I am not a gardener but my wife is. We have a rather intriguing mystery
which I hope you here will find interesting and your interest enlighten
us a bit. Reputably, the best gardeners in the world are from the UK
which is why, although I'm from the southwest USA, I post here.

Last year we had some tomato plants - one in a large pot (roughly 3
gallon size). The potted one was a cherry tomato plant. As the season
went on, all things were normal with these plants.

At the end of season but before the first hard frost, my wife brought
the potted tomato plant into our glassed in but unheated porch. She
figured that it may last long enough to ripen the tomato fruits on it
but as yet still green. They never turned red but also the plant itself
continued to look alive through the winter.

Although the conditions on the porch are less severe than outside,
several times a month for several months the temperatures in that room
fell below 32 f / 0 c.

By spring, the plant still looked reasonably healthy so my wife planted
it in the regular garden along with the other plants. It is growing very
well, and is heavily laden with a new season's worth of fruits. It is
well ahead of other tomato plants started from seeds and transplanted as
seedlings into the garden.

Is this a remarkable thing - a tomato plant lasting more than one year
AND withstanding freezes? Or are we making a celebration over nothing in
particular. BTW, it's fruit now is just reaching ripe - at least a month
ahead of its younger competition.

slide writes
Is this a remarkable thing - a tomato plant lasting more than one year
AND withstanding freezes? Or are we making a celebration over nothing
in
particular. BTW, it's fruit now is just reaching ripe - at least a
month
ahead of its younger competition.

No surprises at it lasting more than one year - it is a perennial. In
the UK we grow it as an annual because it can't cope with our long,
cold, wet winters with very low light levels (even some cacti can cope
with frost if they are bone dry - it's the continuous cold wet that does
for them).

I hadn't considered it as coping with frost, but the occasional frosty
night with brighter days is very different from long periods of sun
rising at nearly 9am and setting before 4pm and never getting high into
the sky, temperature not rising above 40deg F and sometimes staying
below freezing all day.

According to wikipedia, the enzyme that causes the ripening stops
working at below 54 deg.
--
Kay

On Tue, 09 Jun 2009 08:42:35 -0600, slide
wrote:

I am not a gardener but my wife is. We have a rather intriguing mystery
which I hope you here will find interesting and your interest enlighten
us a bit. Reputably, the best gardeners in the world are from the UK
which is why, although I'm from the southwest USA, I post here.

Last year we had some tomato plants - one in a large pot (roughly 3
gallon size). The potted one was a cherry tomato plant. As the season
went on, all things were normal with these plants.

At the end of season but before the first hard frost, my wife brought
the potted tomato plant into our glassed in but unheated porch. She
figured that it may last long enough to ripen the tomato fruits on it
but as yet still green. They never turned red but also the plant itself
continued to look alive through the winter.

Although the conditions on the porch are less severe than outside,
several times a month for several months the temperatures in that room
fell below 32 f / 0 c.

By spring, the plant still looked reasonably healthy so my wife planted
it in the regular garden along with the other plants. It is growing very
well, and is heavily laden with a new season's worth of fruits. It is
well ahead of other tomato plants started from seeds and transplanted as
seedlings into the garden.

Is this a remarkable thing - a tomato plant lasting more than one year
AND withstanding freezes? Or are we making a celebration over nothing in
particular. BTW, it's fruit now is just reaching ripe - at least a month
ahead of its younger competition.


From elsewhe
Any indeterminate variety tomato can be grown as a perennial

--
http://www.freedeliveryuk.co.uk
http://www.holidayunder100.co.uk

"slide" wrote ...
I am not a gardener but my wife is. We have a rather intriguing mystery
which I hope you here will find interesting and your interest enlighten
us a bit. Reputably, the best gardeners in the world are from the UK
which is why, although I'm from the southwest USA, I post here.

Last year we had some tomato plants - one in a large pot (roughly 3
gallon size). The potted one was a cherry tomato plant. As the season
went on, all things were normal with these plants.

At the end of season but before the first hard frost, my wife brought
the potted tomato plant into our glassed in but unheated porch. She
figured that it may last long enough to ripen the tomato fruits on it
but as yet still green. They never turned red but also the plant itself
continued to look alive through the winter.

Although the conditions on the porch are less severe than outside,
several times a month for several months the temperatures in that room
fell below 32 f / 0 c.

By spring, the plant still looked reasonably healthy so my wife planted
it in the regular garden along with the other plants. It is growing very
well, and is heavily laden with a new season's worth of fruits. It is
well ahead of other tomato plants started from seeds and transplanted as
seedlings into the garden.

Is this a remarkable thing - a tomato plant lasting more than one year
AND withstanding freezes? Or are we making a celebration over nothing in
particular. BTW, it's fruit now is just reaching ripe - at least a month
ahead of its younger competition.


Not remarkable but unusual that you managed to keep it over the winter, we
can't seem to here even in our heated greenhouse as the light levels are too
low. Presumably you kept it on the dry side over the winter and a surprising
number of plants can take a little frost if dry. That's why a number of
plants can't grow in the UK because whilst they can take our cold they can't
take our winter wet. (Maritime type climate)
You obviously have enough winter light/sun so why not try it again
(different variety?) and get very early outdoor tomatoes every year.
Lucky you, I'm jealous. :-)

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
just W. of London

Thanks for the responses. I thought tomatoes were annuals. I see I was
wrong about that which goes pretty much all the way to addressing my
questions.

To answer a bit more, the room has an east facing window from floor to
ceiling so it's rather light but not light like a greenhouse. OTOH,
being as we're at a lower latitude than the UK (35 degrees north), we
get more sun than anywhere in the UK during winter.

The conditions were very very dry. I doubt my wife watered the plant
over winter. Our relative humidity is roughly 20% or less during the
winter time.

The plant is merrily producing fruit right now. We harvested our first
fruits from it yesterday.

Again, thanks to all for your responses and information.

In message , slide
writes
Thanks for the responses. I thought tomatoes were annuals. I see I was
wrong about that which goes pretty much all the way to addressing my
questions.

To answer a bit more, the room has an east facing window from floor to
ceiling so it's rather light but not light like a greenhouse. OTOH,
being as we're at a lower latitude than the UK (35 degrees north), we
get more sun than anywhere in the UK during winter.

The conditions were very very dry. I doubt my wife watered the plant
over winter. Our relative humidity is roughly 20% or less during the
winter time.

The plant is merrily producing fruit right now. We harvested our first
fruits from it yesterday.

Again, thanks to all for your responses and information.

You might be interested in googling around for information on the
"tomato tree" at EPCOT.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley

Stewart Robert Hinsley wrote:


You might be interested in googling around for information on the
"tomato tree" at EPCOT.

I shall.

"K" wrote in message
...
slide writes
Is this a remarkable thing - a tomato plant lasting more than one
year
AND withstanding freezes? Or are we making a celebration over
nothing in
particular. BTW, it's fruit now is just reaching ripe - at least a
month
ahead of its younger competition.

No surprises at it lasting more than one year - it is a perennial.
In the UK we grow it as an annual because it can't cope with our
long, cold, wet winters with very low light levels (even some cacti
can cope with frost if they are bone dry - it's the continuous cold
wet that does for them).

I hadn't considered it as coping with frost, but the occasional
frosty night with brighter days is very different from long periods
of sun rising at nearly 9am and setting before 4pm and never getting
high into the sky, temperature not rising above 40deg F and
sometimes staying below freezing all day.

According to wikipedia, the enzyme that causes the ripening stops
working at below 54 deg.
--
Kay

Tomatoes are short lived perrenials usually grown as annuals or
biennials.

After two fruiting seasons the plants rarely reach flowering again.

My cousing in Northern Italy grows the plants in year one and lies
them down, covered for winter by fleece AND polythene. The next season
the sideshoots are developed vertically as stems which grow pretty
much as UK plants. The first season produces the horizontal plant up
to 12 feet (San Mazarno). The yield is reportedly superior to
individual plants.

I've also seen this done in Majorca. It probably takes place elsewhere
too.

TJ

The tomato is a tropical perennial plant, period! I live in Malta, EU now. For the zone, imagine Arizona surrounded by ocean. Desert with rain from September to May.

For the first year the indeterminate tomato plant has immature, spiked foilage and produces fruit. From the second year on it has different leaves. Rounder and in clumps. Almost looking like a plant growing up in the air. From this we get vine tomato fruits all year round.

For the tomato plant the lack of frost, overall temperatures and daylight hours appear critical. Bringing into a greenhouse in a Northern climate would not address the daylight hours and the winter would see no fruits. However, it is possible to save the plants this way. When I lived in the UK I used to do this with tub tomatoes and woth lobelia, (another perennial grown as an annual).

I say give it a go. If it's green, plant a cutting. If it has seeds in it, sow them. I have grown carnation plants from wedding button hole flowers and hundreds of melon and cucumbers from supermarket fruits