This has got to be the earlist I've harvested tomatoes before. I bought them in late March at the local garden center. They were already flowering a little. I put them in the container on my front porch, which is the hottest place in my garden. I wheeled them in on nights when there was danger of frost, and there were a couple of days where I just had to keep them inside all day. I left them on my front ponch until about mid-April, when the afternoon sun got to be too much for them. Then I wheeled them through the house into the back porch, where they get morning sun. It's also nice back there because they get rain, so I have to water even less.
The tomatoes are a determinate variety called "Short 'n Sweet." I haven't tasted them yet, but I'm optimistic that they'll be superior to our grocery store tomatoes. I also have lots of larger indeterminate tomatoes growing out in my raised beds, but the first ones I planted (in late March) are just now starting to flower, so these will be all that we'll get for at least a month, I guess.
So happy that tomato season is back! Depending on when our last frost is, we may have real homegrown tomatoes until Christmas!
. The neat thing about it is that you can see root vegetables, like carrots, radishes, or celery growing through the clear plastic tubes. We are growing carrots, but we may try another vegetable when they are finished.