this post was submitted on 12 Aug 2023
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Tomatoes are too fickle as far as I'm concerned. I grow all kinds of stuff, but never have luck with tomatoes. The flowers don't pollinate without vibration, they need temperatures in a tight range to fruit, basically every pest on earth destroys them, just not worth it to me anymore. Which is a shame because I love them, but I'm basically over growing tomatoes.
Dude, I grow tomatoes in a 4' x 6' plot of dirt by the sidewalk in Montreal with zero tending and I have more tomatoes than I know what to do with every year. What are you doing so wrong?
When you say zero tending, are you even watering them? Asking for a friend who knows fuck all about street tomatoes.
I was exaggerating a little. I tied them to sticks and removed the useless branches/leaves. I watered the first week and nothing since.
If they are in the ground they only need one good watering a week after they get established. In containers you need to water more.
Living in a place with much hotter summers.
I would think that would benefit them, being native to the area around the equator.
I have like six different tomato plants growing out of jars (started as seeds) hydroponically. They take almost no effort. It's actually super easy to grow them if you eliminate nature from the process lol.
Yeah, maybe I'll try that when I have a greenhouse.
The tight temperature range is something I very much agree with you on. I think climate conducive to their growth play a big factor in disease immunity as well. I've seen them thrive like weeds in sub tropical regions. But for some reason, even in controlled conditions, they fail to do that well here in my area.
I always attributed more to soil and sun, because I grow great tomatoes easily in my garden every year. This year I did have to fertilize a few times, and they are only ripening now. I’m on the Canadian Prairies so not exactly subtropical. And I’m not that good a gardener either, cucumbers are often a struggle for me and my beets always get demolished by birds. And it’s been a good 4 years of various weather here and still, nice tomatoes. I wonder if there are some more locally adapted strains you could try?
Going for some locally adapted strains is a great idea. Thanks for that! I'm actually a terrible gardener so I hadn't thought of it. I just used what little seeds my neighbour gave me, and in limited area because I tend to prioritise fruits over veggies and they are what dominate most of my garden. The little space I experimented with tomatoes on is currently occupied by legumes.