Already two major events have happened in July. An early hail storm struck the afternoon of July 2. About an inch and a half of marble-sized hail piled up and shredded most of the plants in our yard. However, due to the quick thinking of my spousal equivalent who ran out and threw some towels over the plants, damage to the tomato plants was minimal.
We did get 2.37 inches of wonderful rain from the storm, though, so it was not entirely bad. The tomato plants are now creeping over the top of the third tier of cages and are 5 ft tall measured from soil level. The second big event was the harvesting of the first ripe tomatoes! I picked three delicious beauties from the “Stupice” plant on July 7, which is very early for Flagstaff. (YES!!!)
I am currently watering the plants daily, applying “Great Big Tomato” liquid compost every other week, and “Algoflash Tomato” liquid fertilizer once a week. Plants look vigorous and happy.
Contributed by Jim Mast