Tomatoes

This is the most anxious time in the garden. This year feels especially fraught.

In May we have had a record low temperature (14 degrees on May 2) and a record high (96 degrees on May 15). And it is only May 18. My Wall-o-Waters were useless, as 14 degrees is too low for even them to provide protection (lost two tomatillos and a tomato to frost when I put them out a little prematurely) and then the soil was very warm and the “last frost date” had passed. I still am using them as wind shields for the delicate tomato plants I transplanted outside today. The few I put out last week did very well with this protection against last night’s storm, and hopefully this will help with tonight’s storms.

Spring storms and high winds are not unusual out here on the prairie. I am always anxious between May 15-June 15 for the little tomato plants. But as weather gets more severe and unpredictable, I am getting worried. Could a day come when I can’t grow tomatoes? Or at least, can’t grow tomatoes without a greenhouse? Hothouse tomatoes are not what I have in mind… but I seriously can’t live without canned tomatoes, let alone a couple precious weeks of fresh ones.

Transplanting the tomatoes is also heartbreaking because of the plants I throw away. This year, the Paul Robesons did wonderfully from seed, but really, I don’t have space or inclination for eight Robeson plants, which tend to produce very little fruit. I managed to give one away and put one in a container (an experiment), and three in the garden, thinking I’ll probably pull one if they all survive. What I would like is eight paste plants, so even though I have four, I might head out and by another four-pack. But if I do that, something else will need to get sacrificed…

For now, they’re all happily planted in raised beds, properly spaced with wind protection. Hopefully they’ll harden off and grow up to produce lots of tomatoes. I will keep up with the watering if there is a drought, and I will keep them well-staked. And I will hope for the best for many years to come.