what’s the ‘mater?

Overall our tomatoes are doing well. We are losing a few plants, but they put out a good round of fruit before they started drying out.

The other plants are doing fine.

This is the third time I’ve grown Black Prince, and each time they only get so far into summer before the plant shrivels up. The fruit is fantastic and the plants are always prolific up until they dry up.

Next year, I will try again planting them on the northern side of the northern bed. That spot gets a bit a dappled sun in the afternoon. Perhaps Black Prince doesn’t like the high heat of peak Missouri summers.

The shriveled purple tomato plant is a bigger mystery. We have four or five, and only this one is dying:

There is no sign of pests, or any obvious disease. The main stalk is still healthy, which helps keep the fruit growing for now. We will undoubtedly have surplus tomatoes to share, but not as many as planned…