Tomatoes in November!

Well, I’ve never had homegrown tomatoes in November before! Well at least not red ones!

They usually start to die back and get a bit mouldy as the weather starts to cool down and the days start to draw in, but not this year.

Tomatoes in a Heatwave

It’s been a most extraordinary weather year, with heatwaves so hot that it was still too hot at 7pm to sit out and eat dinner. Who’d have ever thought that would be the case in Britain!

It meant that the main harvesting season was not as good as usual, it was just too hot. I suppose if heatwaves become the new norm, I’ll have to get some sort of sunscreen in the greenhouse.

It wasn’t bad though and we had more of the beefsteak tomato ‘Brandywine’ than we’ve had before, so they obviously liked the heat.

We just didn’t have the glut that we normally have, it was more of a steady supply, starting in July with the first little handful.

It was fine for day to day eating through the summer, but we haven’t got a freezer full of tomato sauce to see us through the winter. Although, it is now officially winter and we’re still having an odd tomato directly from the plant, amazing!

The Rain Came!

Although that longed for rain finally came, and as usual didn’t know when to stop! Empty water buts filled up and overflowed and keep overflowing!

Despite the rain though the mild temperatures continued, causing my tomato plants to just keep on growing.

The conventional advice once we get to October is to pick all of the tomatoes, red and green alike, bring them inside to ripen or make green tomato chutney. Then pull-up the plants as more tomatoes can’t possibly have time to form and ripen.

Extended Season

Well, welcome to 2022!

This year there was so much heat still in the sun (in between the showers) that it seemed crazy to cut them down when they looked so healthy!

They just continued growing right up into the greenhouse roof, with plentiful flowers, so I thought, ‘why not let them go for it’.

It payed off and we’ve continued to harvest them right through November.

Even having enough ‘brandywine’ to make a November tomato salad.

Each time I go to the greenhouse I’m surprised

I took some winter cyclamen to the greenhouse in a cardboard box and came back with a good collection of tomatoes. One last ‘Brandywine’ and a few cherry tomatoes. What a thrill to be able to make a homegrown tomato salad in late November!

Last Few Winter Tomatoes

So here we are in the first few days of December, and still a few more tomatoes, but…

The weather has changed drastically in the last week, making us all feel nesh. I’m not sure if nesh is just a northern word, but if so, it means, ‘feeling the cold’.

After such a hot summer and incredibly mild autumn, winter seems to have descended on us over night.

With the forecast for the next couple of weeks giving ever colder weather, with a bit of sleet mixed in for good measure, I think it’s finally time to wave goodbye to this year’s very long tomato harvest!

Stay safe & happy gardening.