Are you a fellow zone one dweller? The zone that says, "Don't even try it!" in the Sunset Garden book? I want you to know that I am picking tomatoes in my living room almost every day! It is 22 degrees outside in the harsh desert where I live. Yes, there is hope.

Here is how I did it: I got run of the mill, inexpensive hanging baskets this summer to start my accidental project. I had read about growing tomatoes in hanging baskets upside down. I started some heirloom seeds a friend had given me in the baskets on my porch. I planted about five little plants in each basket. They flourished for a while and then the inevitable happened. I ran out of summer. (All you zone ones know what I mean.)

Unable to face my harsh reality, I brought the baskets indoors and hung them in a South facing window. I hung an inexpensive 4 foot shop light above them with full spectrum light bulbs. (Both items purchased at Home Depot previously for my finches. They were less than $20.) I really don't know if the full spectrum bulbs were necessary, but I had them on hand.

Next, I bought some slightly larger hanging baskets at the end of summer clearance sale at the local feed store. I rigged the chains with a pair of pliers so that my new baskets hung just below my tomato baskets. This enabled me to water the baskets in the house with the new lower baskets catching the water. The lower baskets are kind of a rattan material lined with plastic.

It is important, if you try this, to make sure your chains and ceiling hooks are stong as when you water the large, TOMATO LADEN plants later, they are pretty heavy.

Okay, so away I went, freezing temperatures raged outside and my little plants thrived in the house. They grew up, up, up and flopped over into a hanging basket kind of jungle. I shortened the chain from the ceiling to keep the bulk of the plants in front of the window. As they got bigger, it occured to me that they really did not have much soil in those little baskets for that many plants. I went to the local hydroponics store and bought a complete liquid feed. I added it to the water every time I watered.

Time passed and my plants thrived and began to bloom. They bloomed and bloomed and bloomed and NOTHING EVER HAPPENED!!! I was disgusted by now and ready to throw the ungrateful little buggers into the snow. Happily, a friend came along and told me to POLINATE them. I searched the internet and learned that tomatoes have both male and female pollen in each blossom. The best way to polinate tomotoes is with an ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSH. All you have to do is vibrate the stems gently above the blossoms. It shakes the pollen together and the result is TOMATOES! I'm not sure why, but it is also really fun. You can sometimes even see the little clouds of yellow dust poof out of them as you do it.

Anyway, I have found that when I am looking past my ripening tomatoes. The blowing, snowy tundra looks a little less bleak. I hope this info will help cheer some other freezing soul.