Product review: Pop-Up Umbrella Greenhouse

Pop up green house really works!

I have been grown tomatoes on my deck in pots for a number of years. For the first few years  I waited to plant my tomatoes plants until the end of May as cold frosty night we get kill tomatoes that are planted too early.

But a few years ago I began using a pop-up green house to see if can extend the growing season in the cold North East. Small plants were planted in the green house in early April.

My plants were watered by a drip irrigation system on a timer. I did not open the green house other than every two weeks to fertilize the plants. The plants grew rapidly and survived well through a number of frosty nights we had since early April. By the beginning of May my tomato plants had flower clusters.

I was concerned about pollination, since my plants were covered and no well meaning bee could get to the flowers. After doing a bit of research I found that either insects, wind or hand shaking of the flowers would carry the pollen from the anthers to the stigma. I found that some people use electric toothbrush placed near the blossoms to simulate buzzing bees. But I went with a simpler method: shaking the plant gently once a week for self-pollination. The tomato pollen is not in the exterior of the anthers like most flowers but is produced internally and then released thru pores in the anther. Motion is required to release the pollen, and the greatest quantity is released by sonication of the "correct" frequency. When you shake the plant by hand try to mimic the natural resonances of sonicating bee. Shaking should not be violent, just as close to the right frequency as possible. Note that using implement like a cue tip or a brush is not very effective because the tomato's pollen is not on the surface.

In the last week of May last year I noticed the first tomatoes on my plants which is pretty incredible for the cold North East! I felt like a proud mother since I pollinated the plants myself with a technique described above :-)

Last year I noticed my first green tomatoes on 5/21.  I live in the Northeast, close to New Hampshire/Massachusetts border.  The tomato plants were about 3 feet tall by 5/21 and have several flower clusters. A friend of mine and I bought the same variety of tomatoes on the same day, but he does not use a pop green house. I visited his house the same weekend and his tomatoes were still little dwarfs compared to mine! This pop-up greenhouse really works!

You can find it on Amazon by following this link.


Ali Julia review ★★★★★