Tomatoes in Texas

Sixty miles north of Dallas, I planted out in the second week of March and had to protect my plants many times from frosts and freezes. My plants were so delayed by the cold weather, I don't believe I am ahead of anyone who planted out in the second week of April. I ate my first cherry tomato today. All of my plants are loaded with blooms and tomatoes, but I'm probably ten days from abundant ripe slicing tomatoes. Some of my plants are approaching five feet tall. When they finally started growing, they went wild.

Mortgage Lifter has always been a great variety for me. I didn't grow it this year because I needed the space for a different variety.

Most of my tomatoes are grown in raised beds with automatic watering daily by soaker hoses. I also grow some in containers with drip irrigation. Both are on the same timer and it works well. I've never tried earthtainers, but I know they work well. I can't believe they grow better than containers or raised beds if sufficient water and nutrients are given to the raised beds and containers. Earthtainers do offer a lot of advantages and a few disadvantages compared to other methods.

Ted