I suppose that IS possible...I'm realizing I shouldn't trust all books so readily
The author (and I'll have to track down what book it is later) recommended them because calcium carbonate is supposed to strengthen cell walls, therefore allowing tomatoes to deal better with a large influx of water. I don't know, sounds kinda iffy now that I think about it.
Thank you!
When you say sounds iffy... I'm thinking... it's kinda like adding salt to your boiling water... claims of raising the temp to make your pasta not stick together or whatever. It is true that the salt raises the temp. BUT it is really negligible at an average of 4 degrees. Not over crowding your pan and stirring shortly after adding the pasta works quite well. We add salt only to season the pasta.
What I'm saying is... the tums thing *may* be true, but I wonder to WHAT degree? And either way... find it an interesting conversation that may lead to a deeper understanding of SOMETHING.
Now I'm curious... both sodium and calcium (bi?)cabonate are antacids (hence my initial mix up between the two)... does it have a true effect or is it irrelevant, like how they tell us something can cause cancer only to find out they dosed 5000 times the acceptable levels for an extended period of time to come up with that conclusion. In other words, I like to read studies.
Now also... back to the tums/calcium carbonate. If it is indeed an antacid then it could very well alter the PH of your soil. Many fruits and veggies prefer acidic soil. So I wonder what effect would be the long term result. 
Maybe you can do a side by side this season and do one with and 1 without tums.
If you water consistently I suspect it has way less relevance. But last year my neighbor experienced quite a bit of splitting on her plums after a mid season rain storm.
Also can't uptake nutrients without water. Can you elaborate to what "cold" weather is please? Thank you.
