The weather gods have finally relented and granted us the start of warm weather, so now is the time to get started on your warm weather vegetables. We are getting a late start this year and there is little time to waste. There are a few tricks that you can employ to make up for some of the lost time.

Growing tomatoes outdoors in our area is always a roll of the dice. Will it get warm enough? Well, it's not so much the lack of heat during the day that handicaps tomato production but the overly cool nights. You want to keep those little babies as warm as you can.

I grow my tomatoes in above ground planters, half whiskey barrels in fact. The soil in an above ground planter warms faster and the whiskey residue imparts a piquant smokey oak flavor to the tomatoes. I have cylinders of 4' tall fence wire that fit just inside the rim of the half barrels. I secure those cylinders using landscape staples, and then wrap them with clear plastic leaving the top of the cylinder open. This little greenhouse protects the plants from the cold wind and helps to hold in the heat. Then I paint black a couple of empty gallon milk jugs, fill them with water, and place them in next to the tomato plants. These jugs absorb heat during the day and give it back at night. Any dense, dark colored object, such as bricks, an anvil, or a bowling ball will work as a passive solar collector.

Because we are off to a late start this year there will be a temptation to over-fertilize to try to make up. Don't fall into this trap! Over fertilizing tomatoes will result in lots of luxurious foliage but reduced fruiting. Whatever fertilizer you use, you will get the best results by following the recommendations on the box.