Tomato Blossoms in May

Just about all the tomato plants have flowers. The plants are looking healthy and robust even with flea beetle damage. I had been keeping the eggplants dusted with diatomaceous earth but it looks like the flea beetles have started to include tomato plants in their diet.

 Costoluto Genovese flowering, lower leaves have holes from flea beetles.

 Jersey Giant tomato blossoms.

 Tomatoes settling in after being planted out May 7th.

Only two tomato plants are without blossoms, one Jubilee plant that had been attacked by birds and a Hillbilly Flame plant that was just planted on Friday, May 15th. We just might be eating ripe tomatoes by the end of June or beginning of July.

Eventually the tomato plants will be supported by being sandwiched between rows of fencing. Supported plants usually produce more tomatoes than those allowed to sprawl on the ground. The beds are 3 feet apart with rows 2 feet apart and 1.5 feet between plants within a row.

First Tomato Blossom

The first tomato blossom of the season. Can you see it?

Here's a closer look at the blossom in case you missed it in the first photograph.

Putting up the rest of the tomato fence supports took more time than I anticipated, so I didn't get as much planting done as I had hoped. The tomato plants at the end of the fencing will be supported by bamboo poles.

 The eggplants are slowly getting bigger.

The Bangladeshi Long eggplant has been nibbled on by slugs. I went ahead and sprinkled all the plants with Sluggo, an organic slug bait.

 This Hungarian Hot Wax pepper has also been chewed on by slugs. All the peppers seem to be gaining size ever so slowly.

In comparison the tomatoes are sizing up much faster than the other plants. This is the Pantano Romensco tomato that is blossoming. My gardening friend usually pinches off the first blossoms to let the plants get bigger before fruiting. Does anyone else do this?

I normally just let the plants fruit in their own time because I like having early tomatoes, but not if that inhibits growth and fruit set in the long run. Has anyone noticed a difference when they pinch off the first tomato flowers?

The tomatoes are being sandwiched between fencing to keep the plants off the ground. The fencing got trimmed a little short, so the tomatoes at the end will have to be supported with bamboo poles. There's Agribon floating row covers over most of the garden, it seems to help keep the birds out.