husband wants to invest in another huge project at the moment. So I move on. I find another that shows me how to grow them in containers in my home using a "homebrew" type of hydroponics by way of a fish tank. It seems a little too fishy for me so I move on. I find a lot of people who are growing them in buckets and upside down. Sometimes both. It's a simple concept that has made infomercial companies billions. It's not the right look for my interior decor so I keep looking.
I think in the end, after countless videos, I have devised a plan. I live in Florida and so far the weather is still nice enough to grow things outside. I am going to plant an attractive container with the moisture control soil available at most retailers with a garden center. I will choose a variety of tomatoes that doesn't grow enormous as I will have no way to tie it up when it reaches great heights. I'm thinking a bush variety or patio. I will use my organic fertiziler of choice,"mater magic". I will continue to leave it outside where my champion tomato once stood until it becomes too cool to remain outdoors. I will then bring it in and place it somewhere in the house where it will continue to receive adequate sun. Probably in the front where I have all the windows. I will have to be dilligent to keep my dogs away from it. If it becomes an issue I can always put it in my garage by the large glass door. Gardening always needs a plan B.
I hope that this will be a successful endeavor and I can continue to eat tomatoes when others are paying for them with their first born at the market. It's dramatic I know but with the market prices going up, up, up on everything I think it may be wise to look into a milking cow to go with my chickens. I digress. Any good scientific experiment requires the use of the scientific method. First, isolate the problem. Can you grow tomatoes in the winter? Second, form a hypothesis. I think I can when started in a container outdoors. Third, create a plan of action. I think my plan is pretty solid. Finally, keep good records and reach a conclusion. I'll have to keep you posted on how it goes. Maybe I'll take pictures and post them regularly for those who are interrested in following my little experiment.
However they do it where you're from, there's always room to try something new. I'm going to take what I've learned from those youtube pioneers in Australia, North Carolina, Iowa and Florida and create a method of my own. Best wishes to all you gardeners out there who are cleaning their shovels and storing their rakes. May winter be short and sweet. May the ground thaw quicker than last winter. May all your plants grow tall and lush. Put your garden to bed tucked in with a blanket of snow. I'm going to hold on to the last bit of sunshine and taste the sweet rewards just a little bit longer. Nature permitting.
December 26, 2011
So here I am at the end of the year and it seems winter has missed us. I long for the chill but I won't miss it if it never comes. My project tomato is a parks whopper. It's a lovely, hardy plant. It's sitting in front of my house in a pot. It is about 3 feet tall and has small green tomatoes on it. It's the strangest thing. I planted all the usual cold weather crops. Cabbage, broccoli, collard greens. All of which taste better when they have been touched by cold. Since there is none they are all a little bitter. I'm frustrated that I can't seem to keep up with the weather. I suppose I will just plant more veggies in the ground and see where it takes me.
January 27, 2012
Still no real chill to the weather. We rung in the new year in shorts and flip flops. Unheard of, but nice. My tomatoes are still green but about the size of a baseball. There are more forming towards the top. The stores are stocking tender herbs and small tomato plants so I think it is safe to say I am on the right track. I continue to fertilize every few weeks. I am so close to harvest now I can almost taste it. Literally!
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