Does anyone else grow tomatoes as perennials?
 

Hi all...I was just wondering if anyone else grows tomatoes as perennials? I have for about 4 years now, and grow inside in the winter...put em out in the spring...pull em in the fall...then cut them back and repeat the cycle...I do trim the roots and repot in new soil in the springtime (to avoid salt buildup from ferts), and so far haven't any problem with it...I know growing new plants would be cheaper then overwintering them...and I do that too..but have a few..I just like having around year round to get me through the winter blahs, then take trimmings and clone in the spring as well for the garden..am I weird?...also they seem to be easier to take care of...as time progresses..almost like the perennial aspect was bred out of them...but older plants..do seem to take to my cycle better every year..

Jon

Interesting!

I have wondered about doing this ever since I read they were perennials.

How do you store them over winter? It gets a mite chilly here in southern wi in my basement!

Do you notice any specific benefits/drawbacks in doing so? Seems like it would be a good way to save a brand that you do like and also test how the different soil/weather conditions affect the taste.

Cheers

Joe

I wish I could get a tomato plant from start to finish without losing it to some kind of disease, bug or ??? I think that is a neat thing you have thought up.

I usually have a few of plants still struggling along in the garden in early January (mostly hybrids)(north Florida winters are pretty mild). Usually I will pluck a few suckers from them to root for the upcoming season.
Sometimes a few plants will make it thru the winter in the garden and it will come back to life if I prune it back. Usually I just pull them out and chuck them though cause I figure a fresh plant would do better. Maybe this year I will leave one and see?

: Oops:[QUOTE=OtterJon;339636]Hi all...I was just wondering if anyone else grows tomatoes as perennials? I have for about 4 years now, and grow inside in the winter...put em out in the spring...pull em in the fall...then cut them back and repeat the cycle...I do trim the roots and repot in new soil in the springtime (to avoid salt buildup from ferts), and so far haven't any problem with it...I know growing new plants would be cheaper then overwintering them...and I do that too..but have a few..I just like having around year round to get me through the winter blahs, then take trimmings and clone in the spring as well for the garden..am I weird?...also they seem to be easier to take care of...as time progresses..almost like the perennial aspect was bred out of them...but older plants..do seem to take to my cycle better every year..

Jon[/QUOTE]

I attempt to write something about it (I add a few non quality pictures- I haven´t better).
I multiply tomatoes by cuts (suckers too) currently (pic 6). This winter I tested the preservation tomato plants for during the winter too. I use tomato Philova F1 for the testing.
Why? -one seed of this tomato is 25 Kč (1,5 dollar) for me
-the vendor assign that this tomato is tolerant to last blight and I want to test if it is true ¨
-this cherry tomato smack me
How? -I grove suckers from my tomato plant (about 10.9.2012)-generation one (G1)
-I cut the top of plant tomato G1 and this cut I growed (G2) (pic 2 –tomato plant G1 25.10.2012)
-These are pictures G1 (pic 3) and G2 (pic 4) about 28.12.2012. It see new suckers on G1
-Generation 3 from G2 –sometimes about the begin of February
-Generation 4 from G3 12.3.2013. Picture of G1 (pic 5) is from the same date
-On the picture 1 are seeing three generations of tomato Philova F1 today. I must draft the best, because my granddaughter drop to them,
hen I was them on the floor (on Saturday)
-On the picture 7 are my tomatoes Philova F1 last week under parapet of my bedroom´s window
Where? –I am 49° NW, zone 6 ??
-NE window, temperature 18 °C (64 °F) all the time
-on the parapet my bedrooms window
-The work almost either (only sometimes water)

I've half hardily tried it but it seemed that the low light and attack of the spider mites wear the plant down to a sickly looking specimen. It usually ends with my wife saying 'why don't you get rid of that thing, it looks awful'.

[QUOTE=OtterJon;339636]Hi all...I was just wondering if anyone else grows tomatoes as perennials? I have for about 4 years now, and grow inside in the winter...put em out in the spring...pull em in the fall...then cut them back and repeat the cycle...I do trim the roots and repot in new soil in the springtime (to avoid salt buildup from ferts), and so far haven't any problem with it...I know growing new plants would be cheaper then overwintering them...and I do that too..but have a few..I just like having around year round to get me through the winter blahs, then take trimmings and clone in the spring as well for the garden..am I weird?...also they seem to be easier to take care of...as time progresses..almost like the perennial aspect was bred out of them...but older plants..do seem to take to my cycle better every year..

Jon[/QUOTE]

Interesting, John, please share the details. Over the winter do you pick tomatoes? What kind of light do you use? Are the tomatoes disease resistant?

[QUOTE=MrBig46;339769]: Oops:

I attempt to write something about it (I add a few non quality pictures- I haven´t better).
I multiply tomatoes by cuts (suckers too) currently (pic 1). This winter I tested the preservation tomato plants for during the winter too. I use tomato Philova F1 for the testing.
Why? -one seed of this tomato is 25 Kč (1,5 dollar) for me
-the vendor assign that this tomato is tolerant to last blight and I want to test if it is true ¨
-this cherry tomato smack me
How? -I grove suckers from my tomato plant (about 10.9.2012)-generation one (G1)
-I cut the top of plant tomato G1 and this cut I growed (G2) (pic 2 –tomato plant G1 25.10.2012)
-These are pictures G1 (pic 3) and G2 (pic 4) about 28.12.2012. It see new suckers on G1
-Generation 3 from G2 –sometimes about the begin of February
-Generation 4 from G3 12.3.2013. Picture of G1 (pic 5) is from the same date
-On the picture 6 are seeing three generations of tomato Philova F1 today. I must draft the best, because my granddaughter drop to them,
hen I was them on the floor (on Saturday)
-On the picture 7 are my tomatoes Philova F1 last week under parapet of my bedroom´s window
Where? –I am 49° NW, zone 6 ??
-NE window, temperature 18 °C (64 °F) all the time
-on the parapet my bedrooms window
-The work almost either (only sometimes water)[/QUOTE]

Nice to hear I'm not crazy....I use two 400w warehouse lights that I converted by swapping the ballast inside with a pulse start ballast....and I run Phillips Mastercolor CMH (Ceramic Metal Halide) Bulbs in them..For the spectacular wavelength they provide. It truly looks like a nice daylight, which is also fun to sit under in the winter days.. HPS (High Pressure Sodium) is an ugly orange..(Think streetlights)

I just keep them in a spare bedroom, which I don't need to heat, cause the lights keep it around 80 in there...I run them approx 12 hrs a day. For "soil" I am using premier Promix BX in 3 gallon simple black pots. For fets I use a bit of foxfarm's Grow Big, and Big Bloom. With a spinkling of Tomato-Tone every so often. I pick tomatoes all winter, but have found the cherry types Coyote,Camp Joy Cherry,and some paste types (Vesuvio) to be more prolific indoors then say...my Russian Pink 2 or Costoluto Genovese...I have fruit on all winter in various stages, and been picking a lot to eat while there is snow on the ground. It's way too cold here for anything to grow in the ground yet...it's not but about 34 out currently..

I also use the lights to start my seedlings for the spring..I am doing experiments with micro-toms, so just started a bunch the other week....I have lost a plant or two that either got something during the summer...and I won't bring back inside a diseased plant. I sterilize all of my pots and soil when bringing them back in too...this goes a long way to prevent anything nasty.

Nice job mrbig46...great looking plants!

Here are some pics of my little grow area indoors, I took today..Using a seedmat, I am starting some Bowen's Buckeye, and Lemon Blush later this eve...Happy growing all! Waves a paw..

Jon

John, how is your electric bill? That is my biggest concern. I do love black tomatoes. You can not find them here year round, frankly most of the time.

It doesn't really effect it too bad... I'd say Ive only seen bills $15 bucks a month more. But I also have to run the heat less..A simple space heater runs 1500watts, and I'm only running 800w total for both lights..and not 24hrs a day. I can leave the door open and heat filters out of the room. The house is all 13w (60w equivelent) spiral lights in every room to offset the cost a bit. I figure my tomato habit is worth the extra cost overall ;) but it is a consideration...I could have used an LED system they sell at grow shops...but a quality one is a lot of money, and I like the natural looking light they produce.

Jon

Nice setup. Now you need some hydroponics!

Jon that is so cool. Wish I had the room to do something like that, but I am going to do the winter tomato project again this year coming up, only start my plants in July or something. Just a few which i can put in the bay window area of the living room with the LED's hanging over all.