Welcome to the Tales of Bob and Bobbet Tomato. You have met them before but here they are again to show you the effects of Greenhouse vs deck and the importance of a support system. These two started their lives at a store. A sad and crowded begining to life. But seeing these two cute little plants I just had to take em home and give them some special loving. As time went on I realized that the pots I put them in may not be big enough for them as they got bigger. But for now it was fine.Once my Greenhouse was finished I wanted to see how a Greenhouse would effect the growth of the tomato plant. So Bobbet being the soldier that she is decided to move in to the Greenhouse first. While Bob...comfortable and Strong in his pot on the deck chose to stay.
At first she weakend a little but with some tender love and water she perked right up. While trooper Bob stayed strong on the deck. Up till the move both were for the most part the same height. Very little difference between them.
Some time has past and both are doing very well. Both have blooms and both have small tomato's started. After reading I found out that having red mulch or weed guard around tomato plants enhances the flavor and production. So I found these nifty things at the local store....specific for tomatoes. So they both got one.
As time moved on Bob seemed to wilt far faster than Bobbet. That along with his size I felt it was time to move him to the Greenhouse. So they were reunited once again. First thing I noticed once together was that Bobbet was almost twice the size of Bob....thought about changing their names but too much paper work. At this point no support is needed as of yet. The hoop over Bob was there just till he got over the shock of the transplant. Bobbet of course stayed strong and ignored Bob.
A tragic accident almost killed Bobbet. The rainy days kept me away..thinking the cooler weather would mean the Greenhouse wouldn't need to be watered along with her height Bobbet fell over onto the Broccoli. A very sad few days of watching her to make sure she was ok. As luck would have it because of her height she did indeed make it thru. Her main stem was bent in the fall but not broken...a few supports later and she was back to her old tall self.
Bob was completly uneffected by her fall. The tomato's on both also uneffected. To my relief all she needed was a little more support. Turns out she was jealous that Bob moved in next to her...so she fell to get my attention.....Unfortunatly as a result of her tantrum I noticed that Bob hasn't really grown all that much since his move. Infact Bobbet has pretty much tried to crowd him out. So.........
.....a few transplants later Bob has moved to a new place within the Greenhouse. He went thru a little shock but not as bad as before. Bobbet was so happy that she had more room she grew a few more inches. 
Bob soon grew to love his new space. And after some confusion on shading he is now growing taller. Bobbet on the other hand has had to be cut back quite a bit as she started to grow taller than the misters.So what can we learn from these two crazy plants? Well for one the Greenhouse is much better for growing than the deck. Full sun is better than shade. Supports are important expecially once they get over 2' tall.
Some other pointers about the stems of these guys and gals is that they can be cut back. Some plants don't like pruning but Bobbet has taken well too it. Course in doing so she is able to grow stronger so that could be why. Water is also important with in the Greenhouse setting. Although it was mostly her height the lack of water for a day was just enough to also weaken her root system. Outside watering everyday is not nessesary but in a Greenhouse it is. Even on a rainy cloudy day it can get quite warm inside there. Usually at least 10 degrees more than the outside temp...sometimes more.
Stay Tuned Bob and Bobbet will be back for harvest very soon...
