Tomatoes and Tomatoes: The Fickle Way They Grow

Last year I wasn't thrilled by my tomato choices. I grew too many varieties too close together this year it was only Brandywine and the Rutgers variety Rampo.

The first place I planted out tomatoes this year was in the Chris plot. Only three plants, about a foot and a half apart. I mulched them with salt hay. Two Brandywine, one Rampo those Rutgers, famous for Campbells tomato soup, varieties.

I start my tomatoes from seed. About 8 weeks before our local last frost date May 10. Ruth Fine's birthday. This means that I start lots and lots of plants. Some are still in little pots in my back yard. My process is to plant out at least twice as many plants into quart pots as I think I want to grow, just in case. This year the plan was three in the Chris plot, three in the Elliot plot, one in a container in the backyard. I had easily 20 plants.

I planned to plant the ones in the Chris plot where there was a big bunch of Egyptian walking onions. I harvested the onions, leaving a few in the corner. I planted the three in the Chris plot 2 Brandywine, 1 Rampo. I had planted turnips in the Elliot plot and replanted lettuce that I intended to transplant. A week after I planted the tomatoes in the Chris plot I planted 2 Rampo and one Brandywine in the Elliot plot.

As it happened, one of our gardeners, Joy was going to be out of the country until June something. Her plot became a galinsoga jungle. We all tried different methods to help this plot form putting plastic bags, cereal and pizza boxes on top of the weeds to yanking them out and putting them in one of the hot compost bins. At one workday one gardener emptied a hot bin and put its content on the south side of Joy's plot. I had 10 extra tomato plants at that point. I planted 4 in her plot and a few radicchiow transplants.

Right now I've had 4 huge, intensly tomatoey tasting, ripe tomatoes from the Chris plot. The Elliot plot tomatoes are kind of spindly but improving. Worth it considering the great turnips I've harvested. The plants in Joy's plot are huge with darker green leaves than the others and loaded with tomatoes. I did nothing after planting them, no water no special kelp stuff or comfrey juice, they were on their own. I'm still not sure if Joy has returned. We see email but she could be in the middle east. The Chris plot has the best biggest tomatoes so far. But Joys are getting that ripening, yellow shoulder, look.

So plant early, give them room, ignore them.

I guess, until they grow into the path and you have to devise a way to latch their supports to the bean supports with more Lonely Planet shoelaces and old bathing suit parts and Rebecca's snakeskin jeans.