Free Tomato Tower Friday!

Mary says:

I have never grown a decent tomato in my life probably because I don’t provide a place for deep roots.  I want tomatoes like my mom and dad used to grow.  I want to win….

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 7:26 am.

Jeannette says:

My tomatoes don’t turn out too often.  I need help.  I would love to win this rolling tomato tower.

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 7:29 am.

Mary Mohr says:

We had a Cocker Spaniel that was an omnivore.  He’d eat my cherry tomatoes and even after he passed away, we had volunteer cherry tomato plants in the yard for years.  A lasting memory!

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 7:31 am.

Linda Mendelssohn says:

I have the most success with romas - the bush is just loaded and lasts for so long.

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 7:35 am.

Susan Bulger says:

Nemetodes plague my vegetable garden.  I need this wonderful planter.

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 7:36 am.

Debo Tracewell says:

I am from the south and I make fried green tomatos.  Green tomatoes are easy.  One day I was looking at a tomato out of my window debating on whether to pick it today or tomorrow….....my black lab walked right by it, took a chomp and got my tomato, and kept walking….did not miss a stride.

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 7:41 am.

Christine Bliss says:

Early Girls till Christmas!  Love to grow tomatoes and peppers!

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 7:41 am.

Ellen B. says:

My pug loved tomatoes and would even dive for them in a child-sized pool!

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 7:46 am.

Jen Thompson says:

I love growing tomatoes, but I don’t like eating them. Two members of our family do, however: my husband and our yellow lab, Maddie. While she loves to eat the tomatoes, the love is not mutual and the fruit makes her sick. Therefore, we have to put chicken wire around our crop to guard them from the dog.

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 7:55 am.

Linda Genis says:

The watermelon beefsteak I grew last year was delicious.  Next summer I’s like to try a San Marzano in addition to the beefsteak and Sweet 100’s I love.

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 8:06 am.

Connie Beck says:

Short of moving back to Kansas (horrors!) this looks like a great way to get those flavorful tomatoes I remember!

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 8:07 am.

lynn says:

I quit even trying two years ago because the critters would always get to the ripe tomatoes before I did.  I never caught the culprit red pawwed so not sure who to blame.

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 8:27 am.

Lise says:

One year a grew tomatoes from plants from Love Apple Farms in Ben Lomond. One of the plants grew huge, tasty, wonderful red beefsteaks, but, of course, I lost the label. I saved the seeds though, and in memory of my departed father, who loved a home grown tomato almost more than anything, when I planted them the next summer I called them “Sam’s Dream” tomatoes.

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 8:32 am.

Nancy says:

For several years I was able to time it so that I could go out at midnight on New Ear’s and pick a tomato…the plants were under wraps..and it was never a great tomatoes….but…it was the first tomato of the new year….

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 8:33 am.

Darla Miller says:

Love tomatoes and would love to be able to roll them out of the elements

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 8:35 am.

Donna Ross says:

We live in a condo 1 mile from the beach and my husband grows walls of very tall tomatoes every year.  They are wonderful and delicious, but the plants not so pretty.  We just cut the last taller-than-the-garage plant down last weekend.  Come on spring!!

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 8:36 am.

Megan says:

I sadly do not have a tale about a tall tomato plant. I grow lots of tomatoes each year, but since my growing season is so short (zone 3), they usually don’t get any taller than me. Growing tomatoes is one of my favorite things to do in the summer - there is nothing like a tomato from the garden!

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 8:43 am.

Jamie Cucurullo says:

My first vegetable garden was back in 1994 - we had a small area fenced off and I grew corn, bell peppers, zucchini, and of course tomato plants. I fertilized and took really great care with my garden.  One day my then husband noticed this one tomato - it was green and HUGE, it grew to be 19” around it was like a small pumpkin and the neatest thing was it ripened just in time for the Orange County fair so of course I called the fair to see if they had any type of entrance for this kind of thing and they did - so the first day of the fair I went to pull the tomato off the vine, not happening I had to take a small knife and saw through the stem - so off to the fair I went - we went through the judging and I ended up winning first prize, yup a blue ribbon, for the biggest tomato…I was so happy and proud…that is my tomato story the end.

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 8:53 am.

Marj Myers says:

We love growing the beefsteak, they get so big and are so delicious.  A friend recently gave me 3 tomato plants that she had too many of so I am curious to see what kind they are since she didn’t know either.  They are growing and have a few blooms on them already so if I win the box, the plants will have a new home.  Thanks.

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 9:35 am.

tj says:

...Oh, please don’t enter me in the giveaway as all my tomato plants get planted in the garden.  I just stopped in to say “congratulations” to Ghislaine on being the winner of the book! :o)

...Have a great weekend DDJ!

...Blessings :o)

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 9:36 am.

Nicki Ann says:

Ahhh…I have not planted tomatoes for sometime because every year we find several fugitive/volunteer plants growing in our garden…All kinds of species of tomatoes. Always fun to see what will “pop up” next!

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 10:03 am.

Donna Minick says:

When I grew tomatoes in the ground, they were plagued by nematodes.  I now grow them in containers and have had pretty good success—even with tomato worms (they are huge).

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 10:15 am.

Susi Torre-Bueno says:

About 1992 I planted tomato Sweet 100 for the first time in a raised bed in what had formerly been our front yard.  We had thousands of tomatoes for well over a year here in San Diego, and this plant surpassed all our tomato hopes and dreams.

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 10:21 am.

Victoria says:

I never grew the biggest or the bestest but I did have to fight my dog for them.  He would pick them right off the vine.  One day I saw him barking furiously, nose to the ground. I didn’t see anything and thought maybe he’d gotten a little crazy.  When I went over to ask him about it, I found he’d cornered a giant tomato worm and was really laying into him, presumably to leave his tomatoes alone!

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 10:29 am.

Kathleen says:

A coworker gave me the most wonderful big yellow tomatoes and told me how to save the seeds, which I planted for several years to enjoy my own, gorgeous and delicious with Paul Robesons. That was until The Year of The Big Remodel, that turned my sunny garden spot into a work area, and became 2 years, and then 3, and by then that guy had retired and moved. I now buy a few seedlings from the farmers market. But have I found those heirloom yellows? Never since.

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 10:36 am.

DeeDee says:

The biggest tomatoes I ever grew were at a house in central OC where there had been potato and cabbage fields before houses - these beefsteaks were 2 lbs each and tasted fabulous. Now, at my hilltop garden in south OC, with the worst soil, I get few and smallish tomatoes but they still taste good!

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 10:59 am.

maryann Marks says:

when I first moved into my house nothing was growing- true virgin soil and the first thing I planted was a tomato plant. I fed the entire office tomatoes every Friday. the plant was the size of a motorcycle!

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 11:15 am.

Jeannie in Sacramento says:

My tall tale: first big veg garden. growing so well. too well. went on vacation, came back, my staked tomatoes toppled over and in a heap. That’s what August will do to tomatoes in Sacramento if you’re not on guard.
p.s., I think these tomato towers would be ideal for small space gardens (patio, courtyard, balcony) that have to catch the sun where they find it. Also, boost up the container garden veg to the level of their in-the-ground neighbors. Smart!

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 11:23 am.

Sharon K. says:

I planted a yellow pear bush one year that sent out 6 foot long “tentacles” that almost topped the 8 foot wall.  I had so tomatoes, I couldn’t give them away…

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 12:07 pm.

PAT says:

I’M INTO HEIRLOOMS,NOT VIGOROUS YIELDERS,BUT SO MUCH MORE FLAVOR AND SWEETNESS. YEARS AGO I PLANTED ONE CALLED PERSIMMON AND ONE TOMATO WAS HUGE. ONE SLICE COVERED A 7 INCH SALAD PLATE. NOT TALL AS I USE CAGES.

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 12:30 pm.

Jane says:

i’ve had two cherry tomato plants feed the whole neighborhood and anyone else who wanted them.  since they were planted in the front yard, neighbors were welcome to help themselves.

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 1:17 pm.

Jean says:

I’ve grown tomatoes many different ways with varying success. Would love to get this to try.

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 1:51 pm.

Sarah says:

I want the tower! I had to fight tooth and nail to get my tomato plants in the ground last year. My husband and I had just xeriscaped our front yard (ourselves!) and our backyard is mostly cement (ugh).  I had to insist to my husband that I really did want tomatoes, they would turn out great, and they wouldn’t ruin our front yard. Thankfully I was right on all counts. The Green ebras and Orange Oxharts (sp?) were our faves.

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 2:11 pm.

Melanie Scriptunas says:

I would love to extend my growing season with this tomato tower. I’m afraid my tallest tomato story isn’t one to be proud of. I neglected a tomato one year and it grew over eight feet tall. Unsurprisingly, it bore very little fruit (maybe 3 wimpy tomatoes for the entire season). Won’t let that happen again.

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 3:06 pm.

Karen says:

One of my favorite tomatoes to grow and eat are Sweet 100’s.  I tend to let my tomatoes grow as they please ... after they exceed the height of the tomato cage I let them ramble into whatever bush or tree will give them support.  One year my cherry tomatoes grew into my pear tree making it look more like a tomato tree!  We enjoyed lots of delicious tomatoes from that tree. 

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 4:59 pm.

Jennifer says:

Love this tomato tower!  Great idea.  I don’t have any tall tomato tales, but even my meager attempts are so much better than those crappy market tomatoes!

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 5:17 pm.

Regina says:

Well, I am hoping to get tons in the tower. I never have had an abundance but my favorite is green zebra.

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 5:29 pm.

Carol says:

I have two friends who are still producing tomatoes from last summer! Not me. I had really good luck with a 6 pack - 6 different varieties -all heritage and don’t know what kind each one was - but large and tasty!

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 6:25 pm.

Lee Ann Bailey says:

We grow so many tomatoes that after eating and canning and freezing all we can stand, I start putting ‘em in the compost heap.

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 6:52 pm.

meemsnyc says:

My tomatoes don’t grow that tall, but we use cages to hold them up.

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 7:55 pm.

Allisa says:

I planted my tomatoe plant in the summer and I am still getting tomatoes!

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 8:07 pm.

Gayle Ackerman says:

I still have two tomato plants bearing fruit that I bought last spring at the Old Towne Tustin Farmers Market!

Posted on January 27, 2012 at 9:26 pm.

Judy Sundermann says:

I need the tower!  My problem is not enough sunshine.

Posted on January 28, 2012 at 3:14 am.

Garden Goddess says:

Way back when we had the driveway redone the dufuss contractor left some reinforcing grid wire.  I made some great tomato towers out of it.  I’ve had many tomato plants over the years climb up the 5 feet, and then try to trail back down to the ground.  I usually weave them through the tower in spirals to keep them off the dirt.  Which tomatoes you asked?  I’ve planted so many I really can’t remember which one of them grew the longest…it was probably a hybrid like Early Girl as the heirlooms tend to get diseases and die out sooner in my too near the ocean climate.

Posted on January 28, 2012 at 11:08 am.

becky chilese says:

Three years ago my horse ate her first tomato. She loves them as much as I do.

Posted on January 28, 2012 at 12:46 pm.

Shirley Rainwater says:

My favorite thing to do with tomatoes is to take a few ripe ones and squash them on the ground.  The seeds take hold and I get a whole new batch of tomatoes the following year!

Posted on January 28, 2012 at 4:23 pm.

Daisy S. says:

Last year I planted some Roma tomatoes, and they kept on giving till their last breath. For me, the most produce I got so far.

Posted on January 29, 2012 at 11:17 am.

susan g says:

I need this! It will keep my chickens out of my tomatoes. Love that it rolls.

Posted on January 29, 2012 at 8:38 pm.

Annette says:

My Sunburst cherry tomatoes are the size of basketballs.  Can you imagine how big my gorgeous heirloom potato-leaf toms are?!

But seriously, my toms from last summer are still fruiting/vegetabling now.

Posted on January 30, 2012 at 7:52 pm.