On 20 Jul 2003 11:39:53 -0700, (Lee Hall)
wrote:


Okay, folks, while it's too hot to hang out in the garden, let's hear
the lowdown on what is happening in your tomato patch.

OK - northern PA here, Zone 5 theoretically but cooler than
Zone 5 generally is - we're in the mountains.

I started seeds beginning March 24 - got the tomatoes
planted out beginning May 8 (last frost date here is
generally May 31 to mid-June). All tomatoes were planted
out with WalloWaters to protect them - the WoWs worked - no
frost damage.

We only have six plants outside: two Early Girls, two Sweet
Millions, two Better Boys. (We also have Red Robins growing
indoors, but they don't count in this.)

May and the first half of June were EXTREMELY wet and cool.
We had six weeks of rain every day, and almost no sun. This
was followed by two weeks of hot weather, then we've had
pleasant weather since (dry - highs in the low 80s or upper
70s). But our nights are very cool - often down to the 40s
in mid-summer, sometimes even down to the high 30s.

The tomatoes all sat and sulked through the six weeks of
cold rain. I started removing the WalloWaters and caging
the tomatoes around mid-June. All were caged by July 1.

All my plants are now lush, thick and taller than I am
(5'4"). All have lots of green tomatoes, lots and lots.
blossom-end-rot and was tossed.

It's going to be a while before we have any ripe tomatoes.

I have come to the conclusion that our cool nights
throughout summer are just not good for growing tomatoes -
when we have tomatoes for only about two weeks and then a
killing frost, it's just not worth all the effort.

We're building a hoophouse next month and next year my
tomatoes will be growing in the hoophouse, where I hope they
will do MUCH better. A gardening friend around the corner
from us came here from England three years ago, and he just
normally grew his tomatoes in a small unheated greenhouse,
as he had always done in England.

I don't think he even realized that most Americans grow
tomatoes outdoors (not in a greenhouse). He has lots of
ripe tomatoes! So it's the hoophouse next year for me.

Pat