I'm just trying to capture a timeline of how tomatoes have developed over the course of the summer.
These first two images were taken on June 5th, 2021. They show Big Boy tomato plants that were planted in a new raised bed. They have probably been in the ground 2 weeks at the time of this picture.
They are growing at the base of 5-foot galvanized 1/2" electrical conduit.
These were started in the Aerogarden seed starter tray, were then grown out for 3 weeks in transplant pots, and finally planted deep in the garden, with at least half of the plant under the soil.
In the back of the new bed, you can see a more mature raised bed which is now hosting the green peppers.
In this picture, from the upper bed, this cherry tomato is about 24" tall. It has just started being trained on the wooden stake behind it.
To either side, Roma tomatoes are being grown in tomato cages. Again, the date of this picture is 06/05.
This dwarf cherry in the same bed is about 18" tall, showing plenty of flowers.
The next set of photos are from a month later, July 2nd, 2021.
In the foreground is a Roma tomato growing out the top of its 36" cage. You can see quite a few roma fruits have developed, though none are ripe, at this point.
In the background, on the left, you can see that same dwarf tomato tied to the two stakes (the conduit and the wooden stake). Even at this distance, you can see a large crop of cherry tomatoes that are starting to turn. This dwarf is the same one in the picture above, taken a month earlier.
Below, you can see that same row of Slicer Tomatoes, one month later, July 3rd. At this point, they are about a foot away from the top of the 5' conduit stakes. (A foot of the conduit is buried, so these tomatoes are about 3' tall.) In the front right, you can see a few fruits setting.
This last tomato is an unpruned cherry tomato. It's been allowed to produce as many vines as it wants, and the three wooden stakes keep it from encroaching on other residents of the raised bed, while the front spills over the wall of the bed and out onto the lawn.
July 15, 2021
I'm posting an update around July 15th. The slicing tomatoes that I am pruning to a single stem have grown to the top of their conduit stakes. In the picture above, they were about a foot below the top of the stakes. Two weeks later, they've reached the top.
At this point, I am applying the stake extensions, which are an additional 2 1/2 feet tall. That means that my total stake length is about 7-1/2 feet tall. As an aside, if they continue to grow 6" per week, that gives me an additional 5 weeks of growth space.
However, I know that going into August, the heat will climb even higher and the tomato growth will slow down for about a month. If I can keep them alive, keep them hydrated, keep off the blight and the wilt and the bugs for the next four weeks, they will ripen the tomatoes that are on there right now.
Come September, as the temperatures moderate slightly, healthy vines will put out another round of flowers. These should then carry us through September and October when things finally finish up. At that point, some of the tomatoes might have reached the top of the 7-1/2 foot stake. Actually, I'm fine with that. Any higher and I wouldn't be able to harvest anything from the top. Ten-foot tomato plants are a novelty, but anything that high isn't practical.
Speaking of practicality, starting with a 5' conduit stake (one of the 10' lengths cut in half to give two base stakes) and adding an additional 2.5' stake on top of it (a 5' length cut in half) gives plenty of height but is easy to store and easy to handle. It also avoids the ridiculous presentation of a 6" tomato transplant with 8' of stake towering above it. And if they don't grow very high one year, they don't look like hopeful underachievers.
August 15, 2021
Three things have happened in the intervening month since I last reported.
1. Around the last weekend in July and the first week in August, the first major flush of tomatoes ripened and were harvested. We have picked and eaten many tomatoes, and have harvested enough to can 16 pints of diced tomatoes and 16 pints of Salsa. I still have three basins of picked tomatoes left over and sitting on the counter or in the refrigerator, such that I'm thinking about trying my hand at canning tomato sauce. Honestly, if the tomatoes stopped their production now, I would consider it a successful tomato harvest.
The cherry tomatoes have been abundant, as have the Italian Roma tomatoes. The slicers have been slower to mature, but the big beefy fruits are delicious. During the past weeks, the weather has been hot but with afternoon thunderstorms that keep the fruits well watered. We've had several rainstorms that caused the big tomatoes to swell up and develop splits along the top. These are still free from disease and good to eat, so there's no real harm done.
2. The tomatoes have grown during the last month. Maybe not as fast as they have previously, but for all of the slicers that have been trained to a single stake, the vines have reached the tops of the 5-foot stake, I've added an additional 2.5 foot segment and many of the vines are an additional 6" up that extension.
The roma's and cherry tomatoes are also growing profusely, though it's been harder to keep them trained to a single stake, and the Roma's have maxed out their tomato cages.
3. The other thing that has happened is that we've seen the first instances of lower leaf die-off. This may have been because of the sustained heat, causing the plant to let go of unnecessary vegetation, or because there was a fungus or blight. I'm convinced that at least some of the issues are fungal in nature. This is an important turning point to note on the calendar. Sometime in the first two weeks of August is the critical period for onset of blight. Any preparatory treatments, such as a baking soda, hydrogen peroxide or wettable sulfur sprays, should begin at this time.
During this period, I trimmed off any wilted or significantly yellowed leaves. Plenty of healthy green leaves remain in the upper 2/3rds of the plant so that they are not in danger of overwhelming entire plants. I suspect if I did nothing throughout the month of August, however, that several of these plants would succumb, as they have in the past. So a regular schedule of treatments is definitely in order now. If I can keep the darkness at bay for the next few weeks, I think the tomato harvest will continue through September and into October. That is my goal for this year.
