How To Save Your Tomato Plants In Winter So That You Can Grow Ripe Tomatoes Early Next Season

Updated: Nov 9, 2023

Do you want your tomatoes to grow and be ready to be consumed early summer? Read on!

We eat tomatoes a lot. Marina is from Spain by the Mediterranean, and they have a lot of yummy recipes that use tomatoes. Tomato is an integral part of Mediterranean life style and her complain was that tomatoes in Canada do not smell or taste that good.

Well, she has all the rights to complain about it. I have experienced real tasty tomatoes in Spain; big difference in deed.

We do grow tomatoes in our backyard garden every year. We have done well as we have learned through the years. We have grown tomatoes both in the ground and in large containers.

So, what is the problem with tomatoes in Canada then?

Problem is, we get to eat ripe and red tomatoes too late in the summer. And they become red all the same time, more or less. As we plant them in early summer, they take their sweet time before we can pick red juicy tomatoes from our gardens.

But, I have a different plan this year. And, a squirrel gave me this idea, literally!

So, what did the squirrel tell me?

Well, one day, one of the resident squirrels in our garden jumped over one my tomato plants in a container from the tree by the deck. And, it broke my beloved tomato plant right in the middle. It was so sad! My plants are like my babies! The broken limb even had flowers on it!

Not knowing what to do, I put the broken limb in a bottle. Just liked to look at the flowers. And a miracle happened! In a couple of weeks, I could see that roots started to show up from near the bottom of the broken limb. And in a few weeks time, it was thriving! Healthy strong roots!

So, I planted it in a container and kept it outside in a shady area. Over a month or two it grew to become a beautiful mature beef stake tomato plant, with all the flowers and fruits it has to offer.

So, how am I going to use this new experience?

Well, I was thinking that I can take healthy cuts from my tomato plants before frost, keep in bottles with water indoor, and then plant in small containers indoor. Come Spring, when there is no danger of frost anymore, plant them in the ground or large containers.

It seems that my idea is in deed supported by regular practice.

Do you want to have ripe red tomatoes early in the summer?

Here is what you can do:

Before frost, take healthy cuttings from your tomato plants.
My research reveals that suckers are good options. Cut the small limbs or suckers that grow from the joints between leaf and main branches. Use these suckers as your cuttings.
Keep few of them together in a bottle full of water near a bright window.
In a few weeks time, they will grow their roots.
Once the roots look few inches long, transplant in pots.
Keep them indoor in a bright and sunny spot until danger of frost is over.
Water regularly.
Use indoor plant fertilizers as directed by the product.
Once danger of frost is over, and outdoor temperature is consistently warmer, bring your pots outdoor.
Keep in outdoor with partially sunny exposure and move to full sun in few weeks.
If temperature goes down some days, bring the plants indoor for the those days.
Once days and nights are consistently warm, you can plant in the ground. Alternatively, you can keep in pots.

Only one thing that I did not like about growing tomatoes in pots - you need to water the plants very frequently, specially if the day is hot. Tomatoes are hungry plants; you have to water them and use fertilizer regularly, specially in pots.

I will be implementing a dripping irrigation system next year.

#gardening