I’m growing two ‘Cherokee Purple’ tomato plants this summer, and both of them have freakishly-huge fruits on them.
When I was outside photographing some of my flowers the other day I turned around just in time to see this particular tomato surrender to its weight. At first I thought it was being felled by a hungry chipmunk and I shrieked, but upon closer inspection the poor tomato was just too big for its britches and couldn’t hold on any longer.
Thankfully it was still attached to its stem so I got one of those flower stem support stakes with the little metal circle on top and rested the tomato (well, one of its ginormous “cheeks”) on the circle and then strapped it to a nearby tomato cage. Then I did the same for the other gargantuan tomato that’s growing on a second plant.
I have a number of healthy, happy tomato plants that are loaded with fruit, but they are all still green. Even my short-season determinate varieties haven’t ripened yet.
We’ve only had one day in the 90s (F) this summer (WAHOO!) and most of the days have been mild and beautiful. So while it’s been a great summer for humans, it hasn’t been the best summer for tomatoes, squashes, pumpkins and other heat-loving vegetables.
I fear it’s going to be a race between ripening fruit and the first frost. That’s okay. I’d gladly trade a bunch of tomatoes for a summer like this one.