This is my 2009 tomato crop. Well, actually, we've had 5 tomatoes so far, the largest one being about the size of a golf ball, but the birds ate some of that one. I thought I would share my master gardening tips with those of you who are inspired by my success.
Last spring, my fitness center friend, Sybil, told me she had bought some Topsy Turvy planters, and I thought I should try them, too. She even told me the type of plants to buy, Marglobe, a heritage tomato that's supposed to be hardy, great tasting, and disease resistant. I bought plants, 2 planters, and a bag of Miracle Grow potting soil at Home Depot for about $35. That might seem like a lot, but when you're getting a whole summer of luscious, fresh tomatoes for salads and BLT sandwiches, it's actually pretty reasonable.
An artist friend, Ann, cautioned that she didn't have any luck last year with the upside-down planters but wished me luck. Heck, I had seen how they grow on TV, lush plants hanging with bushels of gorgeous tomatoes. Maybe Ann just lives in the wrong part of the country. The plants grew and looked healthy till the rains started, and they turned yellow. Then when the dry season set in, they looked parched, and the leaves shriveled up and dropped off, though I was watering them once a day; another artist friend, Sandi, told me about freezing water in plastic bottles, and letting them melt into the pots to keep them watered all day; it works, if you remember to replace them with more ice around noon. I feel like I'm raising puppies.
And has all this TLC been worth it? I think my picture speaks for itself. We're going to visit relatives in Pine Bluff tomorrow for the 4th, but I've decided not to share my home grown tomatoes with them. I'm saving these beauties just for us!
Must be gremlins, I posted this on the third, and it disappeared, so we'll try posting again.
Well, Cat, we had the same luck. This year I planted some late in the season and there they sit with their little blooms dropping off like flies. Maybe I just can't grow tomatoes anymore.
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Hi Ann :) The other night I found the Topsy Turvy planters in a little catalog that we get, and compared with my results, the cartoonish illustration of a trailing 6 foot tomato vine covered with huge red tomatoes made me laugh. No, let's not give up on growing tomatoes. I have some grape tomato plants that came up this year in my flowerbed voluntarily, and they're doing better than the hanging ones.
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