For tomatoes to ripen don’t plant until soil gets warm or use some sort of protection, such as Walls o’ Water.
Edible gardening was the topic of an online chat I did Monday. We covered a lot of ground. Read the whole conversation for lots of info and tips.
Someone asked about whether I think Walls ‘o Water (plastic cones filled with that wrap around the plants) work. I am a fan. They’re relatively cheap (about $10 to $20 for a three-pack) and keep the young tomato plants toasty enough to grow before in-ground tomatoes do.
Here’s why we need them: Gardeners are dead set (me included) to get going on tomatoes as soon as there is a sunny period in spring. But tomatoes need soil to be 60 degrees before they’ll grow. If they’re planted when it is still chilly, the plants will just sit there and get stressed. Stressed plants will never fully recover and be stunted and more susceptible to diseases and pests.
Wall o’ Water and similar products protect young plants down to at least 28 degrees. Some people leave the “teepees” on all season. I don’t. I take mine off once the plant grows up and out of the top. More instructions are included with the Wall o’ Water, which is widely available at garden centers and online.
Audrey, who joined the online conversation, indicated she’s also had luck with Walls o’ Water and she also uses plastic bags wrapped around the tomato cage held on with clothespins.
— Kym Pokorny
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