A sad summer without tasty tomatoes.

[beac]

Gardening will be going on the back burner this spring and summer as mr. beac and I prepare to move from Zone 6b/7a to Zone 5b.

While the move is a positive one, the thought of a summer w/out homegrown tomatoes makes me want to weep (we will be moving in prime tomato-ripening season.)

The perennials I've planted here will leave this place a prettier one than I found it, so I am trying to take comfort in their care.

My next challenge is to figure out how to move all my beloved houseplants-- including the ficus that I've kept alive for over seventeen years!

I'll still be popping by to live vicariously thru your gardening adventures.

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. Greenhouse, perhaps?

or wait till global warming creeps into your new area?

I miss lilacs...we are supposed to be too warm for them
but
if this damp,cloudy, chilly winter and spring is the beginning of a cycle,
I may try growing some here in 8a country.

[beac]

9. I have a lilac growing in a pot from a cutting someone gave me

several years ago. Said lilac will be snuck into the "houseplant" grouping when we move. mr. beac thinks I'm a bit plant-crazy--- and he's probably right but that sucker will bloom eventually and I want to be there to see it!

[Gormy Cuss]

2. Well damn. Here's hoping your 5b destination has good farmstands.

Or maybe your new neighbors will have some homegrown to share with you.

[beac]

8. I've been told mr. beac's new boss is a tomato maven, so

perhaps she will take pity upon us once we arrive sad and tomato-less.

[elleng]

15. That sounds like GOOD news!

[Lex]

3. The local farmer's market in your area may be able

to help you through it. That's how I get my red ripe, picked-at-their-peak tomatoes in the summer. Even heirloom varieties.

[beac]

7. That's my hope/plan but parking near our Farmers market is practically non-existant,

so I'm hoping mr. beac will start pining for toms too and be willing to drop me off/pick me up so we can partake.

[blue neen]

4. How about Earth Boxes?

You could get the plants started, and they could make the move with you.

I feel for you...I'd be heartbroken to leave behind the perennials that we've planted. Are any of them compatible with Zone 5b?

We are located in 5b. We're having a late but gorgeous spring.

[beac]

6. Love that idea

BUT my husband is already giving me the side-eye about taking the houseplants w/us, so I think Earthboxes full of tomatoes would send him right over the edge.

I might try and sneak in a cutting or two from my peonies and clematis (if they are even 5b compatible.)

Glad to know there is another 5b-er here at DU. It will be a new learning curve once I'm able to get going in Spring 2014.

Spring is actually late here in my current zone too. Lots of really chilly nights still but things are greening slowly but surely.

[blue neen]

10. Yeah, I see your point!

Peonies and clematis both do very well here. Our peonies usually bloom in very early June...the clematis depends on the variety.

Good luck with the move!

[elleng]

5. SO SORRY!

Hope you're well. Will be in touch.


E

[beac]

12. Hello, my friend!

Truly, the move is a good one for us and we are excited. And at least I knew about it BEFORE I had thirteen different kinds of tomatoes planted.

[elleng]

14. Glad you're OK with it.

Must say TIRED of not having a decent tomato in ???? years! Dad used to grow them, but that's not been possible for years.

[beac]

16. I am hoping, with some adaptation, that 5b will be a successful tomato-growing zone for me.

I'm thinking a greenhouse might be essential due to the shorter summer.

It's not quite a "homegrown" tomato, but I have found the Kumato tomato to be a good tide-me-over-the-winter variety.

It's kind of a brown-green-red color and comes in a pack of six. They have a really long shelf life too.

http://www.kumato.com/en/Kumato.aspx


If they are available here in the hinterlands, I am sure they are in your local grocery as well.

[northoftheborder]

11. Brother in S.C. (don't know it's zone) already eating tomatoes from his little green-house.

Here in 8b it's barely warm enough for my son's tomatoes to flourish early this year. Console yourself that probably you can grow a lot of things that need cooler weather. The weather has been crazy everywhere, so we all may have to readapt to changing and unpredictable conditions in our gardens.

[beac]

13. I've been thiking about brussels sprouts and all the lettuces and

spinach I can do next year. And no blazing heat where we are moving so that will be a nice change.

Envying your brother those early tomatoes. Didn't know that was possible!

[ConcernedCanuk]

17. Curious as to what zone 7 6 5 meant, so googled

.
.
.

came up with this

http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/



Click on individual states in the map at the link

http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/

and you will get a blow up

like this



or this



CC

[beac]

18. I've always found the cuved nature of the zones fascinating.

Seems so odd that I have been growing in the same conditions as someone in Spokane but there it is.