It's quite a jungle out there. I planted my tomatoes about two feet apart on trellises that are 5 feet high. Foolishly, I thought this would offer an adequate amount of growing space. But judging from the distance between the planting hole and some of the fruits that I've picked, I'm guessing that many of these vines are more than 10 long. At this point, they are literally growing on top of one another, which is making harvesting all the more difficult. I am also surprised by how healthy the vines still look this late in the season - a far cry from last year I' m sure. The fact that this has been one of the hottest and driest summers ever recorded in New England probably has something to do with it.
In front of my tomato plants is my asparagus bed, which I started from crowns planted this past Spring. I can't wait to harvest some spears next year!
The vines are still producing a healthy amount of fruit. Whether or not these green tomatoes with ripen before our average annual first frost date (in about 4-5 weeks) is anybody's guess. I suppose heirloom tomatoes ripened indoors are still better than what you will find in the supermarkets.
LOL, mine looked that way until last week, I had to machete my way through it all!
ReplyDeleteThomas, don't forget to do a few fried green tomatoes (I can taste them as I write). Dipped in just in a touch of flour (maybe even a little corn meal mixed in), a bit of salt and fresh pepper, fried in extra virgin olive oil... oh, my! Tell me you like them. :)
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful weekend.
Wow! Yours look so healthy! Don't worry, they'll ripen on the counter..they really will! One of my green tomato laden plants fell over earlier this year and they ripened on the counter.
ReplyDeleteMine have grown like crazy too. I have a Sungold F3 that has grown into my neighbor's lilac and is unpickable as it is too high. That and the Cherokee Purple are the ones taking over the world. The Cherokee Purple as taken over the cages of its two neighbors. It is very happy like that. Not all mine have done as well though.
ReplyDeleteWe had a really wet and miserable Summer without much sun. My tomatoes don't look a thing like yours! Look at all of that beautiful green foliage... I'm going to miss this Summer's garden for sure...
ReplyDeleteGorgeous plants! This is how my plants look in normal summers, so I guess yes, your unusually hot summer has a lot to do with these vines being so nice at this time of year. I hope your tomatoes ripen before the first frost. Hurry up plants, give Thomas some more ripe fruit!
ReplyDeleteThose vines do look very healthy for this time of year. About half of mine are yellowing, some dead all together. Next year you should prune out all the suckers. I tried it for the first time this year and it really makes like easier. Less tomatoes though but the ones that grow are much larger.
ReplyDeleteThanks for you comments everyone.
ReplyDeleteErin - I should totally buy a machete. It would also make me look tough.
Di - I've actually never had a fried green tomato before. Crazy I know!
Ribbit - Thanks! That's definitely reassuring.
Daphne - I've noticed that the Sungold and Cherokee Purple are pretty vigorous.
Kimmi - sorry to hear that! We've had our fair share of bad summers.
Angela - Thanks! I hope they ripen up too.
Dan - I would consider pruning them more but I've noticed that the slicers do much better when they can ripen under the complete shade of the plant's foliage. The once exposed to direct sunlight tend to crack or get sun scald.
Your tomato plants look perfect! Not a sign of disease.
ReplyDeleteI think that all the rain that you didn't get this year ended up in my garden. This was one of the rainiest Augusts as I can remember.
I was reading that you need temperatures above 50F for tomato to turn red.
Your tomatoes look great! And I'm so looking forward to your first asparagus harvest - any plans what you're gonna do with them?
ReplyDeleteBTW I love your blog! Last weekend I read it all from the beginning 'till now. I think your approach of all-season gardening is very interesting and innovative. I don't know many people who do that. When I'll have a garden of my own I might try some of your methods, like the double-layer hoop houses! I can't wait to see what you'll try out this winter.
balcony/paradise - Thanks for reading! Please excuse all of my grammatical errors. hahaha.
ReplyDeleteI just like my asparagus either roasted or grilled with a bit of salt and pepper. When you have something that fresh, I try and dress it up to much, right?
The tomatoes look really vigorous and healthy. The hot and dry summer is definitely a key in the success you are experiencing (although your good garden and care I am sure has alot to contribute to it as well). I am actually amazed that my plants are still doing as well as they are considering how miserably cold and wet it has been here for essentially the entire summer but even more so in the past few weeks. Suprisingly they are still growing and still (slowly) ripening up some fruit) so I have to give them a A+ for persistence and toughness.
ReplyDeleteIf you're growing indeterminate tomatoes, you can pinch off any growing tips and flowers to prevent the plants from starting new tomatoes now. This will help the plant focus it's energy on ripening the existing tomatoes quickly.
ReplyDeleteThomas, please don't worry about grammar mistakes, I think I'm making way more than you do ;) Try some butter to the asparagus, I find they go together very well.
ReplyDeleteEverything look so nice and lush in your garden, how many beds and square footage do you have in there?
ReplyDeleteHey Winnie- I have about 1000 square feet go growing space.
ReplyDelete