tomato dreams

TOMATO DREAMS
so heres the deal
in central texas if you want tomatoes
you have to pick the right varieties
get them in the ground asap
since when the ground warms enough to plant
you are on the clock pushing those plants to make
fruit before the heat hits
since
once that heat hits here
those tomatoes are usually done for

if you delay the process any along the way
you may not get tomatoes

each year it seems something happens to throw
a wrench in the system
too much rain
hail storms
too little rain
late freezes this seems to happen every april
early summer now this one seems to hit us every year
infestation of pests

despite all this
we and most gardeners around here still plant those tomatoes
sometimes several times before we get a crop

if you can get them in the ground early
keep them from freezing
get them far enough along
before it starts to warm up
you might get a good crop

like last year
i planted them a month early
in a deep hole
covered it with a 5 gallon bucket
covered all that up with row cover and blankets
and
i had a fairly good crop

now i started this year tomatoes destined for the northern us
thinking i would put them in pots and move them in and out
of the greenhouse
ive never started them from seed before
i learned this year that i should have used a warmer under
my pots to speed things up
so far out of 10 pots i have just two plants that made it

they are called glacier
with a name like that they should do good in this weather
i plan to transplant them into my garden this week

so this year i spoke with a gardener who does this

she takes these candles i think they are prayer candles
maybe what you are suppose to do
is light them and start praying they wont freeze

she buries them in the ground to almost the top
lights it when its cold
puts a pot over it
the small cover over the hole is removed
air comes under the pot over the flames and out the top
like a chimney or tepee
in her 12 ft bed she uses about 3-4 of these

the bed is then covered with thick row cover
she gets her first tomatoes in early april
so
i tired it
in my large bed
after two nights of 28 degree weather my tomatoes froze
looked like someone sucked all the juice out of them
limp as could be

but
in my circular bed for some reason
the tomatoes i planted
a juliette and a sweet 100 tomato survived
and actually have doubled in size
i plan to plant the glacier there also
so maybe this method will work after all

the true test will be this am when i peak under
the layers of row covers to see if it works
after several days of freezing weather and
sleet and ice
oh by the way the candles will burn up to a week

now
i plan to replant that 12 ft bed
plant those tomatoes in the hole thats the depth of a
1 gallon pot
as it grows ill cover its trunk with dirt
during cold spells ill cover it with the 5 gallon bucket
but
i will light those candles again with the clay pot over them
then
cover it all with row covers
hoping
this time the big bed conglomeration will work
since
i want to get those tomatoes in asap
so
we can eat them asap

i can dream cant i

the organicgreen doctor