Hi Altitude Grower 9,000' - First Post
 

Hello all. I have been a lurker here for some time, trying to become better at growing tomatoes. I grew up in southern Ohio working as a young boy on my uncle's farm. It was easy there, but not here in the mountains.

I will tell you that it is a very difficult thing to do here in the mountains of Colorado. Officially we have only 31 frost free days. I can't grow much of anything outside. I have a 20'x40' outside unheated greenhouse with black water barrels for passive heat. Even with this I cannot put my sensitive plants out until Father's Day each June.

This season we got a long Indian Summer but a major weather front came through this past weekend bringing cold and snow to our area. I had to go out today and harvest mostly green tomatoes (my norm every year).

But they will ripen just fine in trays in my garage and give me home grown tomatoes for a couple of weeks more. This too was my first time for growing a heirloom variety.

But I do have a winter home in the Florida Keys. Will be there in about 2.5 weeks. I can just start all over again with a winter garden. I don't miss winter!

My greenhouse-
[IMG]http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i92/teamteke/P1010024.jpg[/IMG]

My heirlooms-
[IMG]http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i92/teamteke/P1010025.jpg[/IMG]

Others waiting to ripen-
[IMG]http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i92/teamteke/P1010026.jpg[/IMG]

Goodness, you have some serious growing challenges! And I thought we had a hard time of it here in Alaska.

Do you plant in the ground or grow in containers inside that greenhouse?

I'll bet Florida sounds really good to you right now.

Sherry

Looks up in the air, and waves a paw from Michigan, That's some tough growin! Welcome to Tomatoville Teke!

Jon

I got a nose-bleed just from reading your post.;)



Welcome to Tomatoville!