Club member and gardening partner Pat spent a half day giving the Earthbox-planted tomatoes on the deck a haircut: this late in "summer", most tomatoes will not turn from white to pink to red. Indeed, most unprotected tomatoes, those which are not grown in a greenhouse or protected with a floating row cover/frost blanket, are already black from the 29-degree Fahrenheit nighttime temperatures. Our tomato babies have a blanket of heavy Ree-May row cover over them (allegedly protects to 26 degrees), and the heartedly anticipated fruit is gradually ripening to red and delicious – just not fast enough, with winter's icy blasts due soonish. Pat removed almost all the leaves, leaving just the tomatoes to tan and turn in the direct sunlight. Two days after the haircut, most of the tomatoes are "thinking" of ripening, and we're eating a LOT of wonderful tomatoes – the taste almost justifies the extra work and worry.
At the end of the season, Pat will post her traditional/annual recommended/not recommended tomato and pepper list: stay tuned.
jim
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| Before the haircut |
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| After the haircut |
Jim, you and Pat are clever to have all of your determinants right there on the porch where you can cover them with a single row cover.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a porch or Earthboxes, though. My tomatoes are mostly indeterminates out in three or four garden beds, and covering them is a real pain. So when frost is imminent, we pull the plants, with fruit still attached, and hang them inside – or pick the tomatoes and lay them out in shallow bins and boxes. They usually do ripen over a couple of weeks or a month. Fussing with them and sorting them is a pain, but open-face tomato-and-pesto-and-parmesan sandwiches under the broiler make it worthwhile.