It’s never too late to learn something new. In the Pacific Northwest our biggest vegetable garden challenge is tomatoes. With our cool summers, short growing period and summer rain a perfectly home ripened tomato is the holy grail of vegetable gardeners.
I have tried so many different methods to get that one tomato per year. Every year there is a new product out that will ‘do the trick’. Water walls one year were expensive and the plant grew up out of them I apparently didn’t remove them in time and had to cut them off. The tops were then very heavy without the support of the wall and they had to be staked in a very strange way to keep them upright. The two tomatoes from that year were happy with all the fuss they caused. Last year I tried red plastic around the tomato cage. The result was a moldy stunted plant because the plastic kept the moisture from the rain around the plant. I finally took them off after a month threw the plants away and started over. I got 0 tomatoes from the first planting and 10 cherry tomatoes, 4 ripe tomatoes, and about 50 green tomatoes from the second planting. I’m usually so disappointed with green tomatoes that I’m not creative at all. I put them in the window where they slowly rot from the stem end.
So….this year I was prepared. I decided to put my tomato plants in the greenhouse and keep them there all season. I’m sure because of that great strategy we have had the driest warmest June and July on record for many years, you’re welcome Seattle! And now I have tomatoes growing and ripening in the greenhouse, every day I get a few more. It has been so warm in there I must water every day which is sad because I’m not at the greenhouse everyday.
I read about pruning tomatoes this year in the Gardener’s World Magazine from England. I have never pruned tomatoes before so it was an education. My tomatoes are usually sprawling, branching monsters. Monty (tv host in the UK) says to prune them like trees. They will spend all their energy making branches and leaves and not setting and ripening fruit. He recommends pruning off side shoots that are below the first set of blossoms. This should be done as soon as the plant is big enough to see blossoms. Later on as the fruit begins to set the leaves should be pruned out of the center of the plant so lots of light can get to the fruit to ripen it up .The photos below are of the greenhouse tomato pruning so you can see.
This month my plants in the ground look great too. I have pruned them and they are lovely and green. I fertilized them last week and pruned them 2 weeks ago. Obviously they are not as far along as the ones in the green house but they are setting fruit.
I’m interested to know what types of methods my gardening friends have tried to grow tomatoes. What has worked, what has not? What do you fertilize with and how often? Do you prune?
I’ll keep you all posted on the progress of the ones in the ground. I’m hoping ( yes again) to get a good crop out of the tomato plants I’ve planted. I did a siberian tomato the year I got 4. This year a purple tomato is planted.
I grow my tomatoes in Maine where we have a very short growing season as well. I normally prune out the shouts between the stem and branch as you are doing this year. You are lucky having a greenhouse. 🙂
First year for me to grow in the greenhouse. I have picked today and they are almost done. The ones in the garden are producing also. I grew ebony pearl (black one) this year and it isn’t ripe yet but the cherry tomatoes are ready. I also have a pear shaped larger tomato that looks lovely in green. Hoping to see some ripe ones soon.