News-Record.com

When Paul McMath first started gardening 70 years ago, most people hadn't heard of air conditioners, let alone owned one.

Today, McMath uses condensation from his AC unit to help his tomato plants flourish.

McMath has been watering his brandywine tomato plants with the condensation for three years. He hooked up a tube to the central AC unit that provides water every 30 to 40 minutes - a necessary amount in this heat. His tomato plants are more than 12 feet tall now.

"I imagine that (my watering system) is not new to everyone," said McMath, who lives in Greensboro. "I suspect that others are probably doing it, but I don't know any."

McMath got the idea from a job he held for nearly 44 years. "When I was in the (textile) industry, we had large air conditioning units that weighed about 3 tons," McMath said. "At J.P. Stevens, we started reclaiming the water that came through the AC and then pumped it back into the system so that we didn't lose as much water."

McMath's main concern is conserving water during the hot summer. "Our groundwater level hasn't really raised that much (this summer); our lake has filled up, but our groundwater is still low," McMath said.

However, McMath's system makes caring for the plants easier on him because it's less labor intensive.

"The water from the tap takes a whole lot of work to put on the tomato plants, and it's labor intensive because of how often you have to water," he said.

McMath has been growing tomatoes for 70 years and grows squash and cucumbers, too. He gives most of these items away to neighbors and cans the leftover tomatoes. McMath now has 14 quarts of tomatoes.

Contact Lili Johnson at 412-5929 or lili.johnson@news-record.com.