When
we're adrift in a sea of tomatoes, why a column about growing more tomatoes?
Last spring/summer I
planted several varieties of Russian and American heirloom tomato seeds. At
the same time a flower basket of Petunias I planted from the previous year
seeded itself and began to grow. Unfortunately we had illness in the family and
I was unable to plant in the garden. So they along with other vegetables and
flowers were left under plastic covers in small pots not in the ground.
 |
|
Outdoor tomatoes in the house in
September.
|
By late September I
decided to throw away all the plants and I discovered that several Tomatoes and
the Petunias had survived and were growing in a limited way. The root
systems had broken through the plastic pots in a limited manner. Most of
tomatoes were 2 or 3 Russian varieties and 1 American variety. I did not
have the heart to destroy them. So I researched CSU, Michigan State and
the University of Nebraska (my alma mater) agricultural information on moving
outdoor vegetables indoor for the winter. There was no or very little
info on this subject. So, I moved ahead and planted them in several larger pots
and brought them and the Petunias inside.
 |
|
Tomatoes in the house in April.
|
 |
|
Tomato Fruit started outdoor finished
growing and ripening indoor
|
It is now the middle of
April and the Tomato plants have ripened one fruit and the Petunias are
blooming and continue to grow. However, one thing I have noticed: the
larger they all grow in the pots, the more water they are requiring. They
require watering every day and have grown to over 24 inches in the pots.
They also need fertilizing every 1 to 2 weeks which is more than when
they are outdoors.
 |
|
The Tomatoes had flowers all winter
but no fruit. There is a yellow blossom
in the upper left center of this picture.
|
Should they survive I
will be moving them outdoors in late May or early June. Needless to say
they will go under clear plastic tents to begin with.
 |
|
Petunias indoor in April. They have bloomed all winter.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment