Greenhouse Tomatoes

Here on the Humboldt coast, where summer high temps are in the 60’s, the only reliable way to get good tomato harvests is in a greenhouse.  So, knowing how popular tomatoes are, I put up two big 30’ x 96’ coldframes for the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants (I also use them to start seedlings and grow winter salads).

The upsides to greenhouse tomatoes are that: 1. They actually produce on the coast,  2. I can get them in the ground nice and early, and 3. They keep producing into December, even without auxiliary heating or lighting.

The downsides are that: 1. Greenhouses are expensive, 2. It takes way more work to keep them healthy in this artificial environment, and 3. Even with these big greenhouses, I’m limited to just 260 plants if I want any room for peppers, etc.

But it is well worth it for the pleasure that they bring to my CSA members.  And with this in mind, I am planting just heirloom and cherry varieties.  Greenhouse varieties are more prolific and more disease resistant, but they just don’t have that great flavor that screams “Farm-Ripe Tomato!”

The varieties I’m growing this year are Sungold (cherry), Brandywine, Rose, Black, Delicious, Carmelita, Orange Strawberry, Cherokee Purple, Tigerella, and one more that I can’t think of right now.

When the plants get bigger, I hope to do a how-to video on coastal tomato growing; showing techniques for pruning, trellising, watering, ventilating, & fertilizing.