In the greenhouse

Credit: Carolyn Herriot

I was skeptical when I saw ‘Latah’ tomatoes hailed as ‘the world’s earliest’. As I grow 45 different tomato varieties, I decided to put them to the test! Sure enough last year they were the first to ripen sweet red tomatoes by a week, and this year they have done it again by two weeks, both in the greenhouse and the garden! Every one I gave seedlings to confirmed ‘Latah’ as the earliest in their gardens too, so I think I am onto something!

My greenhouse is full of containerized tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and basil plants. Last week I noticed a cloud of whiteflies hovering around some of the plants so I made yellow sticky traps to hang nearby. A week later they have done the trick in getting rid of the problem.

All you need is some cardboard inside a yellow plastic bag (or some bright yellow paper) that has been smeared with Tanglefoot™. The whiteflies are attracted to the yellow colour and get stuck on the trap. It’s simple yet very effective!

I have since stripped some of the older and larger leaves off the tomato plants to open up the maturing fruits to the light and to allow air to circulate more freely, which helps get rid of whitefly problems too.

Back to the Victory Garden Program.