Growing Tomatoes in Cool Climates

Everyone wants to grow tomatoes, right? There is just something about homegrown tomatoes that is so.... delicious! Then why is it so difficult here! People spend more time and money trying to get tomatoes than any other crop, but they still don't always do very well! 

Tomatoes are finicky. They prefer temperatures between 70-85° during the day and 59-68° at night. Temperatures outside of this range can prevent blossoms from setting fruit, and can cause deformities in the fruit. Green tomatoes will not turn red unless they get enough daytime heat. The plant itself can survive in temperatures as low as 33°, but starts to show signs of stress below 50°.

The average high temperature in South-central Alaska in the summer is 65°. The average low temperature is about 49°. Some tomatoes are more adapted to cool weather and will set fruit in lower temperatures. Stupiče, Oregon Spring, Glacier, and Gold Nugget are a few examples of cool-climate tomatoes that can be grown outside in a warm microclimate. I have had great luck growing tomatoes on the south side of our house. 

If you have a greenhouse or tunnel, you might have temperatures too hot when the weather is at its best. Use a thermometer that registers minimum and maximum temperatures so you can make sure you are within the desired range. You may need to increase ventilation during the day and find some way to retain heat for the night.  

The easiest way to...

One of the scariest things about this pandemic is discovering how fragile and unprepared our medical system is. And we are also finding out how fragile and broken our food system is. Climate change has already caused floods, droughts, and other natural disasters causing major crop failures.

Now, with COVID-19, we may be facing very real food shortages in this next year. Many of us have seen the empty grocery store shelves and realized that the food does not spontaneously reproduce.

We cannot depend on the system to save us when we get sick or feed us when we are hungry. It’s time to take responsibility for ourselves. We are learning so many things about how to keep ourselves healthy. We can also learn to grow food for ourselves.

But getting into the garden is really about more than just growing food. In this time, we need the grounding, the beauty, the connection, and the empowerment every bit as much as the food.

We have been given the opportunity to completely reimagine how we live on this earth. and one of the most powerful shifts we can make is from consumers to producers of our food. If we all grow just a portion of our food, there will be enough for everyone. It will take pressure off of the strained food supply. The earth will be able to breathe again.

Walk with me into the garden and begin to grow! Join my online course or one of my new bite-sized workshops, designed to get you growing fast!