Those of you that live in the northern part of the United States may just want to skip over this post, since those of us in the southern part of the US, might make you a little jealous.
And believe me, I know what it is like to live where the summer is very short. I grew up in northwest Oregon. Fall tomatoes do not happen in Oregon, unless you count the tomatoes you planted in the spring, that just start to ripen when it starts to freeze again, as fall tomatoes.
This year Oklahoma has had a very hot and dry summer. The last two summers have actually been very hot and dry and horrible for gardening. Not much can survive in 110+ degree weather.
Last summer we got very few tomatoes and this summer we had about 2-3 weeks of really good tomatoes and then the really hot weather hit, and they were done. Burned up, dried up, not producing, etc.
Usually by August we have had tomatoes so much we are tired of them, but not this year. Those couple of weeks of tomatoes were great, but my family wished that they had lasted longer.
So, I decided this year I would give fall tomatoes a try. I have never planted them before, but I thought they would be worth trying this year.
I found some really nice plants at a nursery in our area and planted them in pots on our back deck. I figure if they are in pots where I can see them everyday, I will not forget to water them. Gardening is not on my mind right now, so I knew if they were in the garden area I would forget about them.
I also figured if they were in pots then I could easily cover them or take them into the garage if we do get in early frost or freeze this year.
I may try to plant some lettuce this weekend also. We have done fall lettuce before and it is so nice to have garden fresh lettuce in the fall. So I am hoping we will be enjoying tomatoes along with that lettuce soon.
Since this is my first year for fall tomatoes, I would love to hear any tips you have for growing them. Or really any tips you have for fall gardening in general. And if you are a fall gardener please let us know what you love to plant this time of year.
I’m in TN and ive had success with fall tomatoes. I planted them in pots like you did so that I could move them around to get the best sun and also in case of frost. Its kind of hit or miss around here, some years its still so warm around Halloween that ive still had tomatoes and others its so cold we can barely trick or treat. Good luck with yours!
Hi Lynn. I live in Wisconsin so I can’t relate to any fall plantings other than lettuce. Good luck and have a great Labor Day weekend.