March 19, 2018

Most years when I have started out planting tomatoes there is the potential for a lot more freezes of which any one of them could do in the toms. Still I find it easier to beat freezes than to try and beat triple digit temperatures.

Traditionally culture would have you stake your tomatoes to keep them off the ground. Here lies a problem with extra early tomatoes and protecting from freezes.

Where my garden is located it is very exposed to the elements. Save for the west side most of the garden is exposed to all the wind that West Texas can send my direction. I am a firm believer in crop rotation where no crop is planted in the same place for at least 2 years and in most cases more time is even better. I have not found any cage that does not need to be further reinforced against the wind and the eventual fruit weight too. I have tried mobile trellises to no avail. All have under performed. 

Because I start my toms early they have a tendency to ramble around on the ground. Not conducive for trellising. I have found the closer to the ground the toms grow the greater their freeze protection is. With cages or trellises there is a lot of open air (early in the season) that needs to be warmed by the ground. These cages or trellises to work best if used from when the toms are transplanted into the garden. To “confine” them after all freezes have  past would have an iffy outcome at best.

Most years my toms are beginning to ripen before there has been any rain and wildlife water is scarce. The most accessible water is from our water tubs for our fowl. A lot of birds have come to recognize ripening tomatoes as a water source. How disconcerting to pick a ripe tomato to find the backside missing. It is also when the toms start to ripen that all sorts of insects move in for the “kill”.

One down side of the toms rambling on the ground is the potential for fruit rot.

The lessening of all these potential early demises of toms has been easily mitigated. I have found that by harvesting toms at first blush and letting them come to full ripeness in the safety of my house. The vast majority of fruits are saved. To harvest at first blush is a goal but there still are a number of toms that become fully ripe on the vines.

It is only when we have extended wet periods that I have any amount of rot loss. Being west Texas, this never lasts long.

One of the great benefits of letting the toms ramble, they act as a living mulch. Also, with the toms not being on “pedestals”, there is less exposure to the elements. This is especially helpful when we have horrid hail seasons. The plants are easily covered to protect them.

These are but a few of the cultural practices that I have tried in order to adapt to our climate instead of having to try and have the climate adapt to me.