Hi Bill,

Yes, I think you might be right about your tomatoes at your parents. Then again-you might get lucky. I still have all of my tomatoe plants (and basil and peppers) from spring/summer planting and they are growing like crazy again. They are about 3-4 ft high and look very good. Almost lost them to hornworms awhile back but got rid of them....then my plants took a bit of a break..(and probably heard me when I threatened them to grow or be ripped out)and now they are growing again!!! Early Girl, Roma, Hot Tropics and a couple more that I can't remember their names. All have fruit again and I hope get to pick them if we don't have any frost in the next couple of weeks. I am crossing my fingers....and toes (LOL). Good Luck!! Just curious but I am also from So. Cal-where do you live? I moved from Rancho Santa Margarita.

Beca

Hello Bill,

I am having the same problem with tomatoes this year. I tried to buy them late summer but couldn't find them at any nurseries so I grew some from seed. They are just now getting flowers on them. Last year we had a long warm fall and I got a lot of tomatoes off the fall planted tomatoes - I had to take them inside to ripen but they were great but this year it seems to be cooling off fast and I'm not expecting anything.

The peppers on the other hand survived the summer and are loading up with bell peppers. I'm sure they'll not get enough heat to turn to red but green ones will be good.

Time to plant things like lettuce and broccoli raab that will actually like the cool weather.

Happy gardening, Maria

Thanks Beca and Maria for the responses. It's nice to know that tomatoes are a possibility in North Las Vegas if the timing and variety, etc. are right. Next year, or in early spring, I'll bring up some of those fast to ripen varieties. It'll give my mom and dad a thrill of their first tomato in their new garden. But if the weather holds up, they can have this one Early Girl will mature before frost this year.

I live in Costa Mesa. Our winters aren't too bad, and I've picked ripe tomatoes on Superbowl Sunday if there is no frost.

Beca, I just had a silly thought on your post:

"then my plants took a bit of a break..(and probably heard me when I threatened them to grow or be ripped out)and now they are growing again"

I saw a TV news piece on suicidal people who are too scared to take their own lives. So they aim a gun at police so they can be shot instantly. Grisly thought. But I had just finished reading your post when I saw that news piece and thought, if a tomato had ears and emotions, maybe he was suicidal. Maybe he would have thought, "Go ahead, rip me out, make my day..." LOL

I know a woman who's been talking to her tomatoes ever since she was a little girl. She swears that they hear her until they get too old to hear, and they die. Thank God she doesn't like message boards.

And if some people think the Nevada message boards are just run of the mill...no way.

I was just reading your post.....what a laugh so early in the day Bill. I talk to most anything (plant or no plant)...my friends just give me a look at times and I say "What?"...they know I am talking to something...LOL...maybe them, maybe not.

Threatening plants vs suicide..funny in a sick way. Very sad situation for everyone involved in it. Those people are not well in my opinion.

My tomatoe plants needed a talkin' to..."Make my day" comes to mind. LOL

My tomatoes look sooo good right now with fruit growing and the leaves are so green and healthy too.

Costa Mesa-a very nice place...with South Coast Plaza and the OC airport too!! Miss the weather there...but life goes on!

Ok, I'm going out to have another discussion with some other vege's growing out in the garden(hear me ROAR!!)

Maria and Beca,

How do your tomatoes look now? My parents say their North Las Vegas tomatoes are still slowly growing. No ripe fruit yet, and they're hoping for a warm spike soon before it gets really cold.

Down here in Costa Mesa, I've got 5 ripe Early girls. Finally I can have BLT's. I don't buy them unless they're from the Farmer's Market, mine, or grown by a friend.

I have two vege raised beds 8' X 5' full of 3 basil plants growing like crazy, a couple of green pepper plants (nada happening now-I think it's hard for them to get any sun with these tomatoe plants so high now & covering them)...one bed has about 3 tomatoe plants in one bed and I am guessing about 8-10 assorted tomatoe plants in the other that are about 4 ft high and very green with alot of tomatoes growing-some are starting to turn color too :):):) Everyone that comes by and sees the beds just says "WOW!!"
Enjoy your BLT's!! That sounds good.