Greenhouse Tomatoes

Greenhouse tomatoes have gotten a well deserved reputation for mealiness and lack of taste. The greenhouse tomatoes in Bulgaria don’t taste that way. They are grown in the ground rather than in pots. This inspired me to try the same thing in my greenhouse. A raised bed has been built inside the greenhouse. The plants have been started and are almost ready to go into the ground. Fluorescent lights have been installed on chains so they can be moved up as the tomatoes grow.

The lights are also on a timer. The ideal time of daylight needed is 18 hours per day. There will also be cucumbers and basil in the raised bed. A special variety of cucumber is being used that were bred specifically to be grown in greenhouses. They are long skinny things with bumps instead of spines. The arugula and mesclun are doing well in the garden. They do not normally freeze. The weather people are calling for a very cold winter this year. A tunnel might be needed for the worst nights. Since the plants are in raised beds, that should be fairly easy to install.

Year round salads from the garden are a major goal in our house. Grocery store stuff is ok; but not as satisfying as the things from the yard. We did not get a single tomato from the hanging vine; because the deer ate them. The vine has recovered pretty well so it will be moved to the greenhouse.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/