Tomatoes!

[tronagirl]

Now would be a good time to plant tomatoes. It'll be hot soon and so cherry tomatoes are really the only choice that makes sense around here. But the plants should thrive up until mid-June and after that shade and plenty of water will be absolutely essential!

[mrfish]

Little salad tomatoes just don't do it for me. I like big juicy tomatoes that I can slice nice and thick for a sandwich. Lots of little ones don't work that well in a sandwich!

[surfsteve]

The little tomatoes are a lot easier to grow out here because they don't crack as much from being in the hot dry sun. March would have been the ideal time to set out tomatoes. I would even try planting seeds in February. May is ideal in northern climates. May 27th was the average last frost date in Denver. Most people would set them out two weeks before that and cover them if there was a frost warning. If you are planting seeds you can keep replanting every two weeks. Generally the benefits outweigh the risks and hassle of replanting.

In another month all the big tomatoes will be cracking in Trona. I had one plant, near the plant that grew for 2 years and produced tomatoes all year around. It was on the south side of the building and I think the steam from the plant kept it from freezing in the winter months. It was a cherry tomato plant. In the hot months nearly every tomato was cracked but the rest of the year they were ok. When I lived in Pioneer point though my plants would freeze. It's amazing how much difference just a mile or two would make.

[sandman]

It's getting pretty cold for tomatoes outside, but that doesn't mean you can't grow them inside. Just like they grow marijuana inside with grow lights and other fancy indoor gardening gear, tomatoes will thrive under the right conditions and you can control those conditions with incredible precision when growing tomatoes indoors. Of course, your electric bill might go up a bit unless you have solar panels.

[dzrtdwg]

sandman: Actually tomatoes are one of the plants that law enforcement confuses with marijuana when they are doing aerial surveillance for grow operations. Less of an issue now with legalization, but in the old days the drug agents in the helicopters had a hard time telling the difference. The two plants are very similar in color.