tomatoes! tomatoes! tomatoes!

Tomato seedlings in their trays, April 14th.  Seeds started in my bedroom March 15th.

 Tomato seedlings "potted up" into 4-inch pots, April 14th.  Watch them grow!

Tomatoes in the greenhouse, May 14th.  Strong and sturdy little plants.

I recently found a letter I had written during my first season working on Maple Rock Farm.  I described pruning and trellising tomatoes to my sister, how they are a little finicky and ultimately so rewarding.  Four years later and my love for tomatoes has only grown...  I might even say they are my favorite crop to work with.  I love their mystery, their persistence, and of course their fruit. 

All signs point that this season may be a challenging one for this heat-loving crop.  I grow all tomatoes in my 50-foot greenhouse, not even chancing a few varieties outside.  Our intermittent summer rains make unprotected plants more susceptible to blight, a fungus that in part is encouraged by water splashing up onto the leaves.  Sheltering them in a greenhouse not only protects them from wind and increases soil and air temperature, but means that I control exactly how and when they are watered.  Using soaker hoses drips water directly down onto the roots without spraying the plants themselves, and also allows me to "dry up" the soil in the fall to encourage more fruit set.  All in all, I am a strong advocate for greenhouse tomatoes in this zone of the Pacific Northwest.  Even home gardeners can construct simple shelters with tubing, greenhouse plastic, and sturdy clips to reap the benefits a larger greenhouse would offer.


The problem I am currently facing is that my greenhouse is packed with beds of harvest-worthy spinach and pea shoots.  My tomato starts are just rooting out through their 4-inch pots, meaning I need to either put them in the ground or pot them up into larger containers; this requires more time, more potting soil, and more space to store them.  While I may dream of multiple greenhouses, my reality is quite different.  I think I will do a final thorough harvest of all my greens and then clear them out to make space for the Great Tomato Transition.


It's always an exciting change, from the lush, jungle-like foliage of springtime greens to the early summer placement of tomato starts.  Maybe if I start planning for summer the weather will take notice and adjust itself accordingly... lately we have had days of driving rain and cool temperatures.  The other morning I had to remind myself that we were in the middle of May, not February or March.  Everything is growing, it is just growing... extremely... slowly.  At least my kale, chard, broccoli, and cabbage are happy.  I am thankful I took advantage of the dry days to till, set beds, and sow beets, carrots, and radishes.  They will catch up.  Someday.