Tomato talk

The Supersonic tomatoes and some of the peppers have got blossom end rot.  Supersonic has always been a stellar performer in these beds, and they’ve never had this problem.  There is lots of limestone in this area and plenty of calcium in the soil, so it’s a head scratcher.  It may be a result of the heat and drought, and possibly not watering enough.  I put a little dolomitic lime underneath the affected plants, but don’t want to overdo it with the lime since the soil here has high pH.  The problem may go away on its own. 

   

The lower leaves on the tomato plants were pruned off last weekend to allow better air circulation.  Now they look more like tomato trees than bushes.  One thing I’ve learned is that plants that are exposed to a good flow of air have less problems with mildews and other fungi.     

The picture above was taken last weekend.   At that time I was beginning to wonder if the cluster of tomatoes near the base of the Black Krim plant were ever going to ripen.  Waiting for the first tomato to ripen can take an eternity it seems.  The green tomatoes reach their full size and then they don’t show any change in size or appearance for a few weeks.  Then the first blush of red shows up and you know that soon it will be a ripe tomato. 

Looks like my prediction of the first tomato before the 4^th of July may hold up.