This cool growing season has got me worried about my tomatoes. These are not ordinary tomatoes, they are my own strain that I have been propagating for seven years.
Back in the spring, I started the seeds a little later than I should have but wasn’t concerned. In a normal growing season they would have had plenty of time to mature and produce the seeds I need to continue my strain. This year, it looks like it will be nip and tuck for these tomatoes — no tomatoes , no seeds. Unfortunately, these are the last of my seeds, I have no more in storage so I really need them to produce.
My plan now is to build small plastic tents this week to help raise the temperature during the day and keep them warm overnight. Hopefully, that will push them along enough to produce tomatoes and allow me to continue my variety. A few warm weeks will help too.
These tomatoes will make explosive growth if we get a period of warm weather.
If not, I have a plan B. I’m growing a few in pots that I can move indoors in the fall and get seeds that way. With any luck, in a few more decades, my grandchildren should have their very own heirloom variety.
Bob