Tomatoes

[ksmith]

I have actually been harvesting for the past couple of weeks, but the take has been limited to one or two big tomatoes at a time, or a handful of cherries. This is the first significant haul, and given the number of greenies on the Black Cherry, it won’t be the last.

It’s hard to tell thanks to the lighting, but the middle two large tomatoes have a pinkish cast–those are the Arkansas Traveler. The ones on either side with the orange tinge are the St Pierre. The Black Cherry…well, it’s obvious.

The raised bed St Pierre and Arkansas Traveler have maybe 6-8 large fruit in various stages of ripening, while the Sel. Franchi has 3, including a huge one that looks like two tomatoes that grew together. The St Pierre and Sel. Franchi in the deck pots have 2 tomatoes each, and those look to be all she wrote where they’re concerned. That’s it–no more deck pot tomatoes for me. The take simply isn’t worth the effort.

I cut up some of the Black Cherry and the cracked Arkansas Traveler, and added them to some leftover pasta dressed with the last of last summer’s basil pesto. Had some with the grilled swordfish, along with a cantaloupe-nectarine salad. Glass of chenin blanc. Ate out of the deck.

Summer dinners.

Mirrored from Kristine Smith.

Comments

[planetalyx.livejournal.com]

Mouthwatering goodness! My crop this year, as usual, was a great pile o' strawberries. I don't think I could do tomatoes on my deck.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

It would depend on amount of sun/overall temperatures. My deck pot plants struggled once the temps hit the 90s, I think because the ground in the pots became too hot. If they had been in the raised bed or the plain old ground, the Earth would act as a heat sink.

This might mean that someone living in a cooler climate could succeed with a deck pot, though. Ground would warm more than it would for a raised bed plant, or one planted in the ground. I think the amount of sun would be key. Tomatoes need at least 6 hours a day.

Gardening shops sell special self-watering planters, so if you travel you wouldn't need to worry about the plants drying out. I guess what I'm trying to say is that if your summer temps are in the 70s/low 80s and your deck or terrace gets at least 6 hours of sun, tomatoes might be doable. You could look for cooler weather/shorter growing season varieties.

I do envy you your strawberries. I tried to grow some, and failed miserably. Too hot, I think.

[planetalyx.livejournal.com]

You're right--I should consult an expert. The few times I've tried, they've got to the flowering stage and then just died out of spite.