Real Food Winter Tomatoes

(Page 2 of 2)

October/November 2004
By David Cavagnaro 
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Train the plant, which will grow like a climbing vine, on a sturdy string trellis tied from and between small nails solidly hammered into a window frame, or build an independent trellis. Just be sure to accommodate the considerable weight of a huge vine amply loaded with many quarts of ripening fruit.

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Regular fertilization is a must to support the vigorous growth of an indeterminate tomato vine. Fish emulsion or any other liquid nutrient mix will do. Just follow the instructions on the product label.

Also, be sure to consider pollination and potential pests. Tomato blossoms are internally pollinated, an act aided outdoors by the vibratory action of wind and visiting bees. To mimic such vibration indoors, lightly tap or shake the vines each time you water, or turn a fan on them.

Insect pests can be a much more difficult problem to solve. You can control aphids with a batch of ladybugs, which you can buy commercially or which, since the invasion of the Asian variety, you may already have in abundance in your garden.

Whiteflies, once established on an indoor tomato plant, eventually will defoliate and kill it. The best solution is to be extremely careful to not introduce these insects indoors in the first place. Also, install yellow sticky traps (widely available online) before you notice any whiteflies, to catch any that sneak inside.

The same can be said for spider mites. Both of these pests also attack a variety of houseplants and are extremely difficult to control, especially on an edible crop where only nontoxic controls would be acceptable.

One final advantage to growing a tomato vine indoors in winter becomes clear in spring: You have a ready source of plant material from which to take blossoming cuttings for a jump start on the outdoor tomato season of summer.

Simply repeat the procedure used in the fall by rooting cuttings well enough in a dvance of the growing season that you have potted vines already in bloom in time to set out as soon as any danger of frost has passed. These plants will bear a good month or more in advance of even the earliest varieties you could start from seed in the spring, offering once again, at their natural time, the delicious, sweet-sharp taste of vine-ripened, sun-warmed tomatoes.

David Cavagnaro is a veteran garden photographer who lives and gardens near Decorah, Iowa.

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Comments

  • Royce 11/21/2007 6:57:14 PM

    I really enjoyed your article about 'Growing Tomatoes Indoors
    during the Winter'. it seemed so...limited. I am growing tomatoes
    indoors under a High Preasure Sodium Lamp. I realize that this is
    not neccessarily for everyone, however in spite of the electrical
    use (which isn't all that bad)the HPS lamp lights up the living
    room very well, I can grow just about any tomato variety, and
    herbs, and other veggies (Pole Beans in hanging baskets! beatiful
    vine and delicious too!) a little warmth (16,000-18,000 BTUs of
    light) and since it throws a wide range of light spectrem I haven't
    been bothered as much with depression due to lack of sunlight, and
    also the joy of gardening! What can I say more? Kind Regards, Royce
    Faina.

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