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Why does it seem like such a chore to write during the summer? I don’t mean to let an entire week go between updates but that seems harder to avoid during summer break. I think I did the same thing last year, too.

Anyway, I thought I’d do an update on the tomatoes, which still seem to be going strong.

Despite the main stem of the Sweet 100s — the part closest to the planter — turning a sickly yellow, the far-flung branches are still a pretty green and are still producing fruit and blossoms. We had a caterpillar issue last month but we’ve sprayed it and haven’t seen anything since, though it may still be affecting it. I suspected blight but it doesn’t look like those pictures. Either way, our temps are firmly in the 100s now so I think overall it’s still doing really well.

Sadly, we’ve all but given up on the beefsteaks. We’ve had several that have made it to a beautiful deep red with a decent size, but you flip it over and they’ve all got blossom end rot or the tops around the vine end are splitting. Mike has a coworker that also grows tomatoes and he says he’s never been able to grow any of the big varieties here.

So, we’ve considered taking out the beefsteak and giving the Sweet 100s some more room, but at the same time I think the beefsteak is providing some support, so we’re just going to wait and see. Next year we’re going to do a bigger cherry tomato variety (the Sweet 100s are great, but they’re tiny) and try some Roma tomatoes.

We have baby tomatoes! The Sweet 100s have been blooming for about two weeks now, and the blossoms are finally starting to drop off. They’re being replaced by the tiniest little green orbs.

The Beefsteaks are also starting to do their thing, and the girls love seeing the difference between the two plants. Where the Sweet 100s have small, delicate little blooms, the Beefsteaks are much bigger and seem to be more closely bunched.

Once again, in just two weeks you can see how much taller they’ve gotten. These plants are thriving, and the stalks on both of them are so much thicker than the plants we tried three years ago. The EarthTainer is doing an excellent job so far!

I’m hoping we’ll be able to get around to starting at least one more container this weekend. We definitely want to do zucchini, and I’d love to do red peppers and jalapenos (altogether that would be two additional containers), though it’ll depend on what the garden center has.