Houston

aggiemom42 · May 28, 2008

Any advice for growing tomatoes in the Houston area. My plants are big, lots of flowers, but that's it.
thanks,

Worth1 · May 28, 2008

Sure, start very early and expect the worst.

The Davis mountains in Texas is the best place to grow tomatoes.

Cool nights and very low humidity.

You cant get that in Houston and that is your problem.

Start your plants in December and put them out in February at about 18 inches tall and you will do OK.

Don't plant types that don't produce well even in the best of climates as it will be a disappointment.

Worth

Deer Park · December 8, 2008

Aggiemom42,

Houston can be a challenge but you can grow bushels of all types, colors and sizes of tomatoes! See the pictures that Feldon took of my garden last year or better yet come for a visit in May.

Worth is right you should plan to start your seeds between now and the end of the year. Plant in Feb if you can (weather depending) but not later that March 15th. I target March 1st to have all of mine all in the ground.

aggiemom42 · December 9, 2008

thanks for the reply Deer Park. I will try again in Feb. I think I also need to improve my soil.

feldon30 · December 10, 2008

aggiemom,

Suze and I are working on articles on growing tomatoes in S.E. Texas. We're kind of stalled on the design of the site right now, but the articles are mostly written. We'll post in the SETTFest forum and other places when it's ready to go.

I start seeds January 1st and plant tomatoes March 1-10th depending on overnight temps (forget the weather man, he's an idiot, check WUnderground.com) in well-amended soil.

Deer Park,

Good to hear from you! I hope the garden is coming back together and not too much damage from Ike. I hope I can do another visit in the spring.

May 28, 2008	#1
aggiemom42 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: houston Posts: 2	Houston Any advice for growing tomatoes in the Houston area. My plants are big, lots of flowers, but that's it. thanks,

December 10, 2008	#5
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	aggiemom, Suze and I are working on articles on growing tomatoes in S.E. Texas. We're kind of stalled on the design of the site right now, but the articles are mostly written. We'll post in the SETTFest forum and other places when it's ready to go. I start seeds January 1st and plant tomatoes March 1-10th depending on overnight temps (forget the weather man, he's an idiot, check WUnderground.com) in well-amended soil. Deer Park, Good to hear from you! I hope the garden is coming back together and not too much damage from Ike. I hope I can do another visit in the spring. __________________ [SIZE="3"]I've relaunched my gardening website -- [B]TheUnconventionalTomato.com[/B][/SIZE] * [I][SIZE="1"]*I'm not allowed to post weblinks so you'll have to copy-paste it manually.[/SIZE][/I]

May 28, 2008	#2
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Sure, start very early and expect the worst. The Davis mountains in Texas is the best place to grow tomatoes. Cool nights and very low humidity. You cant get that in Houston and that is your problem. Start your plants in December and put them out in February at about 18 inches tall and you will do OK. Don't plant types that don't produce well even in the best of climates as it will be a disappointment. Worth

December 8, 2008	#3
Deer Park Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Pasadena, Texas Posts: 199	Aggiemom42, Houston can be a challenge but you can grow bushels of all types, colors and sizes of tomatoes! See the pictures that Feldon took of my garden last year or better yet come for a visit in May. Worth is right you should plan to start your seeds between now and the end of the year. Plant in Feb if you can (weather depending) but not later that March 15th. I target March 1st to have all of mine all in the ground.

December 9, 2008	#4
aggiemom42 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2008 Location: houston Posts: 2	thanks for the reply Deer Park. I will try again in Feb. I think I also need to improve my soil.