I had such a surplus of tomato plants this year that I decided to make another makeshift shelter to grow them outside the greenhouses.
© Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
I used the portable trellises to do so by wiring five pairs slightly offset to stand in an A-shape and then using the last pair for a roof to support the plastic foil. I then planted the tomatoes between the A-shapes so when they start to grow in height, they can lean on the trellises. We shall see how this goes. The biggest problem could be temperature. If the summer is too cold, tomatoes won’t grow outdoors fast enough. The second big problem could be sunshine. This area gets only about 6-8 hours of direct sunshine; the first half of the day it is in shade. In my experience, tomatoes do not actually need direct sunshine to thrive; temperature is more important. But like all plants, they need enough light to photosynthesise, and I am not entirely certain they will get it here. Well, we shall at least see if these trellises work for this purpose.
we grow tomatoes along a concrete wall. They get full morning sun, and afternoon shade. The heat from the wall has proved more important than getting more sun.
That looks like a good structure for growing tomatoes. I hope that yours grow well!
If where you live has a prevailing wind during the summer and there’s room downwind of the compost heap you may be able to use the heat from it to provide warmth for some tomato plants. As a test, since you have some extras, maybe plant a few out in the open just downwind of the compost, but not too near for the nitrogen to leach into their roots and burn them. If it works maybe you can put your tomato trellis there next year.
What is the “plastic foil”?
Could you use something like this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_blanket to conserve the heat?
chigau @ 4
I think it’s the semitransparent plastic sheeting over the trellis in the picture.
@Alan G. Humphrey #5 Yes, that is what I meant by “foil”. Blame that on English not being my native language; foil is a false friend of the Czech word “fólie” (plastic sheeting). This particular plastic sheeting is reinforced with a glass fiber netting and UV-resistant; it is made specifically for this purpose.
#3, that is an interesting idea. I do live in an area with prevailing winds. But it is not doable right now. I am using my compost heap to burn the lawn, so I am moving it around to kill as much grass as possible. The area will be subsequently tilled and converted into another vegetable patch. I also no longer have surplus plants.
But I might make the second pile behind this improvised shelter. It is downwind of one of my greenhouses, so it is sheltered from most winds. That way, a compost pile might have a more significant impact on the microclimate there.
Consider also nighttime vs. daytime wind directions and which part of day the compost heat might aid most. I moved to a high desert plateau in New Mexico a few years ago and was surprised how little the wind blows at night during the summer. It’s mostly calm with a few gusts up to 10 kph from the north where the highest mountains are unless there’s an active storm system moving through the area.
Good luck with the trellisses.
There was a joke in the city where I used to live,
“There are really only two seasons, Winter and Construction.”
It’s the same here. We are full-on in Construction.