Tomatoes

I ate my first tomato from the garden on July 1. This is unheard of. It was a German Johnson and it was delicious.

The heirlooms have had a hard time establishing blossoms this spring, but each plant started out with one large fruit and this is what I am presently harvesting. Then the plants went through a month of blossom drop. Only now are they establishing fruit again.

I have some theories. I liberally added Organica Kelp Booster to the planting holes this year. This product is 30% calcium, and I believe that heirlooms in particular need calcium to prevent blossom drop and blossom end rot. I think it has taken this long (they’ve been in the ground a month) for the roots to find the calcium.

Here is the tomato inventory for this year’s garden

4- Geman Johnson (the non-potato leaf variety)
4- Mortgage Lifter
1- Italian Sweet
1- Boxcar Willie
1- Green Zebra
3- Jet Star
3- Better Boy

17 tomato plants is a far cry from last year’s 34 tomato plants. As I will be away from the garden from mid-July to mid-August, I have given over large portions of the beds to root crops. The tomato plants are really a form of enticement to my friends and neighbors … sort of like flowers for bees … come to the garden and gather tomatoes and in return water and weed a little in my absence … and maybe, just maybe I will have a garden when I return.