Tomato Intervention

Yesterday I tackled my massively over grown tomatoes. I started out the season with the best intentions of pruning & staking the tom's well they grew but that never materialized. It really was amazing how long the vines had grown and how thick they were. I am surprised I didn't end up with any disease from the poor circulation and sun penatration. Here goes the before and after, like before I have left them full sized if you would like to enlarge them:

Before

After

This pruning session involved removing all the suckers that did not have fruit on them. The remaining branches, about 2-3 per plant were then tied to a long bamboo cane. I then nipped the growing tip off the remaining branches. Now the plants have good air flow and the sun actually will reach the fruit so they should ripen faster. The pruning also gave the wee parsnips to the left full sun again as well as the eggplant growing along the front.

This photo shows how long the Velvet Red Cherry Tomato has grown, best viewed by clicking the image for the large version. It is so long that I ended up tying it to the topsy hanger. The hanger is 9 feet off the ground! This long branch is full of fuzzy cherry tomatoes and I can't wait for them to ripen. The seed for this tomato was shared by The Conservative Gardener.

Last but not least here is the pile of tomato branches that went on the compost, almost a wheel barrow full.

Starting tomorrow we are finally getting some hot weather, I don't think it has been above 30c(86f) since June! From Sunday on, day time highs of 24-31c (75-87f) are forcasted with the humidex factored in the temperature will feel more like 31-42c(87-107f). The squash, cukes, toms, melons & peppers will be pleased. Looks like the ugly a/c unit in the veggie patch will finally be getting a work out this year!