Central Texas weather is schizophrenic — one minute it’s cold and windy and miserable, and the next it’s 80+ degrees.  

So, on our 82-degree day last Thursday, I went out to the garden, geared up for a work day.  The plan:  Rip out the 6-7 foot tall dead tomato towers that the recent freezes destroyed.  



Don’t they look ugly?

I thought so, so I started the laborious process of nipping away at the dead stuff.  (With my new Felco pruners, that worked like a charm.)  I got two plants stuffed into the trash can and started on the third.  Got about the top 3-4 feet whittled away, when what to my wondering eyes should appear?
Green.
See it?  Yep  – those big stalks were green and juicy down close to the ground.  Unbelieveable.  Even in Texas.  We’ve had several freezes, I didn’t cover these guys, yet here they are, with a zest for life.
Then I went on to the next plant, and found — LEAVES!  Real, green leaves, way down near the bottom of the mostly-dead plant.

Unbelievable.  So, I cut them back and will leave them there.  I don’t know if they will produce again – it would be their third season, since they were planted last Spring and they produced best in the Fall.  I think they can make it, but the big mystery is — how many tomatoes will they produce and how will they taste?

Any guesses or suggestions?  You can bet I’ll go cover ’em up if we have another freeze between now and March!  
It’s like the great garden experiment for the season…I’m psyched!