Even at the end of the second month of winter, we are still getting small pickings of tomatoes – which is such a treat!
Obviously the secret is a hothouse. I can’t recommend enough if you have the space and can build some kind of structure in glass or plastic covered. There are a million ideas on pinterest for various ways and means that is fun to check out.
We were lucky – we had this dubious looking structure already on the property
Inside was quite ratty – concrete and buried rubbish, with surprisingly nice soil once we dug it all up!
We really really didn’t need a shade cloth covered structure, so we ripped all that off
First side done
The back had some rotting wood in the structure so we did a bit of Dodgy Brothers Handywork and replaced a few bits
It was the end of the first summer season of living in Tasmania when we did this, so at first the hot house housed the last tomatoes as they ripened and we grew a late season crop of lettuce
We have been so happy we did this – our growing season gets extended considerably at both ends of the season.
I start seeds, seedlings, and a few hothouse tomato plants way way earlier than I could by direct outdoor planting. Very handy in a milder climate where you have a shorter summer season
And its wonderful to be getting a few salad vegies in the dead of winter!
One more month of winter to go and I will be waiting eagerly for the first signs of proper spring with the plum trees budding.
In the meantime – its back to the fire and my crochet for me!
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!
Cheers!
