You're looking at most of what I have going right now, unfortunately. Last year at this time I was picking cucumbers. You can see this year's cukes in the middle left of that pic. They are just sprouts. Nothing will grow without sunshine, even when I keep it from freezing at night. Thank you for the compliment, but my idea of huge is 10x what I have now. This high tunnel is 14x48 with a gravel floor. The new one I just built is 18.5x48', but does not have the plastic on it yet, because I don't have enough plants to fill it. I bought ground cover cloth for the floor and a friend gave me some pallets, but beyond that I have not ordered everything yet. My plan up to now had been to use 11-gallon grow bags fed with an automated drip system. That would have been perfect in last year's weather. This year, we are so far into spring that I am starting to wonder if I'll have enough time to get a crop of tomatoes before the weather hits 95+ degrees. When that happens, I get thick skins and bitter fruit. All I can think of to do would be to just bury the entire container or root ball into the ground at that point. I like your idea with the cover and the light bulbs. Notice that you are three zones north of me and your plants look farther along than mine. Do they stretch at all toward the bulbs? I don't see yours doing that, but my worry would be that mine somehow would.

Thanks for the info. So far on the germination radar: 2/2 jalapeno 1/2 hungarian wax 1/3 large sante fe 1/2 slim cheyenne 0/3 habanero 0/2 hot ancho On the sweets: 0/2 sweet pimento 1/2 red marconi Also - got a "bonus" in the mild jalapenos - a third seed popped up. Not sure if I dropped an extra, or it washed over from the sante fe or hungarian area....so 1 "mystery" pepper....also - not 100% sure which is the hungarian and the marconi red.....think I got it but may have switched them. every year it's a mystery garden. One year - 20 types of tomatoes, and all the tags washed off while they were hardening off....was suppose to be the year we compare and decide which were keepers! Also - never got another eggplant up but that one.... will give these all another week or two, then trying the paper towel method.......need to find those super small ziplock baggies....

I don't think your going to proove anything with one plant. The beauty of the system is that I can keep 4 tomato plants in the space normally occupied by 1, so even if I get 9 less fruit per plant, I'm still up overall due to extra plants in the same space. It's how greenhouse growers grow tomatoes regularly. Two plants are grown side by side, one trained to the right and one trained to the left. Everything below the fruit clusters is removed. You can remove up to three branches a day for most fruit without any setback to the plant. Once that cluster is removed, the branches up to the next flowers are removed, so on and so forth. Usually in a long season, the tomato vine can grow around 150 ft in length. I did this last year in my SWCs and had great results all season long. I will try to document my procedures and results this year for you, but I cannot guarantee anything.

For Richard concerning pvc pipes for watering, here are 2 links. I suppose that his reference to a rock is for a cap on the pipe instead of a pvc cap. http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf19058273.tip.html http://www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to-make-your-tomato-plant-bigger With respect to this thread and grooming tomatoes, it is just common sense, and even we geologists can figure it out. SOME grooming of tomatoes is beneficial as more energy is available for fruiting, but if too much is done then there is insufficient leaf area to produce vegetation and fruit growth. Also, removing some leaves and stems is in reality an injury to the plant and produces a reproductive response in it, which results in more flowering and fruiting. So groom judiciously, keep plants spaced sufficiently apart for adequate sunlight and water (pvc pipe?), prepare the soil well so roots can grow easily, and be sure to put seedlings as deep as possible for greatest root production. Now to the good stuff. Nutrition! A retired physician here in Tucker, GA has published in our local free rag his tomato "secrets" which he acquired from another gentleman in Buford. In one season from 10 plants his production was 2281 tomatoes weighing 752 pounds. He used hybrids (I will grow ONLY heirlooms) consisting of 1 Parks Whopper, 5 Beefmasters, 2 Sweet 100's, and 2 Better Boys. Of course the Sweets being a cherry upped the number count and lowered the average weight considerably (0.32 lbs), but accounting for that my guess is that the average non-cherry plant yield would be 100-140 tomatoes averaging a pound each. I'd be happy with that any day. This is what he does. He uses new soil every year, although I feel that this is optional, as the soil adjuncts should be sufficient after the first year. He digs holes 15X15 and fills with bagged topsoil mixed with potting soil and Natures Helper. I use just Natures helper and a little sandy loam I dig up from the woods (a former terraced farm) behind my townhome. With clay soils here the sand helps considerably. He then mixes in: a) handful of 10-10-10 b) handful of lime c) handful of Epsom Salt (critical, as tomatoes are magnesium hungry) d) 2 handfuls cow manure e) 2 tablespoons baking soda After planting he covers the soil with pine bark nuggets to help keep the soil moist. At 3 week intervals he adds around each plant 2 handfuls 10-10-10, a handful Epsom Salt, and 2 tablespoons baking soda. So after the first year of new soil and Natures Helper try just the a-e adjuncts and see what happens, especially if you do not wish to excavate many holes and have no place to put the resulting "used" soil. The method says that the soil is important, but I think that it is overemphasized after year one's conditioning. This is "Dr Dan's Tomato Recipe and Method" from the February 2010 issue of Up Close and Personal in Tucker, and has been reprinted each year since. Dr L. Dan Johnson was shared this method by the late Mr Ralph Pass of Buford, GA, a former patient of his. A golfing buddy of Dr Johnson's told him that "Thank God you do not grow watermelons!"