| We want to grow tomatos and herbs on an enclosed, unheated, southern exposure porch. Please recommend your best varieties to accomplih this. |
| Unfortunately, tomatoes will not withstand cold temperatures and they really grow best at warmer ones. Cool nights, for example, can cause them to stop fruiting. In most cases, an unheated porch is not warm enough at night to grow tomatoes successfully, even one with a warm sunny southern exposure, because they become cold at night and during spells of cloudy weather. Tomatoes also require full sun and a porch is usually not bright enough during the shorter days of winter. If you want to try it, you might grow some cherry tomatoes in a large container. You might also want to experiment with growing salad greens and spinach which are cold tolerant and easy to grow. For herbs, you might have luck with cold hardy herbs such as parsley, chives, sage, mint and thyme, and as long as temperatures are warm enough, the shorter lived and heat loving basil. You might also experiment with dill, fennel, and cilantro. |
