My garden did okay this year. Several weeks of 90 degree-plus weather and no rain sure slowed things down, but overall, my tomatoes were decent. If a back yard gardener can only get a few good tomatoes, all is not lost. Last year, my tomatoes were almost perfect, only 1 or 2 had end rot. I had a bumper crop, but I didn’t particularly care for the tomatoes. The skins were tough, and the inside flesh wasn’t juicy and sweet like I like.
This year, I went with Better Boys, and they were indeed “better.”
They weren’t as pretty as last year’s tomatoes, 1 out of 10 had end rot and most of the early crop had a few of those gnarly places on top. But I cut them off, and they tasted very good.
I am still getting tomatoes and my recent pickings are beautiful, state fair worthy, perhaps because of recent rains and more consistent weather. I also planted one grape tomato vine and it has kept us in salad tomatoes for several months. They have been sweet, firm, and plentiful.
Next year, Lord willing, I’ll plant Better Boys again and hope for a milder summer and a little more rain.
(A Tomato Growing Tip: At planting, trim off the bottom two sets of leaves, dig a deep planting hole, and bury the plant down to its first set of leaves. Tomatoes are able to produce roots along their stems so planting them deeply creates a strong root system and produces a stronger, sturdier plant.)
