A lot of gardeners in the Seattle area are doing a sun dance right now, hoping for a few more warm days before the rains set in for good. It’s been a cool, damp summer, and many tomatoes are just not ripening quickly enough.
I saw this contraption in a parking strip a few weeks ago when I was out for a walk in my neighborhood. It seems to be a kind of tomato house or cold frame, so the plants could be set out a little earlier than would be possible if they were just out in the open.
I keep meaning to go back and see if it worked!
Interesting contraption. I set one out too early one year & had to build a homemade version of this to keep it warm at night. I didn’t have something this elaborate, just a container with holes to ventilate the heat.
Some Seattle gardener should come up with one of these contraptions in a DIY kit and start selling it. They’d be rich! We kept our tomatoes under plastic until Jul. 1st. It helped but our tomatoes are still green.
PGL –
Hey, whatever works. This one was pretty well-engineered but basically anything to keep them warm seems like a good idea in certain climates.
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Curmudgeon –
Oh, you should totally do it and maybe you will make your fortune!
Hope you got some red tomatoes, eventually.
- Karen