Cory has some questions on the greenhouse tomato video we posted.
Here’s the video again:
David, that’s a good video man thanks for that. A good mix of humor and information.
Ok i have 2 questions if you don’t mind.
#1) As I’m watching I see the greenhouse side windows are open, assuming to keep it cool in this heat. So how do you protect from the bugs with the windows open? Is there a screen I can’t see?
#2) a greenhouse your size is just not in my budget for now. However, I plan to build a greenhouse to upgrade my deteriorating Amazon greenhouse. So do you think potted tomatoes in the greenhouse are worth my while or should I plan to plant them directly in the ground inside my greenhouse like you did?
Thank you buddy. Been busy on the homestead so I haven’t been commenting as much but I still read your posts when I find some time in between everything.
The air potatoes and true yams are taking over the area I planted them in. It’s so awesome. People think I’m crazy now.
Protecting from the Bugs
No, there are no screens. We just planted in the ground and opened the sides… and the bugs are leaving them alone. I have no idea why. We don’t spray anything or protect them in any way.
Potted Greenhouse Tomatoes?
Generally. plants do better with lots of root space.
I did an experiment this year. Rachel planted her tomatoes in the ground, and I planted a couple of other ones in 30-gallon grow bags.
Hers are definitely more productive. This isn’t a perfect experiment, though, as I think I planted mine a couple of weeks after she planted hers, so they may have been more root-bound from the cell trays in which they were planted – however, it’s a data point. The tomatoes in grow bags also had good potting soil, which they should have liked.
Who knows? It’s probably worth more experimentation.
Honestly, I don’t think it’s worth building a greenhouse to grow tomatoes unless:
- You have plenty of money and just want tomatoes
- You plan to sell tomatoes commercially
- You can build a greenhouse affordably enough to pay for it in homegrown tomatoes
We built and paid for our greenhouse via our nursery business, so the tomatoes were just an extra.
However, if you DO build a greenhouse, it is very helpful for starting transplants in spring and keeping propagative material going for the next year. We keep various tropical greens and crops in ours through winter which would die outside, which allows us to plant them out again in spring after all danger of frost.
The greenhouse has also definitely given us a lot more transplants we can pop into the Grocery Row Gardens, like peppers, cassava, sweet potatoes, etc.
If you have the budget and you like gardening, a greenhouse can make sense.
But just to keep a few tomato plants alive and happy? Probably not.
Finally, good work on the yams.
And “People think I’m crazy now.”
If you are watching my channel, you were already crazy. They can just see it now.
You can have greener thumbs by this weekend!
3 comments
Firstly, thank you for the post, what a pleasant surprise.
Good to know about the bugs. That’s motivation enough for a greenhouse. Seriously, I am fighting the bugs with traps and wasps, birds, bats, and any other insect predator… and we’re losing right now. The greenhouse may help us stay ahead.
I agree with you on the greenhouse economics. The greenhouse will ultimately serve the homestead by allowing us to get a head start on the growing season and keep propagative material alive through the winter. I’m definitely not going to build it just for tomatoes but I think I’ll try to make a space for them to be directly planted in the ground and probably experiment with some potted tomatoes too.
I can’t believe how good the yams are doing. I started expanding the food forest and have been planting yams right under young sweet gum treew and using the sweet gums as a living trellis. I read it from you, what a great idea.
Well thank you once again for the advice and tips. Hope you have a productive season on your homestead.
Take care,
Cory
Well, your video about the frustrations of growing tomatoes was an answer to prayer. Thank you, and the editing is great. Oh, I needed the chuckles. We are in NZ, winter here just now. Two seasons in this light ash based soil, acid, weather patterns very similar to yours warm, then a late frost, dry and then torrential rain, several diseases emerging all at once on tomatoes. We are used to growing about 70 tomato plants a year in cooler, coastal or elevated properties, with loads of fruit for eating, drying, canning. But the two tomato growing seasons we have lived here have been such a lot of work, only to get up the next morning and find lots more diseased leaves and fruit.. Let’s just say, picking green tomatoes starting to get blighty spots, gave us a lot of frozen green tomato for Green Tomato Fruit Mince, Green Tomato Sauce (think US folk say Ketchup). We generally get a Logan Labs soil test and work out good things for soil, but just sent the soil away last week (Life happens). Thinking of some kind of mobile covering for the tomatoes this coming season. Thank you. David.
PS Years ago watched a little bit of your growing sweet potato slips (called kumara here in NZ) and this served us well this past year. We were told no way to grow kumara this far south (south is colder here), But grew our first trial crop this past summer. Curing them to sweetness was a challenge, had our first taste last night. Not too bad! Potatoes grow very well here.
Thanks again, and so nice to see little glimpses of your lovely wife and family.
We have certainly eaten more than our fair share of green tomatoes…
Thank you. It’s good that you tested the kumara. Good work.
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