Told you I could even grow tomatoes in a shortened Canadian summer...

Cold weather persisted until July here this year, shortening the tomato growing season by 2 months. I posted that I would STILL manage to produce a crop, without fertilizers and with no greenhouse. Check it out, I came through on my promise.

All of these photos were taken a few hours ago in my back yard. As you can see, I've still got green tomatoes on the vine in mid October.

There are a few dozen of these cherry tomatoes left, on 5 plants. Many are in early stages of ripening now.

Some are fully ripe, and ready to eat.

After the late cold spring, and then a heat wave in July that scorched the tiny seedlings, a deer jumped into my yard and ate the tomato plants down to stumps in August. I just about pulled out their roots and called it a year, but then decided to water them, and hope for the best. We had reasonable weather for September as they regrew, then bloomed, and now we're having a rare warm October, allowing me to achieve my unlikely goal!

We've been pulling off a handful of little ripe tomatoes every day for a few weeks. They're great on pizza, nachos, salads, wraps, etc. I also took a number of seeds for my heirloom seed storage. They'll be okay outside until first frost - the last few may have to ripen inside on the windowsill.

I've been giving out tomato seeds to my subscribers/followers every spring for 10 years, including free shipping worldwide, to help others with food security and independence. Please let me know if you're in need - I will be doing another mailing in March or so.

Don't lose hope! It aint over till it's over. If you're still alive, and you haven't given up, there's still a chance you could achieve your dreams. With 30 days left in summer, I nurtured a few stumps into a crop of tomatoes before cold weather could end the season. Many gardeners say you can't even grow tomatoes in Canada under the best of conditions, but I just blew that notion right out of the water!

Stay tuned, because I'm moving another 1000km North, into the Canadian tundra (just about anyway). I'm going to bring my seeds, my shovels, and my knowledge, so you can watch me grow a massive crop AGAIN next year!

DRutter